Ontario Highway 412

Highway 412 shield

Highway 412
West Durham Link

Planned routing of Highway 407E, Highway 412 and Highway 418 (all in red); Highway 412 is the western connector to Highway 401
Route information
Length: 10 km[1] (10 mi)
History: Proposed 1990s
Planned completion Spring 2016
Major junctions
South end:  Highway 401 in Whitby
   Highway 7
North end:  Highway 407 in Whitby
Highway system
← Highway 410Highway 416 →

King's Highway 412, or simply Highway 412, is a tolled controlled-access highway under construction in the Canadian province of Ontario. [2] Expected to be complete in spring 2016,[3] it will extend for approximately 10 km (6.2 mi),[2] connecting Highway 401 with the eastern extension of Highway 407. The route will be entirely within the Town of Whitby in Durham Region, running within one kilometre of Whitby's western border with Ajax and Pickering (Lake Ridge Road).

During planning, the route was known as the West Durham Link. Its designation as Highway 412, the first new 400-series designation in several decades, was confirmed along with Highway 418 on February 6, 2015.[4]

Route description

Highway 7 passing westerly beneath the future Highway 412 overpass, in June 2015

Highway 412 will be a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) four lane highway extending from Highway 401 to Highway 407E, just north of Highway 7. The entire length of the route will lie between Lakeridge Road and Coronation Road, within Whitby. At the southern end, the route will feature a three-level stack interchange with a realigned Highway 401, from which it will proceed north. It will cross Dundas Street (former Highway 2), where a partial interchange will provide northbound access and a southbound exit.

North of Dundas Street, the route will swerve westward onto the alignment of Halls Road and cross Rossland Road. It will proceed north to an interchange with Taunton Road before diverging east from the Halls Road alignment and travelling parallel between it and Coronation Road. The route will cross Highway 7 (Winchester Road), where a partial interchange will provide southbound access and a northbound exit. Immediately north of Highway 7, the route will end at a three-level stack interchange with Highway 407.

History

The West Durham Link, as it was then known, was first presented to Whitby Council on February 10, 1992. It quickly drew the ire of local residents fearful of noise levels and the environmental effects on Lynde Creek.[5] However, the recession of the mid-1990s resulted in Highway 407 being truncated in Markham temporarily. Slightly revised plans for the links appeared on the June 2007 Technically Recommended Route Report, which was submitted as part of the environmental assessment (EA) for the extension, but had been announced earlier that year on March 7 by the Government of Canada, as part of an investment in Greater Toronto Area infrastructure.[6]

The EA report was released on August 17, 2009, including detailed plans for the configuration of the interchanges along the new highway. The route will run parallel to and east of Lake Ridge Road, partially overlapping the current route of Halls Road and partially along a new alignment one lot to the east. Both Halls Road and Coronation Road will be re-aligned to accommodate the new highway. It will be six lanes throughout its length, with a concrete Ontario Tall Wall as a median.[1] Highway 412 will cut into Lynde Creek, a small waterway that flows out to Lake Ontario.

Construction was underway as of late 2013. On February 6, 2015, it was announced by the MTO that the West Durham Link would be designated Highway 412.[4] Whitby Town Council has recommended to the province the route be named after Jim Flaherty.[7]

Although initially expected to be completed on December 18, 2015, opening was delayed and the highway is now planned to open in spring 2016.[8]

Exit list

The following are the proposed exits in the 407 East Environmental Assessment Report.[1]

Location km Destinations Notes
Whitby 0  Highway 401 east of Lakeridge Road Interchange with Northbound entrance and southbound exit
1 Dundas Street West east of Lakeridge Road Formerly Highway 2; partial interchange with northbound entrance and southbound exit
3 Rossland Road West east of Lakeridge Road Planned interchange construction deferred to later date
5  Regional Road 4 (Taunton Road) east of Lakeridge Road Planned interchange
9  Highway 7 (Winchester Road) West east of Lakeridge Road Partial interchange with Northbound exit and southbound entrance
10  Highway 407 Interchange with Northbound exit and southbound entrance

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Exhibit 8.7". 407 East Environmental Assessment Report (PDF) (Report). Government of Ontario. August 17, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Spanish firm behind 407 ETR will help manage $1B eastern extension of the toll road, Toronto Star, retrieved May 23, 2012
  3. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions, 407 East Development Group, retrieved February 15, 2015
  4. 1 2 "New Highway Numbers". Highway 407 East. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hill, Valerie (March 5, 1992). "Residents Fighting 407 Link in Whitby". The Toronto Star. p. SD3.
  6. ↑ Canada’s New Government announces investment to cut commute times, clear the air and drive the economy in the Greater Toronto Area, Web site of the Prime Minister of Canada, retrieved March 7, 2007
  7. ↑ Pessian, Parvaneh (January 29, 2015). "New Whitby highway could be named after Jim Flaherty". DurhamRegion.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kevin Gilligan. "Opening of Hwy. 407 expansion through Oshawa delayed until 2016". Oshawa This Week. Retrieved December 8, 2015.

External links

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