Content deleted Content added
→Route description: Added the speed limit. Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Imzadi1979 (talk | contribs) m script-assisted date audit and style fixes per MOS:NUM; harmonize whitespace in citation templates (using Regex citation formatter); expand citation fully |
||
Line 1:
{{short description|Controlled-access highway in Ontario}}
{{redirect|The 404}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox road
Line 12:
|map_notes = Highway 404 highlighted in red
|length_km = 50.1
|length_ref = <ref name="km">{{cite web |title = Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) Counts |author = [[Ministry of Transportation of Ontario]] |publisher = Government of Ontario |year = 2008 |url = http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5 |access-date = December 18, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192209/http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5 |archive-date = July 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>
|established = 1977
|direction_a = South
Line 41 ⟶ 32:
== Route description ==
[[File:ON401ewON404nsInterchangesToronto-Aerial-May2015 (27839429063).jpg|thumb|left|Aerial photograph of the Don Valley Parkway / Highway{{nbsp}}404 / Highway{{nbsp}}401 interchange]]
Running parallel to [[Ontario Highway 400|Highway 400]] approximately {{convert|15|km}} to the east, Highway 404 extends {{convert|50.1|km|abbr=on}} on a north–south orientation between Highway 401 and Woodbine Avenue. There are 16 interchanges along its length, mostly of the [[Partial cloverleaf interchange|Partial cloverleaf A4]] configuration. Exit numbers on the freeway start at 17, suggesting that the length of the Don Valley Parkway was considered in distance calculations; until 2017, there were no exit numbers posted on the DVP.<ref name="TA1">{{cite map |title = Toronto & Area |cartography = [[MapArt]] |publisher = Peter Heiler Ltd |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-1-55198-213-7 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/torontoarea0000unse/page/104 104, 320, 326, 332, 338, 344, 350, 355] |sections = T26–F30 |scale = 1:25,000 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/torontoarea0000unse/page/104 }}</ref><ref name="plan" />
A continuation of the municipal-controlled DVP, the [[Ministry of Transportation of Ontario]] (MTO) jurisdiction over the freeway begins as the opposing directions of travel diverge south of the Highway 401 interchange.<ref group="note" name="note1">This demarcation line is visible on the highway as a change in pavement quality and the use of different high-mast lighting</ref>
Line 58 ⟶ 39:
| url = http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Toronto,+Toronto+Division,+Ontario&t=k&ll=43.769296,-79.337318&spn=0.007097,0.01929&z=16
| access-date = April 26, 2011}}</ref>
Southbound, the freeway is divided into two carriageways, both of which provide access to the DVP. The outer carriageway also provides access from Sheppard and to both directions of Highway 401, including the westbound express lanes, while the inner carriageway is intended for DVP-bound traffic. The HOV lane eventually merges with DVP-bound traffic, and also has an off-ramp via a tunnel to the Highway 401 westbound collector lanes.<ref>{{cite web |title = Highway 404 Southbound HOV Lanes at Hwy 401/DVP |author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |publisher = Government of Ontario |url = http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/hov/image/detail.pdf |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140904134017/http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/hov/image/detail.pdf |archive-date = September 4, 2014 }}</ref>
To the east of Highway 404 is the Consumers Road office park. To the west and north of Sheppard Avenue is [[Fairview Mall]], which has its own connection with the southbound lanes attached to the Sheppard interchange.<ref name="TA1" />
Line 73 ⟶ 47:
[[File:Highway 404 at Stouffville.png|thumb|right|Highway 404 at Stouffville Road]]
At the interchange with Steeles Avenue which also includes a dedicated on-ramp from Woodbine Avenue (York Regional Road 8), the freeway enters the [[Regional Municipality of York]] where it diverges to the west before continuing north, running parallel to Woodbine Avenue. To the east are industrial units, while on the west are residential suburbs. This land-use persists north to the Highway 407 ETR junction, a multi-level [[combination interchange]] with two [[Overpass|flyovers]]. At this point the freeway narrows and the central concrete barrier ends; a grass median taking its place between the opposing lanes. Immediately north of Highway 407, the freeway interchanges with [[Ontario Highway 7|Highway 7]], and due to the close spacing of these two interchanges, the northbound off-ramp to Highway 7 is braided with the on-ramp from Highway 407 (and vice versa with the southbound ramps) to avoid weaving. As the freeway crosses Highway 7, the HOV lanes transition to standard through lanes, although as of 2020 construction is underway to extend the HOV lanes using the grass median. The freeway passes west of [[Buttonville Municipal Airport]] (decommissioned as of November 2023)<ref name="button">{{cite web |last = Larkin |first = F.K. (Ted) |date =
The land-use density continues to drop, with the appearance of some open spaces and farms interspersed with industrial and commercial buildings. By 19th Avenue, just north of the [[Honda]] Canada headquarters in Markham, the land-use is agricultural on both sides of Highway 404. Highway 404 continues north, forming the eastern boundary of the municipalities of [[Richmond Hill, Ontario|Richmond Hill]], [[Aurora, Ontario|Aurora]] and [[Newmarket, Ontario|Newmarket]] and the western boundary of [[Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario|Whitchurch-Stouffville]]. North of Wellington Street, the highway reduces in width to four lanes, which is its configuration north through [[East Gwillimbury]].<ref name="backgrounder" /> The route continues, passing east of the community of [[Queensville, Ontario|Queensville]], where just a bit north Highway 404 will meet the future [[Bradford Bypass]], as it eventually curves northeast and terminates at an at-grade intersection with Woodbine Avenue immediately south of Ravenshoe Road (York Regional Road 32).<ref name="TA1" />
The speed limit is {{convert|100|kph|abbr=on}} on most of its length, with the exception of the {{convert|16|km|abbr=on}} stretch between [[Newmarket, Ontario|Newmarket]] and the North end of the highway, where the speed limit was raised to {{convert|110|kph|abbr=on}} on April
== History ==
Line 83 ⟶ 57:
=== Initial construction ===
[[File:Woodbine facing south.png|thumb|left|Facing south along Woodbine Avenue in 1965; the crossroad is Finch Avenue, which passes over the ten lane freeway that has since replaced this rural road]]
A freeway east of Highway 11 was planned as early as 1954, when the province extended [[Ontario Highway 48|Highway 48]] south from [[Port Bolster, Ontario|Port Bolster]]. A large cloverleaf interchange was constructed with the Toronto Bypass, and plans formulated for a dual highway around the east side of Lake Simcoe, connecting with Highway{{nbsp}}11 near [[Orillia]] or [[Gravenhurst, Ontario|Gravenhurst]]. This route was dropped when Metropolitan Toronto began planning for the northern extension of the DVP in 1957, as [[subdivision (land)|subdivisions]] encroached upon [[Woodbine Avenue]] north of Highway{{nbsp}}401. The six-lane expressway was to follow the alignment of Woodbine from its southern terminus at [[Lawrence Avenue]] to north of [[Steeles Avenue]], where the [[Ministry of Transportation of Ontario|Department of Highways]] (DHO) would continue the road as a "new King's Highway".<ref name="plan">{{cite report |title = Don Valley Parkway Extension, Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue |publisher = Desjardines |year = 1957 }}</ref>
[[File:401-DVP interchange.png|thumb|right|alt=A bird's-eye view of a large highway interchange under construction. Several bridges are complete, but nothing is paved, aside from one highway crossing horizontally, which detours between the bridges.|The Highway 401 / [[Don Valley Parkway]] interchange (which replaced an earlier interchange with [[Woodbine Avenue]], and would link to the future Highway 404) under construction in 1965.]]
In 1959, the DHO announced that they would construct and maintain the new route once the DVP was completed to Highway{{nbsp}}401 and designate it Highway{{nbsp}}404.<ref>{{cite report |title = Summary Report of Department Operations |work = Annual Report |publisher = Ontario Department of Highways |date = March 31, 1960 |page = 7 }}</ref>
The proposed route of the freeway was presented at a special delegation on December{{nbsp}}13, 1960 by Harold Barry, a representative of the department.<ref>{{cite news |title = New Highway Route Metro to Newmarket |work = The Globe and Mail |location = Toronto |date = December 14, 1960 |volume = 117 |issue = 34,636 |page = 5 |quote = Highway Department officials tonight outlined the proposed route the new No. 404 Highway will follow from Steeles Avenue to the Newmarket area. }}</ref> During this time Metro opened another section of the DVP from Lawrence Avenue to Highway 401 on November 17, 1966, followed by the section north of Highway 401 to Sheppard Avenue on March 1, 1967. As completed at that time, after passing Sheppard Avenue the parkway narrowed to the two-lane Woodbine Avenue.<ref>{{cite news |title = Parkway Moves North, Confusion, Too |first = Harold |last = Robinson |work = The Globe and Mail |date = November 18, 1966 |volume = 123 |issue = 36,487 |page = 1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Parkway Open to 401 Today |work = The Globe and Mail |date = November 17, 1966 |page = 2 }}</ref>
Design work on Highway{{nbsp}}404 started in 1973,<ref name="Davis" /> and construction began following the awarding of a [[Canadian dollar|C$]]6.9{{nbsp}}million contract in March 1976. This contract included construction of the Finch Avenue interchange, overpasses at McNicoll and Van Horne Avenues and {{convert|4.5|km|abbr=on}} of six-lane freeway between Sheppard and Steeles Avenues.<ref>{{cite news |title = Headache on the 401 |work = The Globe and Mail |location = Toronto |date = May 4, 1976 |page = 5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title = Construction Program: King's and Secondary Highways |publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ontario |year = 1975–1976 |page = xvii }}</ref>
Shortly thereafter, on April{{nbsp}}20, Ernest Avenue and Van Horne Avenue were closed to traffic at Woodbine.<ref>{{cite news |title = Road-Building Closes 2 Streets |work = The Toronto Star |date = April 14, 1976 |department = Metro News / Editorials |page = B1 }}</ref>
The existing Metro-built segment of the DVP between Sheppard and Highway{{nbsp}}401 was designated as part of the new provincial freeway.
[[Image:Highway 404 2023.jpg|225px|right|thumb|Originally built as part of the Don Valley Parkway, the segment south of Sheppard Avenue became part of Highway{{nbsp}}404 in 1977.]]
The first section of Highway{{nbsp}}404 between Highway{{nbsp}}401 and Steeles Avenue opened in late 1977, including the flyover ramp from southbound Woodbine Avenue.<ref name="1976report">{{cite report |title = Construction Program: King's and Secondary Highways |publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ontario |year = 1976–1977 |page = XV }}</ref>
The freeway was separated by a grass median with a steel box beam acting as a barrier between the lanes. Construction north of Toronto proceeded quickly, with the contract for the section from Steeles to Highway{{nbsp}}7 being awarded in 1976 and the section opening on November{{nbsp}}10, 1978.<ref name="1976report" /><ref>{{cite press release |title = Highway 404 (Steeles Ave. to Highway 7) Opens Nov. 10 |author = Public and Safety Information Branch |publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ontario |date = November 9, 1978 }}</ref>
The next extension, to Stouffville Road (then known as the [[Gormley, Ontario|Gormley]] Side Road), was opened ceremoniously on December{{nbsp}}9, 1980 by minister [[James Snow]];<ref>{{cite press release |title = Official Opening of Highway 404 Between Major Mackenzie Drive and Gormley |author = Public and Safety Information Branch |publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ontario |date = December 9, 1980 }}</ref>
the segment north of Highway{{nbsp}}7 was four lanes wide.<ref>{{cite news |title = York Councillors Fly Over Their Region's Traffic Chaos |first = Victoria |last = Stevens |work = The Toronto Star |date = January 21, 1981 |department = News |page = A29 }}</ref>
[[File:Highway 404 from Sheppard Avenue (North).jpg|right|thumb|Looking north from [[Sheppard Avenue (Toronto)|Sheppard Avenue]] at Highway 404's divided cross-section; from left-to-right is the southbound collector lanes, southbound express lanes including HOV lane, on-ramp (from Highway 401), and northbound lanes]]
Line 156 ⟶ 81:
| location = Toronto
| date = May 26, 1981
| id = {{ProQuest|1143169307}} {{subscription required}}}}</ref>
Minister James Snow was charged with violating the act, and called upon to resign. The Minister did not resign, but paid a C$3,500 fine. Despite the issues surrounding it, the extension between Stouffville Road and Bloomington Road was opened ceremoniously on the morning of August{{nbsp}}10, 1982.<ref>{{cite news |title = ((404 Extension Opens Aug. 10)) |first = John |last = Keating |work = The Toronto Star |date = August 3, 1982 |department = Neighbours |page = 11 |quote = The public is cordially invited to attend the official opening of Highway 404, from Gormley Road to Bloomington Side Road on Tuesday, August 10, 1982 at 11:00 a.m. on the southbound lanes of Highway 404 at Bloomington Side Road. }}</ref>
As originally built by Metro, the Sheppard Avenue interchange with the parkway was originally a [[Partial cloverleaf interchange#Configurations|Parclo AB2]], plus Fairview Mall Drive at the time ran only east-west directly north of the [[Fairview Mall|shopping centre]] and also had its own on/off-ramps from the southbound lanes of Highway 404. In the 1980s the province removed the separate sets of Fairview Mall Drive and Sheppard Avenue ramps in favour of an on/off-ramp that fed directly to the shopping centre and an extension of Fairview Mall Drive whose eastbound lanes run south to meet with Sheppard Avenue.
Construction on the segment north of Bloomington to Aurora Sideroad was already in progress by this point. It was opened to traffic in late September 1985.<ref>{{cite news |title = New Stretch of 404 to Open |work = The Toronto Star |date = September 10, 1985 |department = Neighbors North Edition |page = NR12 |quote = Highway 404 should be open to the Aurora Sideroad by the end of September, a Ministry of Transportation official said last week.... Tenders for the next and final stage of the highway from the Aurora Sideroad to Davis Drive in Newmarket will be called in December and awarded in January the spokesman said. }}</ref> 16th Avenue, which had been widened from two to four lanes during the mid-1980s, received ramps connecting to the freeway south of that existing underpass.<ref name="transportation263">{{cite report |title = Report No. 2 of the Regional Transportation and Works Committee Meeting Held on February 2, 2000 |author = Transportation and Works Committee |publisher = Regional Municipality of York |date = February 10, 2000 |department = Appendix A – Background |page = 263 |url = http://archives.york.ca/councilcommitteearchives/pdf/report%202,%20february%2010.pdf |access-date = March 14, 2015 }}</ref>
Construction on the {{convert|6.5|km|abbr=on}} section from Wellington Street to Davis Drive began in early 1986, and the section opened to traffic on October{{nbsp}}24, 1989 at 8:30{{nbsp}}am. This final segment cost $22.1{{nbsp}}million, ending the continuous construction program undertaken since 1973 at a cost of $83.3{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="Davis">{{cite news |title = Ontario Studies Plan to Extend Highway 404 Farther North |first = Brian |last = Dexter |work = The Toronto Star |date = October 25, 1989 |department = News |page = A8 }}</ref>
=== 1997-2007 expansion ===
Studies and environmental assessments into various extensions began almost immediately after the completion of the route to Newmarket in 1989; it would take over a decade for any northward progression to take place. The completion of the route to Davis Drive was met with scorn as traffic in Newmarket rapidly increased as the [[Commuter town|bedroom community]] grew with the new highway access. Municipal officials warned prior to the opening of the route that major traffic delays would be faced along Davis Drive. Then-mayor [[Ray Twinney]] began an immediate push to widen Green Lane – at that time an unpaved rural route – into a bypass of the town.<ref>{{cite news |title = Highway 404 to Open to Newmarket Oct. 24 |first = Brian |last = Dexter |work = The Toronto Star |date = October 12, 1989 |department = North |page = 3 }}</ref>
Traffic delays were also compounded at the southern end of Toronto, where drivers whom had previously made use of [[Yonge Street]], [[Bayview Avenue]] or [[Leslie Street]] would shift to make use of the new freeway.<ref>{{cite news |title = New 404 Extension May Worsen Traffic |first = Peter |last = Howell |work = The Toronto Star |date = October 24, 1989 |department = News |page = A7 }}</ref><ref name="ts1992" />
By 1992, York Region was moving forward with plans to expand Green Lane into a four lane road, while the province was urged to consider extending Highway 404 north to it, and eventually around the east side of Lake Simcoe.<ref name="ts1992">{{cite news |title = Province Urged to Study Link of Highways in North of Region |first = Brian |last = Dexter |work = The Toronto Star |date = March 26, 1992 |page = NY2 }}</ref> The province studied this and other options over the following years, before a formal announcement was made by Minister of Transportation [[Tony Clement]] on June 22, 1998, along with York Region chairman [[Bill Fisch]]. The plan called for an extension of Highway 404 north to Green Lane, and widening of Highway 9, the western extension of Davis Drive (now part of it after being [[Decommissioned highway|downloaded]] and redesignated as [[List of numbered roads in York Region|York Regional Road 31]] east of Highway 400) outside town, to five lanes between Highway 400 and Bathurst Street. At the time over 20,000 vehicles used Davis Drive on an average day.<ref>{{cite news |title = Highways 404–400 Link a Go |first = Nicholas |last = Keung |work = The Toronto Star |date = June 23, 1998 |department = Greater Toronto |page = B1 }}</ref>
{{multiple image
Line 244 ⟶ 113:
| caption2 = Advanced construction work near Doane Road in June 2014
}}
In the interim period, work went into expanding the six lane freeway through Toronto and Markham. A combination interchange was built with the new Highway 407 ETR which opened in June 1997, which as a prerequisite required the realignment of some ramps from the nearby Highway 7 interchange.<ref name="opened">{{cite news |title = At Last – Opening Bell Tolls for the 407 |first1 = Bob |last1 = Mitchell |work = The Toronto Star |date = June 6, 1997 |department = News |pages = A1, A6 }}</ref> In early 1998, the MTO announced plans for two contracts to widen Highway 404 south of Highway 7. The first contract converted the grass [[median strip|median]] into an additional lane in each direction with a central concrete barrier between them, with the inner lanes to eventually be converted into HOV lanes. [[High-mast lighting]] was installed in the median barrier, replacing the unique [[Street light|luminaires]] that were mounted outside of the right shoulder of each carriageway. With the shift in road illumination completed as a prerequisite, the second contract would result in an additional lane in each direction on the outside the existing freeway south of Highway 407, making it ten lanes wide, with expansion of the southbound and northbound lanes completed in 2005 and 2007, respectively.<ref>{{cite news |title = Notice of Study Completion |author = Government of Ontario |work = The Toronto Star |date = May 21, 1998 |page = A8 }}</ref><ref name="HOV">{{cite journal |title = New Southbound High Occupancy Vehicle Lane and Tunnel on Highway 404 |author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |journal = Road Talk |date = Winter 2006 |volume = 12 |issue = 1 |url = http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/transtek/roadtalk/rt12-1/ |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140414230401/http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/transtek/roadtalk/rt12-1/ |archive-date = April 14, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="CTV News">{{cite news |title = HOV Lane Opens on Highway 404 Northbound |publisher = CTV News |date = July 23, 2007 |url = https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/hov-lane-opens-on-highway-404-northbound-1.249814 |access-date = April 26, 2011 }}</ref>
In conjunction with the widening to add HOV lanes, improvements were made to the bottlenecked interchange with Highway 401. This involved the construction of a two-lane on-ramp receiving traffic from the eastbound Highway 401 express and collectors that would converge with Highway 404 northbound without access to Sheppard Avenue, while the existing single lane on-ramp for that same movement was retained for Highway 401 collector traffic to exit at Sheppard Avenue.<ref name="maps.google.ca"/> In early 2004, construction began on a new ramp from the Highway 404 southbound HOV lane to the Highway 401 westbound collectors, with the ramp consisting of a curved tunnel beneath the Highway 404's southbound general traffic lanes. To accommodate the HOV ramp, the ramp for general traffic from Highway 404 southbound to the Highway 401 westbound collectors was shifted further west with its entry just under the Don Mills Road overpass while also realigned to permit a higher speed. On December 13, 2005, the southbound HOV lane was opened to traffic. This was one of the three original HOV lanes in Ontario; the other two HOV lanes were on [[Ontario Highway 403|Highway 403]] in Mississauga.<ref name="HOV"/>
Line 279 ⟶ 121:
[[File:Cessna 172 Buttonville Rwy15 Final.jpg|thumb|Looking south at the interchange with [[York Regional Road 73|16th Avenue]], with [[Buttonville Municipal Airport]] in southeast quadrant. The freeway configuration is after its 2002 widening, with a narrowed grass median that would be paved over during the route's 2023 expansion.]]
In 1999, Highway 404 was widened to six lanes between Highway 7 and Major Mackenzie Drive, using the right-of-way afforded by the grass median.<ref name="backgrounder">{{cite news |title = Backgrounder: Highway 404 Extension – Davis Drive to Green Lane |author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |publisher = Government of Ontario |date = February 8, 2002 |url = http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/news/regional/2002/020802b.shtml |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140415050153/http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/news/regional/2002/020802b.shtml |archive-date = April 15, 2014 }}</ref> Ramps were added to connect [[York Regional Road 73|Regional Road 73]] (16th Avenue) with the segment of Highway 404 north of that junction, making it a full interchange.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://ogov.newswire.ca/getorg_e.html?okey=48678 |title = Government of Ontario, Canada - Newsroom |publisher = ogov.newswire.ca |date = |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030816185446/http://ogov.newswire.ca/getorg_e.html?okey=48678 |accessdate = July 18, 2022 |archive-date = August 16, 2003 }} {{nonspecific|date=July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GONE/2003/06/19/c5134.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |title = Eves government improves access to Highway 404 and traffic signals increased safety at 16th Ave. and Highway 404 |date = June 19, 2003 |publisher = ogov.newswire.ca |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030821062732/http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GONE/2003/06/19/c5134.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |accessdate = July 18, 2022 |archive-date = August 21, 2003 }}</ref> On June 19, 2003, Transportation Minister and [[Oak Ridges (electoral district)|Oak Ridges]] [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] Frank Klees opened the new ramps, with [[Thornhill (federal electoral district)|Thornhill]] MPP [[Tina Molinari]] also in attendance, with traffic permitted onto the ramp following the ceremony.<ref>{{cite news |title = Eves Government to Open Highway 404/16th Avenue Interchange in Richmond Hill |author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |publisher = Government of Ontario |date = June 19, 2003 |url = http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GONE/2003/06/19/c4986.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |access-date = May 28, 2011 |quote = Transportation Minister and Oak Ridges MPP Frank Klees and Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Thornhill MPP Tina Molinari will open the new Highway 404/16th Avenue interchange in Richmond Hill. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030715121539/http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GONE/2003/06/19/c4986.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html |archive-date = July 15, 2003 }}</ref> The MTO formally announced plans to alleviate traffic in Newmarket on August 28, 2000: a three contract project to widen and extend Highway 404. The first contract added an additional lane in each direction in the grass median from Major Mackenzie Drive to Bloomington Road. A second contract then extended those two lanes north to Aurora Sideroad. These two projects both began in the summer of 2001 and were completed in December. The third contract (see below) was an extension from Davis Drive to Green Lane.<ref name="backgrounder" />
=== Extensions to Keswick ===
The MTO formally announced plans to alleviate traffic in Newmarket on August 28, 2000: a three contract project to widen and extend Highway 404. The first contract added an additional lane in each direction in the grass median from Major Mackenzie Drive to Bloomington Road. A second contract then extended those two lanes north to Aurora Sideroad. These two projects both began in the summer of 2001 and were completed in December.<ref name="backgrounder" /> The third contract called for a four lane extension from Davis Drive to Green Lane and the reconstruction of Green Lane into a four-laned [[arterial road]] between Leslie Street and Woodbine Avenue.<ref>{{cite news |title = Longer, Wider Highway 404 in the Works |first = Nicholaas |last = Van Rijn |work = The Toronto Star |date = August 29, 2000 |department = Greater Toronto |page = B3 }}</ref>
This contract began shortly after the announcement in September 2000. The extension was opened to traffic on February 8, 2002, at a ceremony attended by [[York North]] MPP [[Julia Munro]] and York Region chairman Bill Fisch.<ref>{{cite news |title = New Highway 404 Extension to Benefit Newmarket |author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |publisher = Government of Ontario |date = February 8, 2002 |url = http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/news/regional/2002/020802.shtml |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140415025754/http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/news/regional/2002/020802.shtml |archive-date = April 15, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Drivers Have More Options in Northern York Region After Improvements to Green Lane East and Highway 404 |first = Patrick |last = Casey |publisher = Regional Municipality of York |work = News |date = February 8, 2002 |url = http://www.york.ca/Publications/News/2002/February+08,+2002,+Drivers+have+more+options+in+northern+York+Region+after+improvements+to+Green+Lan.htm |access-date = April 26, 2015 |quote = York Region drivers can now access Green Lane East between Leslie Street and Woodbine Avenue in the Town of East Gwillimbury. The Regional Municipality of York today opened the stretch of road in tandem with the completion of a 2.9 kilometre extension of Highway 404 from Davis Drive and Green Lane East. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120311033015/http://www.york.ca/Publications/News/2002/February+08,+2002,+Drivers+have+more+options+in+northern+York+Region+after+improvements+to+Green+Lan.htm |archive-date = March 11, 2012 }}</ref>
On May 16, 2006, the MTO announced plans to extend Highway 404 by {{convert|15|km}} from Green Lane to Ravenshoe Road at the south end of Keswick. The first contracts were awarded later that year for the construction of the northbound bridge over Green Lane,<ref>{{cite web |title = Report No. 8 of the Transportation and Works Committee Regional Council Meeting of September 21, 2006 |url = http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/vm6g5nsyd37efsdsklbvckum3z5zboksc3roqpmipkvr66uogrx23phj23wiizdd4qjt23frrpsgm2g7peyyqdyq6h/rpt+8+cls+15.pdf |author = York Region Transportation and Works Committee |publisher = Regional Municipality of York |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120311033004/http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/vm6g5nsyd37efsdsklbvckum3z5zboksc3roqpmipkvr66uogrx23phj23wiizdd4qjt23frrpsgm2g7peyyqdyq6h/rpt+8+cls+15.pdf |archive-date = March 11, 2012 }}</ref>
followed by two structures over Mount Albert Road, west of Woodbine Avenue, begun in late 2008 and completed in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title = New Bridges Planned for Future Highway 404 Extension at Mount Albert Road |publisher = Daily Commercial News and Construction Record |date = November 10, 2008 |url = http://dailycommercialnews.com/Infrastructure/News/2008/11/New-bridges-planned-for-future-Highway-404-extension-at-Mount-Albert-Road-DCN031262W/ |access-date = April 16, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite sign |title = Mount Albert interchange bridge date stamp |year = 2009 |type = Bridge stamp (concrete) |location = Mount Albert overpass at Highway 404 }}</ref>
By April 2011, the extension had been cleared and graded.<ref>{{cite report |title = Highway 404 Extension Status Update |publisher = Government of Ontario |date = January 12, 2011 |url = http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/udddjlyflzm2h4kzbbrszlbvzlaxcutsjr4ktjnyscae23nquep5jaimaw4eorzw5b3xvhu4deyt74coreqehqx4kg/rpt+1+pres+Kandiah.pdf |access-date = April 26, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120311033032/http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/udddjlyflzm2h4kzbbrszlbvzlaxcutsjr4ktjnyscae23nquep5jaimaw4eorzw5b3xvhu4deyt74coreqehqx4kg/rpt+1+pres+Kandiah.pdf |archive-date = March 11, 2012 }}</ref>
Completion was originally scheduled for December 15, 2012, with landscaping work to continue the following spring.<ref>{{cite news |title = Highway 404 Extension to Open Next Year |first = David |last = Fleischer |publisher = Metroland Media |date = June 29, 2011 |url = http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1035430--hwy-404-extension-to-open-next-year |access-date = December 18, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = ((404 Extension to Be Delayed by at Least Another Year)) |publisher = 680 News |date = October 10, 2012 |url = http://www.680news.com/2012/10/10/404-extension-to-be-delayed-by-at-least-another-year |access-date = August 20, 2014 }}</ref>
However, due to soil conditions and utility relocation issues, the project was delayed by nearly two years. The C$99 million extension opened on September 17, 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title = Highway 404 Extension Opens |first = Dave |last = Bradley |work = NewsTalk 1010 |date = September 17, 2014 |url = http://www.newstalk1010.com/news/2014/09/17/highway-404-extension-opens |access-date = September 17, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141223050831/http://www.newstalk1010.com/news/2014/09/17/highway-404-extension-opens |archive-date = December 23, 2014 }}</ref>
=== 2016-2024 expansion ===
On December 9, 2016, the MTO announced that the segment between [[Ontario Highway 407|Highway 407]] and Stouffville Road would be widened from six to eight lanes with the additional inner lanes to be used as HOV lanes.<ref name="thewidening">{{cite press release |title = Ontario and Canada Partnering to Expand Highway 404 |publisher = Government of Ontario |date = December 9, 2016 |url = https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2016/12/ontario-and-canada-partnering-to-expand-highway-404.html |access-date = December 11, 2016 }}</ref> Much of the work involved paving over the remainder of the grass median and erecting a concrete barrier. A complex part of this project involved the staged replacement of the existing 16th Avenue and [[Rouge River (Ontario)|Rouge River]] bridges that have been in service when the freeway opened; the old 16th Avenue underpasses had been widened twice (in 1988 for new ramps, and in 2002 for the freeway expansion) but still only permitted four lanes of an increasingly congested 16th to pass through, while the old Rouge River bridges were originally designed with two freeway lanes each and for the 2002 expansion they were restriped for three lanes by removing the [[Shoulder (road)|shoulders]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.hwy404hov.info/ |title = Highway 404 Expansion, Highway 407ETR to Major Mackenzie Drive |publisher = Sphere Construction |access-date = April 19, 2022 }}</ref> A carpool lot was added at Major Mackenzie Drive at the start of the project. Construction north of Major Mackenzie Drive started in 2017 and was completed in 2021,<ref name="news2019">{{cite news |last1 = Persico |first1 = Amanda |title = What's Going on Here?: Widening Hwy. 404 at Stouffville Road |url = https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/9139505-what-s-going-on-here-widening-hwy-404-at-stouffville-road/ |access-date = January 24, 2020 |work = YorkRegion.com |publisher = Metroland Media |date = January 23, 2019 |language = en-CA }}</ref> while construction south of Major Mackenzie started in 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in June 2024.<ref>https://www.hwy404hov.info/</ref>
== Future ==
Long term proposals by the province call for Highway 404 to be extended to [[Ontario Highway 12|Highway 12]], between [[Sunderland, Ontario|Sunderland]] and [[Beaverton, Ontario|Beaverton]]. This extension would follow a new alignment to [[Port Bolster, Ontario|Port Bolster]], east of which the freeway would incorporate the existing two lanes of Highway 48. It has drawn criticism from various environmental groups who claim it will only serve to accelerate [[urban sprawl]] north of Toronto.<ref>{{cite news |title = ((404 Extension a Highway to Sprawl, Environmental Groups Charge)) |first = Mark |last = Winfield |publisher = The Pembina Institute |
== Exit list ==
Line 438 ⟶ 188:
| exit = 27
| road = {{jcon|York|7|[[Ontario Highway 7|Highway 7]]}}
| notes = Highway 7 until April 1, 1999<ref>{{cite report |title = Highway Transfers List |publisher = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |date = April 1, 1997 |pages = 3, 4, 6–8 }}</ref>
}}
{{ONint
| |||