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All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the Ontario
Ministry of Transportation, unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are arranged in
approximate chronological order. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image!
Please note that all photographs displayed on this
website are protected by copyright. These photographs must not be reproduced, published,
electronically stored or copied, distributed, or posted onto other websites without
my written permission. If you want to use photos from this website, please
email me first for permission. Thank-you!
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Page 3: Historical Highway 401 Photographs (1960 to 1969)
 Above - Grading operations on the Tilbury Bypass (Hwy 401) in 1960. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - View of the Hwy 401 & Hwy 11A (Avenue Road) Cloverleaf in Toronto after a winter snowstorm (1960) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Flush median on the Humber River Bridge in Toronto. This bridge near Weston Road was originally designed to carry two lanes per direction on Hwy 401. During the 1960s, the construction of the Express-Collector Lane System on Hwy 401 through Toronto necessitated the widening of the Humber River Bridge from 4 through lanes to 12 through lanes. Photo taken in October, 1960. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Hwy 25 Cloverleaf on Hwy 401 in Milton, facing east towards Toronto (March 28, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing north across the Hwy 25 Overpass on Hwy 401 in Milton (March 28, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Facing west towards Henry Street from the Hwy 12 Interchange on Hwy 401 in Whitby (June, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing north across the Henry Street Overpass on Hwy 401 in Whitby (June, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Approaching the Simcoe Street Interchange on Hwy 401 in Oshawa, facing east (June, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Concrete arch bridge on Hwy 401 over Oshawa Creek, near the Simcoe Street Interchange in Oshawa (June, 1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Hwy 401 at the Woodbine Avenue Interchange (now Don Valley Parkway & Hwy 404), facing northwest (June, 1961) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-5-16, Box B1104, Neg. #1344) This great aerial photo shows the layout of the Hwy 401 & Woodbine Avenue Interchange prior to the construction of the northernmost part of the Don Valley Parkway in the late 1960s. In 1967, this small four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange was replaced with the complex interchange that we are familiar with today. During the 1970s, the remainder of Woodbine Avenue from Hwy 401 northerly to Steeles Avenue was reconstructed as Hwy 404.  Above - Hwy 401 at the McCowan Road Overpass in Scarborough, facing northwest (June, 1961) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-5-17, Box B1104, Neg. #1338) Anyone familiar with suburban Scarborough today will undoubtedly be shocked by this rather rural aerial photo from 1961. The photo shows the McCowan Road Overpass at Hwy 401, prior to the construction of the Express-Collector Lane System in the early 1970s. Until 1971, there was no interchange at McCowan Road. Traffic had to use Kennedy Road or Hwy 48 to access Hwy 401. Note the television station on the northwest corner of the overpass, which is still there today.  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 48 (Markham Road) Cloverleaf on Hwy 401 in Scarborough, facing east (June, 1961) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-5-17 Neg. #1328)   Above - Hwy 401 at the Harwood Avenue Interchange between Toronto and Oshawa in 1961. At the time this photo was taken, the twin Harwood Avenue span was still
under construction on the eastern side of the existing 1941 structure depicted here. Apart from the addition of an extra lane in each direction on Hwy 401 in the
mid-1970s, the Harwood Avenue Interchange remained more or less unmodified until 2003, when the interchange was permanently closed and the old dual overpasses were
replaced. Photo taken on June 15, 1961. See an Enlarged Photo here.Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Facing north across the Harwood Avenue Overpass on Hwy 401 in Ajax in 1961, shortly before being converted to a one-way street. During 1961, the
Harwood Avenue structure was twinned in order to provide a new roadway for northbound traffic. The original 1941 structure was converted so that it carried southbound
Harwood Avenue traffic only. Photo taken on June 15, 1961.Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing east across the Bloor Street Overpass on Hwy 401 in Oshawa (June 13, 1961)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 8 Cloverleaf and Grand River Bridge on Hwy 401 near Kitchener, facing east (October, 1961) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-21-10 Neg. #2466) 
 Left - New Grand River Bridge on Hwy 401 south of Kitchener (1961) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Concrete paving operations on Hwy 401 west of London (1962) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Grading underway for the new Waverly Road Interchange on Hwy 401 near Bowmanville (1962) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Liverpool Road Overpass on Hwy 401 in Pickering (May 11, 1962) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-162-5-166, Photo #8)  Above - Humber River Bridge on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1962. This photo shows the new Humber River Bridge that was built in 1955 to replace the bridge that was destroyed during Hurricane Hazel in October, 1954. The original Hwy 401 bridge at this site was completed in 1954, but was lost during Hurricane Hazel shortly before the bridge was scheduled to open to traffic. The unprecedented rainfall from the storm caused the normally peaceful Humber River to swell into a violent torrent of water. The rushing water scoured the riverbed, eventually undermining the bridge piers. The damage to the Humber River Bridge was so severe that Department of Highways engineers had little choice but to condemn the unopened bridge. The damaged bridge was demolished in November, 1954 to make way for the replacement bridge seen here. Photo taken in May, 1962. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - North side of the Humber River Bridge on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1962. The overpass across the highway in the background marks the Weston Road Interchange. When the Toronto Bypass was first built in the early 1950s, the Weston Road Interchange was only a four-ramp partial cloverleaf, with all of the ramps situated on the eastern side of Weston Road. This "A-B Parclo" configuration proved to be an economical design solution for the Weston Road Interchange, since it avoided the cost of building ramp bridges across the adjacent Humber River. During the reconstruction and widening of Hwy 401 during the 1960s, the original 1952 Weston Road Overpass seen here was demolished and the entire interchange was reconfigured into a "Parclo A-4" ramp configuration. Two of the new ramps on the western side of the interchange spanned the Humber River on separate structures, something which the original designers of the Toronto Bypass had obviously tried to avoid, given the initial interchange configuration. Photo taken in May, 1962. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Bayview Avenue Interchange on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1962. This photo shows the original Bayview Avenue Cloverleaf and Overpass, which were both constructed in 1953. The original cloverleaf interchange at Bayview Avenue was completely replaced in 1968 during the widening of Hwy 401. Compare this 1962 photo of the Bayview Avenue Underpass to the 1968 Photo shown below. Photo taken in May, 1962. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Wendell Avenue Underpass on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1962. This photo shows the original structure that was built in 1950 to carry the Toronto Bypass over Wendell Avenue. The bridge was expanded considerably in 1964 to accommodate the widening of Hwy 401 into an Express-Collector Lane System. Photo taken in May, 1962. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Henry Street Overpass on Hwy 401 in Whitby (August, 1963) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - New northbound Harwood Avenue Overpass on Hwy 401 in Ajax in 1963. Completed in late 1961, the new twin structure carries northbound Harwood Avenue
traffic over Hwy 401. The original 1941 structure seen in the background was converted into a one-way street carrying southbound traffic only. See an
Enlarged Photo here. Photo taken in September, 1963.Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Looking east along Hwy 401 towards the Woodstock Service Centres from the Foldens Line overpass (Now Interchange #222) in the early 1960s (ca. 1963) Photo © Laurie Esseltine Right - Looking east along Hwy 401 towards the Woodstock Service Centres from the same location in 2003. Photo © Laurie Esseltine 
 Left - Hwy 401 at the Hwy 35 & Hwy 115 Interchange, facing east towards Newcastle (June, 1965). See an
Enlarged Photo here.Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing north along Hwy 35 & Hwy 115 at the Hwy 401 Interchange near Newcastle (June, 1965)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 401 in Toronto after widening, showing the new three-level Hwy 400 Interchange and "The Basketweave" (1966) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Widened Dufferin Street Underpass on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1967. During the widening of the Toronto Bypass in the 1960s, many of Toronto's arterial streets passing over and below Hwy 401 were also widened. The original Dufferin Street Underpass was a single span concrete rigid frame structure that was constructed in 1950. The single span underpass could only accommodate a four-lane street. During construction of the adjacent Spadina Expressway Interchange in 1964, the original Dufferin Street Underpass was replaced with a new two-span, six lane structure. See an Enlarged Photo here. Photo taken in June, 1967. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Facing east along Hwy 401 at the Moore Road Overpass in Pickering in 1967. The original Moore Road Overpass seen here was constructed in 1961. It was
the very last single-span concrete rigid frame bridge constructed on Hwy 401. The Moore Road Overpass was demolished in 1982 to make way for the new interchange at
Whites Road. Photo taken in June, 1967. See an
Enlarged Photo here.Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Moore Road Overpass on Hwy 401 in Pickering, facing north towards Hwy 2 (June, 1967)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - New Bennett Road Overpass on Hwy 401 between Bowmanville and Newcastle (July, 1967)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing north across the new Bennett Road Overpass on Hwy 401 near Bowmanville (July, 1967)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial photo of the Hwy 401 and Spadina Expressway (Allen Road) Interchange, facing east (October, 1967) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-162-2-27, Box B983, Photo #982S)  Above - Close-up of the overhead freeway signage in the above photo. Note the sign on the right sign which says "Spadina Expwy". The Spadina Expressway was renamed Allen Road in 1969. Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-162-2-27, Box B983, Photo #982S) 
 Left - New Belfield Road Flyover on Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1968, shortly after it was completed. The flyover to Belfield Road was later incorporated into the route of Hwy 409 when it was built in the 1970s. Photo taken in October, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing west towards the new Belfield Road Flyover from the Hwy 401 Eastbound Collector Lanes in 1968. Today, this ramp is the eastern terminus of Hwy 409, where it joins into Hwy 401 near Islington Avenue. Note that at the time this photo was taken, the overhead signs for the Hwy 401 Express/Collector diverge had not yet been installed. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken in October, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Facing east along the Hwy 401 Collector Lanes towards the Hwy 400 Interchange (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - MacDonald-Cartier Freeway sign on the newly-completed Hwy 401 Collector Lanes at the Weston Road Interchange in 1968. The entire length of Hwy 401 was rededicated as the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway by Prime Minister John P. Robarts in 1965. The special highway dedication commemorates two of Canada's Fathers of Confederation, Sir John A. MacDonald and Sir George E. Cartier. Photo taken in October, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - New ramp connecting Southbound Weston Road to Westbound Hwy 401 (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - The new Southbound Weston Road ramp also spans the Humber River (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - North side of the widened Humber River Bridge on Hwy 401 in Toronto (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Humber River Bridge on Hwy 401 in Toronto. Note the new Weston Road Overpass and Interchange in the background (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - New ramp connecting Eastbound Hwy 401 to Weston Road in Toronto (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - The new exit ramp to Weston Road from Eastbound Hwy 401 also spans the Humber River (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Looking west towards the new Weston Road ramp spanning the Humber River on Hwy 401 (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing west along Hwy 401 from the Weston Road Overpass in 1968. This photo shows the newly-expanded section of Hwy 401 at the Humber River, with the Express-Collector Lane configuration. The Hwy 401 expansion was completed and opened to traffic from the Hwy 400 Interchange to Kipling Avenue on December 20, 1967. Photo taken in October, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Wendell Avenue Underpass on Hwy 401 in Toronto (October, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - New Bayview Avenue Underpass on Hwy 401 in Toronto. The original 1953 Bayview Avenue structure was removed and replaced with this new two-span structure in 1968. Photo taken in November, 1968. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Right - Facing east along the newly-completed Hwy 401 Collector Lanes at the Bayview Avenue Interchange in Toronto (November, 1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Hwy 401 facing east towards Leslie Street and Don Mills Road (1968) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation |
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