| 
| |
|
|
All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the
Webmaster (Cameron Bevers), unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are
arranged in approximate chronological order, while present day photographs (Year 2000 to date)
are arranged by location from south to north. 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!
|
|---|
|
Page 1: Historical Highway 404 Photographs
  Above - Facing north along Hwy 404 towards the freeway's original northern terminus at Steeles Avenue in Toronto (June 26, 1978)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway Interchange in Toronto (1978) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 404 & Sheppard Avenue Interchange in Toronto in 1978. The above photo shows the original interchange layout, before the ramps on the western side of the highway were reconfigured. At the time this photo was taken, Fairview Mall Drive had its own set of ramps to and from Southbound Hwy 404. The ramps to Fairview Mall Drive were closed in the 1980s when the ramps to Sheppard Avenue were realigned. The ramp modifications were carried out in order to provide more direct access between Hwy 404 and Fairview Mall. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 404 between Van Horne Avenue and the Finch Avenue Interchange in Toronto (1978) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 404 & Woodbine Avenue Interchange in Toronto in 1978. The above photo shows the original northern terminus of Hwy 404, before the highway was extended north towards Newmarket. Originally, all northbound traffic was forced to exit the freeway and use Woodbine Avenue to continue north. Southbound Woodbine Avenue traffic accessed the freeway via a flyover located immediately south of Steeles Avenue. The future Steeles Avenue Interchange can be seen under construction at left. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 404 during the highway's construction between Steeles Avenue and the CN Railway Overpass (1978) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 404 during the highway's construction between the CN Railway Overpass and the proposed site of Hwy 407 (1978) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 404 & Hwy 7 Interchange near Richmond Hill in 1978. The above photo shows the interchange while it was still under construction. This photo is of particular interest, because it shows the rural setting of this interchange before urban sprawl encroached into this area in the 1980s. Compare this photo with the 1988 photo below that was taken a decade later. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Facing north along Hwy 404 at the Woodbine & Steeles Avenue Interchange in Toronto (October 14, 1981)Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation This photo shows the unbelievably low traffic volumes on Hwy 404 in the early 1980s, before the highway was extended north from Hwy 7 to Newmarket. At the time this photo was taken, Richmond Hill and Markham were just small towns on the northern fringe of Toronto, with a total population of just over 90,000 residents. Today, these two sprawling suburban towns have a combined population of nearly a half-million residents.  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 404 & Hwy 7 Interchange near Richmond Hill (1988) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Hwy 404 facing south from the Steeles Avenue Interchange in Toronto (1992) Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation Although this photo isn't particularly old, the photo is historically significant because it shows Hwy 404 before a pair of recent reconstruction projects dramatically altered the appearance of this freeway. As a result, the highway looks quite different today than it did when this photo was taken in 1992. When Hwy 404 was originally built in the 1970s, it was only six lanes wide (three lanes per direction). One northbound lane was closed when this photo was taken, due to an ongoing highway resurfacing contract. The highway is now eight lanes wide (four lanes per direction), with a High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) carpool lane in each direction. Initially, Hwy 404 had a grass median with a continuous box beam median barrier beside the northbound lanes, and a discontinuous box beam barrier beside the southbound lanes through overpasses and overhead sign structures. The box beam median barrier was eventually replaced with a standard concrete median barrier. The luminaires used on Hwy 404 were unique; they were not used on any other freeway in Ontario. Sadly, they were removed during the conversion to high-mast illumination several years ago.  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 401 facing east from Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway interchange in 1999. Note the new ramp under construction in the foreground from eastbound Hwy 401 to northbound Hwy 404. The completed ramp can be seen in the aerial photographs which I took of this same interchange in May, 2004 (shown below). The above photo from 1999 was provided courtesy of Bruce Lamont - © 1999. |
|---|
|
Present Day Highway 404 Photographs (Toronto to Markham)
 Left - Aerial view of Don Valley Parkway at Lawrence Avenue cloverleaf, facing south (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Mark Mirrlees) Right - Aerial view of Hwy 404 facing north from Hwy 401 interchange (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Hwy 401 & Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway interchange facing southeast (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Hwy 401 facing east towards Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway interchange (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Hwy 401 & Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway interchange facing west (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Hwy 401 & Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway interchange facing south (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Aerial view of Sheppard Avenue interchange on Hwy 404 facing southeast (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Aerial view of Steeles Avenue interchange on Hwy 404, facing south (Photograph taken on May 30, 2004 - © Mark Mirrlees) |
|---|
