Ontario Highway 404 Photographs - Page 6 - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

Left - Facing north along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension from Green Lane near Newmarket. The new highway extension from Newmarket to Keswick will open to traffic in September, 2014. The extension will add almost 13 km to the length of Hwy 404. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Green Lane Interchange on Hwy 404 near Newmarket, facing north. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2004 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Green Lane Interchange on Hwy 404 near Newmarket, facing south. The newly-built southbound Hwy 404 exit ramp to Green Lane is a two-lane exit. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension at the Green Lane Interchange near Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing south along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension towards the Green Lane Interchange near Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - New Hwy 404 Extension, facing north from the Green Lane Interchange near Newmarket. The Hwy 404 Extension has a concrete road surface. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - On-ramps to northbound Hwy 404 from the Green Lane Interchange. The westbound-to-northbound ramp at left has an extraordinarily long acceleration distance, since the ramp merges with the mainline lanes of Hwy 404 on the inside of a horizontal curve in the highway's alignment while the highway is also ascending a grade. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The lengthy westbound-to-northbound Hwy 404 acceleration lane finally drops after more than a kilometre as Hwy 404 rounds this curve near Mount Albert Road. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension towards the dual Mount Albert Road Underpass structures north of Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Newly-installed route marker on the Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Unopened Hwy 404 Extension near Mount Albert Road, facing south towards Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The Hwy 404 Extension is scheduled to open to traffic in September, 2014. This long-awaited highway extension will provide much-needed relief to the existing arterial roads in the area, which experience significant congestion at peak times. The extension of Hwy 404 from Newmarket to Keswick will add almost 13 km to the length of the highway. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Dual Mount Albert Road Underpass structures on the Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing west along Mount Albert Road towards the Hwy 404 Extension. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Northbound Hwy 404 structure over Mount Albert Road. The Mount Albert Road structures were completed in 2009, well in advance of the rest of the highway grading. The recently-graded highway can be seen in the background. Compare this 2012 photo to the one at right from 2014, showing the completed highway lanes. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south across the northbound Mount Albert Road Underpass on the unopened Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed northbound Hwy 404 structure over Mount Albert Road in 2012, facing north. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north across the northbound Mount Albert Road Underpass on the Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket, shortly before being opened to traffic. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Grading for the future northbound lanes of Hwy 404 near Mount Albert Road in 2012, facing south. The photo at right shows the same location two years later, with the concrete pavement surface completed. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south along the completed northbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension from Mount Albert Road in 2014, shortly before being opened to traffic. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed northbound Hwy 404 structure over Mount Albert Road in 2012, facing north. The deck had already been overlaid with an asphalt driving surface at the time this photo was taken. Grading for the future dual roadways was taking place in the background. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Structure identification number and date stamp (2009) on the Mount Albert Road Underpass on the Hwy 404 Extension. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Construction work on the Hwy 404 Extension at Mount Albert Road in 2012, facing north. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed Hwy 404 Extension at Mount Albert Road in 2014, shortly before being opened to traffic. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Southbound Hwy 404 structure over Mount Albert Road in 2012. Note that the bridge still had an exposed concrete deck in this photo. The waterproofing membrane and asphalt roadway surface had not yet been constructed. Compare this 2012 photo to the one at right from 2014, showing the completed highway lanes. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north across the southbound Mount Albert Road Underpass on the unopened Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension at Mount Albert Road, facing south towards Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Grading work for the Queensville Sideroad Interchange on the Hwy 404 Extension north of Newmarket in 2012, facing southeast. Concrete culvert installation had already been completed when this photo was taken. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Grading work for the new Hwy 404 Extension, facing south from Queensville Sideroad. The black-and-white hump seen in the foreground is a concrete arch culvert, which will be buried as grading work continues and the highway is brought up to final grade. Compare this 2012 photo to the one at right from 2014, showing the completed highway lanes. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south towards Newmarket along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension from Queensville Sideroad in 2014. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed concrete arch culvert under the future Hwy 404 Extension near Queensville Sideroad in 2012. Compare this photo to the one at right, taken from the same location two years later. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed Queensville Sideroad Interchange in 2014, facing southwest. The eastern portal of the concrete arch culvert in the 2012 photo at left can be seen in the foreground. Note the large amount of earth fill brought in to complete the highway to finished grade. Much of the fill material used here came from an area immediately north of Queensville Sideroad, where an earth cut was constructed to carry the new highway past a small hill. Balancing earth cut and fill quantities is a key consideration when selecting a new highway alignment. Having too much or too little fill material greatly increases the cost of highway construction. This is particularly true of the latter situation, where fill material may have to be trucked into the construction site from a distant location. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing east towards the Queensville Sideroad Overpass construction site on the Hwy 404 Extension in 2012. During construction, Queensville Sideroad was taken off of its original alignment to bypass the bridge construction site. Although this expensive diversion was ultimately closed and removed once the bridge was completed, it was the only way to build the new bridge without permanently skewing the alignment of Queensville Sideroad approaching the Hwy 404 Interchange. Staging construction while still maintaining traffic is a complex engineering challenge for most of the Ministry of Transportation's highway construction projects. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Construction of the Queensville Sideroad Overpass on the Hwy 404 Extension. As a result of the construction of the new interchange at Hwy 404, the grade of Queensville Sideroad had to be raised by several metres compared to its original alignment. The amount of fill required to bring the road up to its final grade was considerable. The extension of Hwy 404 from Newmarket to Keswick was a major undertaking. The grading alone took several construction seasons to complete. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Construction of the new Queensville Sideroad Overpass on the Hwy 404 Extension in 2012. Note the diversion of Queensville Sideroad in the foreground, which allowed traffic to pass around the bridge construction site. Compare this 2012 photo to the one at right from 2014, showing the completed structure. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed Queensville Sideroad Overpass on the Hwy 404 Extension in 2014. The temporary diversion of Queensville Sideroad shown in the 2012 photo has been removed and the freeway has been completed to final grade. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Structure identification number and date stamp (2012) on the Queensville Sideroad Overpass on the Hwy 404 Extension. Special decorative concrete formwork was used during construction of the Queensville Sideroad Overpass. The resulting cast-in-place concrete has the appearance of being made out of stone blocks. This attractive and inexpensive treatment greatly improves the aesthetics of this bridge. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The retaining wall and parapet wall of the Queensville Sideroad Overpass were constructed using the decorative concrete formwork. Understandably, the prefabricated structural girders of the bridge were not constructed using the decorative concrete formwork. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension, facing south from the Queensville Sideroad Overpass. The ramps at this interchange are in a "Parclo A-B" configuration, with two ramps situated in both the southeast and southwest interchange quadrants. This interchange type is rarely used in Ontario, unless there is some type of physical or topographical constraint. In this case, the steep-sided hills to the north of Queensville Sideroad would have made construction of a standard "Parclo A-4" interchange cost-prohibitive, due to the amount of earth grading that would have been required. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south along the northbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension from the Queensville Sideroad Overpass, shortly before the highway was opened to traffic. Note the configuration of the four ramps at this unusual "Parclo A-B" interchange. All ramps at Queensville Sideroad are located on the south half of the interchange. There are no ramps on the northern side of the interchange. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Southbound Hwy 404 Exit at Queensville Sideroad. The new interchange at Queensville Sideroad was the only full interchange constructed as part of the Hwy 404 Extension. The Green Lane Interchange at the southern end of the Hwy 404 Extension was partially opened in 2002, when Hwy 404 was extended north from Davis Drive. At the northern terminus of the Hwy 404 Extension, the freeway comes to an end at a signalized intersection at Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Queensville Sideroad Overpass on the Hwy 404 Extension, facing south. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north towards Keswick along the unopened Hwy 404 Extension from the Queensville Sideroad Overpass. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Grading work on the Hwy 404 Extension in 2012, facing south at Holborn Road. No grade separation was built at Holborn Road. It was closed to through traffic and truncated at a cul-de-sac on each side of the freeway. A future 400-Series Highway will begin at Hwy 404 immediately south of Holborn Road and run west to Hwy 400. The new highway is still very early in the planning stages, so it has not yet been assigned a route number. This proposed highway is currently referred to as the "Bradford Bypass". See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along the future Hwy 404 Extension from Holborn Road in 2012. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Unopened Hwy 404 Extension, facing south near Boag Road. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Construction of the grade separations at Boag Road on the Hwy 404 Extension south of Keswick in 2012. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed Boag Road Underpasses on the new Hwy 404 Extension near Keswick, facing east. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - The twin Boag Road Underpass structures on Hwy 404 are single-span concrete rigid frame bridges. These cast-in-place structures were built using the same decorative concrete formwork used on the nearby Queensville Sideroad Overpass. Thus, the resulting structures have the appearance of being made out of stone. They are arguably the most aesthetically pleasing bridge structures built by the Ministry of Transportation on an Ontario freeway in nearly two decades. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension at Boag Road, facing north towards Keswick. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Northbound Boag Road Underpass structure on the Hwy 404 Extension. This attractive single-span concrete rigid frame bridge was cast-in-place using special decorative concrete formwork, so that the bridge has the appearance of being made out of stone. This bridge has some similarities in appearance to the Victoria Avenue Overpass, which is located on Hwy 420 in Niagara Falls. During construction of the Rainbow Bridge Approach in 1941, a new structure was built to carry Victoria Avenue over the new dual highway linking the Queen Elizabeth Way to the Rainbow Bridge. The Victoria Avenue Overpass, also a concrete rigid frame structure, was faced with decorative stone so that it formed an impressive "gateway" structure as motorists entered the Ontario Highway System from the United States. Hopefully, more bridges are built in Ontario in the future using the decorative concrete formwork used to build the Boag Road Underpass structures, as it certainly improves the aesthetics of a freeway. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed northbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension at Boag Road, facing south towards Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed northbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension at Boag Road, facing north towards Keswick. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Northbound Boag Road Underpass structure on the Hwy 404 Extension, facing south towards Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Southbound Boag Road Underpass structure on the Hwy 404 Extension, facing south towards Newmarket. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed Hwy 404 Extension, facing south towards the twin Boag Road Underpass structures south of Keswick. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along the northbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension near the twin Boag Road Underpass structures. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Advance exit sign for Woodbine Avenue on the northbound Hwy 404 Extension. Although it isn't indicated on this sign, the freeway terminates at Woodbine Avenue. Exits along Hwy 404 are numbered based on their approximate distance in kilometres from Downtown Toronto. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - The Hwy 404 Extension rounds this curve north of Boag Road and reaches its northern terminus at Woodbine Avenue in the background. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Completed southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension, facing north towards Woodbine Avenue near Keswick. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Distance guide sign on southbound Hwy 404 near the highway's northern terminus at Woodbine Avenue near Keswick. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Approaching the northern terminus of the Hwy 404 Extension at Woodbine Avenue. Note the special yellow warning sign at right, indicating the upcoming end of the freeway. The Hwy 404 Extension will open to traffic from Green Lane to Woodbine Avenue in September, 2014. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Close-up of the special yellow warning sign approaching the northern terminus of the Hwy 404 Extension in Keswick. In recent years, the Ministry of Transportation has been getting more creative in terms of providing advance warning signs at the end of freeways. Terminating a freeway requires particularly careful engineering design and signing considerations, since drivers need advance warning to adjust from a controlled-access freeway driving environment to a lower-speed arterial highway driving environment. This sign, placed 800 metres before the traffic signals at Woodbine Avenue, provides drivers with enough warning that they can comfortably decelerate to the freeway's terminus without the need of an unnecessary regulatory speed limit reduction. A series of progressively-reduced advisory speed signs are posted to encourage drivers to slow down. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Shortly after the warning sign depicted at left, the lanes of Hwy 404 begin to shift out of alignment. All traffic is forced off of the freeway at Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - The northbound lanes of Hwy 404 continue to be spiralled out from the future through lanes of the freeway on the final approach to Woodbine Avenue. This subtle geometric treatment provides drivers with advance warning that the freeway is about to end. The temporary concrete barrier (TCB) at left blocks off the future through lanes of Hwy 404, which end just beyond the checkerboard sign in the background. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Although no grade separation or interchange has been constructed yet at Woodbine Avenue, the freeway terminates on what will eventually be the northbound off-ramp to Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - This checkerboard sign with a supplementary flashing beacon prominently announces to drivers that they are being diverted off of the freeway at Woodbine Avenue. Note the end of the concrete highway just beyond the checkerboard sign. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Exit sign for Woodbine Avenue on the northbound Hwy 404 Extension near Keswick. It is rather strange to see a rural freeway exit sign without a destination. Picking an appropriate destination to sign within geographically large and predominantly rural "towns" such as Whitchurch-Stouffville can be challenging, since there are often no qualified destinations or defined town centres that would be easily recognizable to motorists. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - At Woodbine Avenue, all northbound Hwy 404 traffic is forced to exit the freeway. This future off-ramp to Woodbine Avenue was built as a two-lane exit. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The future northbound through lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension end abruptly just beyond the exit ramp to Woodbine Avenue near Keswick. The Ministry of Transportation has conceptual plans to extend Hwy 404 northeasterly from this point to Sutton and Beaverton, but construction of this future extension of Hwy 404 is not imminent. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - End of the concrete for the northbound lanes of Hwy 404, facing south near Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The final 400 metres of Hwy 404 is actually a future interchange exit ramp to Woodbine Avenue. The ramp terminates at a signalized intersection. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along the southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension at the end of the concrete highway near Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Start of the concrete for the Hwy 404 Extension near Woodbine Avenue south of Keswick. The southbound lanes entering the highway from Woodbine Avenue shift into their correct alignment immediately downstream of this point. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Completed southbound lanes of the Hwy 404 Extension, facing south towards Newmarket near Woodbine Avenue. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 10, 2014 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Grading work for the Hwy 404 Extension at Woodbine Avenue near Keswick in 2012, facing south. See an Enlarged Photo here.
(Photograph taken on August 30, 2012 - © Cameron Bevers)