Ontario Highway 427 Photographs - Page 3 - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

Left - Overhead sign marking the Airport Expressway Exit on Westbound Hwy 401 in Toronto in 1971. Following the construction of the new interchange at Hwy 27 in the early 1970s, traffic heading westbound on Hwy 401 had to access the Airport Expressway (now Hwy 427 North) indirectly via a temporary on-ramp from Carlingview Drive. This sign was changed to read "Carlingview Drive" after the temporary on-ramp to the Airport Expressway near the Renforth Drive Underpass was closed in the early 1970s. Access to Toronto International Airport from Westbound Hwy 401 was greatly improved once Hwy 409 was completed in the 1970s. Photo taken on November 19, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2013)

Right - Facing south along the on-ramp from Northbound Hwy 27 (now Hwy 427) to Eastbound Hwy 401 in Toronto (November 19, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2013)

Left - Facing south along Hwy 27 towards the Hwy 401 Overpass in Toronto in 1971. Reconstruction of the Hwy 27 and Hwy 401 Interchange was a massive multi-year project, involving multiple construction contracts spanning a four-year period between 1968 and 1972. Here, the steel beam guide rail median barrier on Hwy 27 was in the process of being installed, as one of the interchange reconstruction contracts was nearing completion. Photo taken on November 19, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2013)

Right - Newly-constructed off-ramp from Westbound Hwy 401 to Southbound Hwy 27 in 1971. The construction staging for the Hwy 27 and Hwy 401 Interchange reconstruction project was extremely complicated. During some stages of the reconstruction project, this off-ramp to Southbound Hwy 27 also provided access to either Westbound Hwy 401 or the Airport Expressway, depending on the stage. Note the overhead guide sign further down the ramp, pointing to "Hwy 27 South TO QEW". Once the temporary right-hand exit from the ramp was closed off, this overhead sign became redundant and was eventually removed. The section of Hwy 27 south of the Hwy 401 Interchange was renumbered as Hwy 427 after reconstruction of the corridor was completed in 1972. Photo taken on November 19, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2013)

Left - Facing east along Hwy 5 (Dundas Street) at the Hwy 27 Interchange in Toronto in 1971. Note the overhead sign in the background, which was changed from Hwy 27 to Hwy 427 shortly after this photo was taken. The reconstructed freeway section of Hwy 27 through Toronto was renumbered as Hwy 427 in early 1972. Photo taken on November 23, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Right - Facing south along Southbound Hwy 27 towards the Queen Elizabeth Way from the Hwy 5 (Dundas Street) Interchange in Toronto (November 23, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Left - CP Railway Overhead on Hwy 27 in Toronto (November 23, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Right - North Queen Street Underpass on Hwy 27 in Toronto (November 23, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Left - Facing south along Northbound Hwy 27 towards the Queen Elizabeth Way from Hwy 5 (Dundas Street) in Toronto (November 23, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Right - Southbound Hwy 27 Basketweave near Bloor Street in Toronto in 1971. Note the interesting trapezoidal-shaped sign at the exit gore, reading "QEW" with a left arrow and "27" with a right arrow, which provided drivers with final assurance that they will get to the Queen Elizabeth Way by staying to the left. Photo taken on November 24, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Left - Facing north along Southbound Hwy 27 at the Bloor Basketweave in Toronto (November 24, 1971)
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Right - Approaching the Northbound Hwy 27 Basketweave near Bloor Street in Toronto in 1971. Although it isn't that easy to see in this photograph, the overhead sign in the background reads "KEEP LEFT 2 LANES TO 401". Early Ontario overhead freeway guide signs were unnecessarily wordy. Over the past 40 years, sign messages on overhead guide signs have been progressively simplified in an effort to reduce the amount of time it takes drivers to read and react to sign messages. In many instances, diagrams and arrows have supplanted text on overhead freeway guide signs. Photo taken on November 25, 1971.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2012)

Above - Facing west along Hwy 409 approaching the Hwy 427 & Indian Line Interchange in Toronto in 1978. Note that the high-level flyover from Southbound Hwy 427 to Eastbound Hwy 409 had not yet been constructed. The flyover wasn't built until the early 1990s. Motorists wishing to head east on Hwy 409 had to pass through a traffic signal on Hwy 427 in order to access the on-ramp to Eastbound Hwy 409. Also, note that Hwy 427 is only signed south from this interchange. The ramp leading to the north from Hwy 409 is signed as Indian Line. It wasn't until the early 1980s that the ramp to the north was signed as Hwy 427 as well. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken on June 9, 1978.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2013)

Above - Close-up view of the Hwy 409 and Hwy 427 Interchange in Toronto in 1979. Note that the ramp from southbound Hwy 427 to eastbound Hwy 409 intersected the northbound lanes of Hwy 427 at a signalized intersection. This traffic signal remained in place on the northbound lanes of Hwy 427 for years, until a direct freeway-to-freeway ramp flyover was completed at this interchange in 1992. Photo taken on April 20, 1979.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2011)

Left - Overhead signs on northbound Hwy 427 at the Hwy 401 Interchange. At the time this photo was taken, the north leg of Hwy 427 north of the Hwy 401 Interchange was signed as the Airport Expressway. Highway signs making reference to the Airport Expressway were removed during 1981, when the highway was reconstructed between Hwy 401 and Toronto International Airport. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken on June 13, 1979.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2016)

Right - Western side of the Hwy 427 & Airport Expressway Overpass on Hwy 401 in Toronto. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken on June 13, 1979.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2016)

Left - View underneath the dual Hwy 427 Overpasses over Hwy 401 in Toronto. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken on June 13, 1979.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2016)

Right - Mimico Creek Arch Culvert under Hwy 401 east of the Hwy 427 Interchange. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken in June 13, 1979.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation - © King's Printer for Ontario, 2016)