Ontario Highway 6 Photographs - Page 8 - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

Left - Hwy 6 South (Brock Road) Overpass on Hwy 401 north of Morriston. This four-span concrete box girder structure was completed in 1959. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north across the Hwy 6 Overpass on Hwy 401. Heading northbound, Hwy 6 runs concurrently with westbound Hwy 401 for 4 km. The overlapped route of Hwy 6 & Hwy 401 is marked on Hwy 6 itself as seen here, but is not actually marked along the freeway. Up until the 1970s, Hwy 6 used to continue north from this interchange towards Guelph via Brock Road. Originally, this was the only interchange for Guelph along Hwy 401. Today, traffic can access Guelph from Hwy 401 via either Brock Road (Old Hwy 6) or the Hwy 6 Bypass (Hanlon Parkway). See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Sign marking the entrance ramp to westbound Hwy 401. Hwy 6 turns right at the north ramp terminal and follows Hwy 401 along a short concurrent routing between Exit #299 (Hwy 6 South) and the Hanlon Parkway at Exit #295 (Hwy 6 North). The Hanlon Parkway was built in the 1970s to divert through traffic on Hwy 6 around Downtown Guelph. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing east along Hwy 401 towards Toronto from the Hwy 6 South Overpass near Morriston. The ramps at the Hwy 6 South Interchange are in an "A-2" partial cloverleaf configuration. This type of interchange ramp configuration is rather uncommon in Ontario. It is rather odd that Hwy 6 was not built with a full eight-ramp cloverleaf interchange when Hwy 401 was first built, especially considering the important role that Hwy 6 has always played in Ontario's highway network. The Hwy 6 Interchange was one of the only non-cloverleaf provincial highway interchanges along Hwy 401 between London and Toronto. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing west along Hwy 401 towards Cambridge from the Hwy 6 South Overpass near Morriston. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Western side of the Hwy 6 South Overpass on Hwy 401. This concrete box girder structure is arguably one of the least attractive bridges on Hwy 401 between Cambridge and Toronto. The recent bridge rehabilitation project certainly didn't help, when the old steel handrails were removed and replaced by concrete barriers. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on April 12, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Interchange near Guelph, facing north. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on June 22, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Interchange, facing west. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on June 22, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Interchange, facing southwest. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on June 22, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Interchange, facing south. Note the cleared right-of-way along the eastern side of Hwy 6 for a future northbound overpass across Hwy 401, which was never built. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on June 22, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Aerial view of the Hwy 401 & Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Interchange, facing northeast. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on June 22, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Overpass on Hwy 401 south of Guelph. Structure completed in 1974. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Green guide sign marking the upcoming Hwy 401 Interchange on the southbound Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North). The words "Keep Left" are seldom used on Ontario freeway signs anymore. Generally, ground-mounted signs such as this have been replaced over the years with diagrammatic signs at major freeway junctions where the correct lane choice isn't immediately apparent to the motorist. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Timber sign support structure for the Hwy 401 Interchange sign on the southbound Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North). Timber sign support structures for extruded aluminum highway signs were phased out rapidly during the 1990s when breakaway aluminum posts were introduced. Timber sign support structures, like the one shown here, are rarely found on Ontario's freeways anymore. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Overhead sign marking the Hwy 401 Interchange at the end of the Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North). This is an older Aluminum Tapered Leg (ATL) overhead sign support structure, commonly referred to by MTO as a "Type 1" gantry. These stylish arched truss sign support structures were used on Ontario's freeways from the mid 1960s until the late 1980s, but are quickly being phased out and replaced by new overhead sign support structures of different designs. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south across the Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North) Overpass at Hwy 401. This structure was built with a curbed centre median in order to separate the opposing traffic flows. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - This interesting warning sign alerts drivers to the sharp curve at the end of the Hanlon Expressway (Hwy 6 North), just before traffic merges with eastbound Hwy 401. The Hanlon Expressway Interchange ramps are in a "Trumpet A" configuration, where traffic entering the freeway uses the loop ramp and traffic exiting the freeway uses the directional ramp. In a "Trumpet B" ramp configuration, traffic exiting the freeway uses the loop ramp while traffic entering the freeway uses the directional ramp. There are many safety benefits of using an "A" configuration over a "B" configuration. However, in this instance, the predominant traffic flow from southbound Hwy 6 to eastbound Hwy 401 is forced to slow down for the loop ramp. Ideally, the movement with the heaviest traffic volume should be served by a directional ramp. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Route marker for Hwy 401 East and a "trailblazer" marker for Hwy 6 South. Although Hwy 6 runs concurrently with Hwy 401 for about 5 km, this is the only pair of route markers indicating the overlapped routing. It is interesting to note that there is no corresponding route marker assembly in the opposing direction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Green guide sign marking the upcoming Hwy 6 South Interchange. The words "Next Exit" are seldom used on Ontario freeway signs anymore. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 24, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Speed River Bridge on Gordon Street (Old Hwy 6) in Guelph. The classic concrete arch bridge design was rejuvenated in this beautiful modern structure. This bridge serves as a fine example of a modern bridge with outstanding aesthetics. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 13, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing south along Old Hwy 6 in Guelph at Speed River Bridge. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 13, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The parapets of the Speed River Bridge clearly demonstrate that artistic beauty and engineering safety can be complementary. This modified Jersey barrier parapet features recessed design elements and decorative lighting to improve the bridge's overall aesthetics. Unfortunately, examples of this type of creativity are exceedingly rare in modern bridge parapet designs. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 13, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Western side of Speed River Bridge on Old Hwy 6 in Guelph. This classically-inspired four-span concrete arch bridge was completed in 2000. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 13, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Old Hwy 6 in Guelph at Speed River Bridge. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on May 13, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)