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Highway 403 (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
King's Highway 403, also known as Highway 403, is a 400-series highway
in the Canadian
province of Ontario
that travels between Woodstock
and Mississauga, branching off from and reuniting with Highway 401 at both ends and travelling south of it through Hamilton
and Mississauga. It is concurrent
with the Queen Elizabeth Way
(QEW) for 22 km (13.7 mi) from Burlington
to Oakville
. Highway 403 is also known as the Chedoke Expressway or Chedoke Parkway within Hamilton
. Although the Highway 403 designation was first applied in 1963 to a short stub of freeway branching off of the QEW, the entire route was not completed until August 15, 1997, when the Brantford to Ancaster
section was opened to traffic.
It travels along the back lot lines of the second concession
south of former Highway 2, which Highway 403 largely serves as a bypass to. It passes beneath Oxford County Road 55 (formerly Highway 53) and curves southeast. After crossing into the third concession, it curves back to the east. The highway travels straight for some distance, meeting with the southern leg of Highway 24
, which travels south to Simcoe
.
The highway crosses the Grand River
to the south of Paris
, then passes over former Highway 2 as it enters into Brantford
. As it passes through Brantford, the highway angles southeast and passes beneath the northern leg of Highway 24 and then the Wayne Gretzky Parkway. It exits the small city to the east. Shortly after exiting Brantford, the highway curves northeast. It travels between Jerseyville Road and former Highway 2 to Ancaster
, jogging only to avoid cutting through Dunmark Lake. As the freeway enters Ancaster, it once again crosses former Highway 2 and dips through the southern side of the town.
East of Ancaster, the freeway passes through a short greenbelt, with Hamilton Golf and Country Club lying to the north. A short divided section of Highway 6 meets the freeway and continues concurrently with it to the north and east. To the south, it travels to John C. Munro International Airport, Caledonia
and Jarvis
at Highway 3
. Continuing, Highway 403 and Highway 6 curve north into Hamilton and pass the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
before abruptly curving to the east and descending the Niagara Escarpment
. Scenic views of Hamilton, its harbour, and a waterfall are both along this short, steep section. At the bottom of the escarpment the highway passes through a narrow, heavily developed corridor alongside former Highway 8
. It passes beneath multiple bridges in a depressed trench, eventually curving north at a sharp corner and passing beneath still more bridges. The highway returns to ground level alongside the Chedoke Creek, a now-channelized river from which the freeway may take its name.
As the freeway continues north, it crosses an isthmus
between Hamilton Harbour and Cootes Paradise
alongside several roads which it has served to replace. It circles around the northern shore of Hamilton Harbour and returns to an eastward orientation. The concurrency with Highway 6 ends at an interchange where Highway 403 continues east and Highway 6 travels north towards Guelph
. The freeway continues straight for several kilometres and meets the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 407 at the Freeman Interchange.
corridor through the centre of Mississauga. From here to Highway 401, high-occupancy vehicle
(HOV) lanes are present in the shoulder lanes for vehicles with at least one passenger. Pressed between residential subdivisions on both sides, the freeway passes beneath Erin Mills Parkway, dips slightly to the south and crosses the Credit River.
On the other side of the river, the freeway passes to the north of downtown Mississauga, as well as the Square One Shopping Centre
, the largest mall in Ontario. It passes beneath Hurontario Street
(once a section of Highway 10) and begins to widen. It abruptly curves to the north approaching Cawthra Road and widens further into a ten-lane collector-express system. This short section of highway passes beneath Eglinton Avenue
and begins to diverge into a sprawling interchange approaching Highway 401. Access to Highway 410, which continues northward to Brampton
, is provided from the collectors lanes.
returned from carving The Governor's Road 32 km (19.9 mi) through the thick forests between Dundas
and the present location of Paris
. John Graves Simcoe
was tasked with defending Upper Canada
from America following the revolution
and with opening the virgin territory to settlement. After establishing a "temporary" capital at York, Simcoe ordered an inland route constructed between Cootes Paradise
at the tip of Lake Ontario
and his proposed capital of London
. By the spring of 1794, the road was extended as far as La Tranche, now the Thames River
.
Today, most of this route forms part of Highway 2
and former Highway 5.
The paving of the divided four-lane Middle Road
, with gentle curves, a grass median and grade-separated interchanges, would set the stage for the freeway concept. It was the first intercity freeway in North America when it opened in June 1939.
Thomas McQueston, the new minister of the Department of Highways and the man most responsible for the Middle Road, decided to apply the concept to sections of Highway 2 plagued with congestion
. A portion east of Woodstock was rebuilt in this fashion, but World War II
would put an end to the ambitions of McQueston, at least temporarily.
heralded the resuming of freeway construction in Ontario; the advances in machinery more than made up for lost time.
The construction of Highway 401 across the province took first priority. However, the opening of the section from Highway 4 near London to Highway 2 east of Woodstock on May 31, 1957 would complete part of the route required between London and Hamilton.
By 1958, planning on Chedoke Expressway, or Controlled Access Highway 403 was well underway,
though plans for a four lane freeway between Woodstock and Hamilton were around as early as 1954.
The opening of the Freeman Bypass of the QEW in August 1958 provided a connection point for a new freeway,
and construction began between Freeman and Hamilton by 1961.
Highway 403 between Longwoods Road (Highway 2) and the QEW was officially opened to traffic on December 1, 1963 at a length of 9 km (5.6 mi). Work was already underway on the next section of the Chedoke that would extend the freeway to Aberdeen Avenue.
This section was opened on July 9, 1965 and extended the freeway by 3.7 km (2.3 mi).
Meanwhile on Highway 2, work had begun on a bypass of Brantford
. The new freeway passed north of the town between Paris Road in the west and the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 53
in the east, a distance of 6.4 mi (10.3 km). This section opened on October 31, 1966.
A portion of the Brantford Bypass was itself bypassed in 1997 when the final section of Highway 403 was completed and is known as Garden Avenue.
However, the Brantford Bypass would remain an isolated section of Highway 403 for over 20 years.
's regional transportation plan. It was to be a continuation of the Richview Expressway, which was ultimately never built, continuing from Toronto to Hamilton. The plan showed the expressway's eastern terminus as the Highway 401 and Highway 427 interchange. As Toronto's anti-expressway movement gained momentum, plans shifted the Hamilton Expressway to the west near Etobicoke Creek
. In 1962, the right-of-way alongside the hydro
corridor from Burlington to Etobicoke Creek was protected after traffic studies indicated the need for a future freeway.
On May 25, 1965, the Department of Highways unveiled the Toronto Region Western Section Highway Planning Study. The plan designated Highway 403 north from Burlington and then parallel with the QEW to Highway 401 near Highway 27.
Plans were modified when Bill Davis
became premier in 1971. Davis initiated construction of Highway 410 along the Heart Lake Road corridor. The two lane highway opened in 1978, featuring a single directional and loop ramp at Highway 401 to provide access to and from Toronto. This interchange was a better connection point for Highway 403, and plans were revised to have it turn north at Cawthra Road. These plans were submitted and approved in 1978 by Mississauga, and construction began.
The new freeway opened in sections in the early 1980s. The first section between Cawthra Road and Highway 401 was opened August 18, 1980.
This was followed by a short section from Highway 5 (Dundas Street) south to the QEW at Ford Drive, which opened in mid-1981. Later that year, an extension to Erin Mills Parkway was opened on November 17, 1981.
The final section to be opened took the longest to complete, involving construction of two bridges over the Credit River valley. It opened on December 2, 1982. The cost of the entire 22 km (13.7 mi) Mississauga segment was $87 Million.
Around the same period, the Ministry of Transportation began to study upgrading Highway 401 to a collector express system between Renforth Drive and Highway 403, and along Highway 403 between Highway 401 and Highway 10.
This took place throughout the 1980s, and was completed by 1985; The existing outermost ramps from Highway 403 to Highway 401 eastbound were re-designated to serve collector traffic, as a pair of flyover ramps were added inside the interchange to serve motorists in the express lanes.
The right-of-way originally intended for Highway 403 between Cawthra Road and Etobicoke Creek was eventually used for a controlled access arterial extension called Eastgate Parkway, which was planned beginning in 1982.
The extension was built between 1987 and 1990, incorporating a portion of Fieldgate Drive at the eastern end.
In the fall of 1991, alongside the widening of Highway 410 into a full freeway, construction began on the connecting ramps between Highway 403 and Highway 410, which pass under the existing bridge structures for Highway 401 collector traffic, while new overpasses were constructed in the center for Highway 401 express lanes. The loop ramp from Highway 410 southbound to Highway 401 eastbound was replaced by a semi-directional high-speed flyover, while a new directional ramp and semi-direction flyover were added to serve westbound 401 commuters. Prior to the opening of this link, traffic from both freeways was forced onto eastbound Highway 401.
The 2.2 km (1.4 mi) link opened on November 2, 1992 at a cost of $7.3 million.
opened in 1990. During the construction of the flyover ramp where Highway 403 westbound terminates, Highway 401 westbound traffic was diverted to the partially completed flyover embankment in order to accelerate construction of the rest of the overpass. Highway 403 was briefly left with three discontinuous sections; Brantford-Woodstock, Hamilton-Ancaster, and Mississauga. As a temporary stopgap, traffic from the Woodstock segment was routed to Highway 2 in order to connect with the Hamilton segment. The last remaining gap between Brantford and Ancaster was plagued by numerous delays, and finally opened in 1997. Highway 2
, which was the only parallel route before the completion of Highway 403, was subsequently downloaded.
measures and compensation.
In the late-1980s and early-1990s, the Mississauga section of Highway 403 played host to over two dozen fatal accidents over a five-year period, one of the highest rates in North America at the time, despite being up to modern road standards. This led Peel Regional Police and the media to nickname it the 'Death Highway'. In particular the stretch from Mavis Road to Erin Mills Parkway has been the site of numerous accidents. Highway 403 features a downward slope as motorists head eastbound towards the Mavis Road interchange, where drivers frequently complain of having to slam on the brakes when traffic comes to a standstill due to a sudden increase in volume, causing numerous rear-end collisions. There is also glare from the sun that causes vision problems throughout the day.
After this decision, the province planned to renumber the Mississauga section as an extension of Highway 410, as that would have eliminated confusion with the unconnected Highway 403 segment in Woodstock/Hamilton, but that idea was later abandoned to avoid confusion for people accustomed to the "403" designation which has been use since 1982. Also, Highway 403 runs east-west for the most part, while Highway 410 is intended to run north-south (with future plans to have Highway 410 eventually run to Owen Sound
).
The freeway was finally made continuous in 2002, when the section of the QEW which connects both segments was co-signed
as Highway 403, a rarity for 400-series highways.
In 2002, the right shoulders between Erin Mills Parkway and Mavis Road were widened for GO Transit and Mississauga Transit to run express bus services. In 2003, high-mast lighting was added to the previously unlit Mississauga section between Highway 407 and Eastgate Parkway. Due to land availability afforded by the hydro corridor which runs along the north side of the freeway, the high-mast poles are mounted on the north shoulder instead of in the median. This project preceded the widening of Highway 403 between Winston Churchill Blvd and Highway 401/410, which saw a High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane added in each direction; the project started in summer of 2004 and these opened on December 13, 2005. The HOV lanes and the dividing Ontario Tall Wall
concrete barrier were constructed using the existing right-of-way provided by the grass median. The conventional truss lighting between Eastgate Parkway and Highway 401/410, which had been installed in 1986, was replaced by shoulder-mounted high-mast lighting in late 2004.
Sufficient right-of-way exists at the Highway 401-403-410 junction for a loop ramp from Highway 403 eastbound to Highway 401 westbound, and a directional ramp for vice versa, which would give Highway 401 eastbound traffic direct access to Cawthra Road, making it a full four-way interchange
. These links will be completed when Highway 401 is widened to a 12-lane collector-express system west towards Hurontario Street.
|rowspan="2"|Oxford County
|rowspan="2"|Norwich
|0.0
|
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|5.4
|6
|
|Formerly Highway 53
|-
|rowspan="7"|Brant
|rowspan="2"|Brant
|15.3
|16
|
|-
|26.7
|27
|
Rest Acres Road – Paris
|Western end of Highway 24 concurrency
|-
|rowspan=5|Brantford
|30.2
|30
|
Oak Park Road
|-
|33.1
|33
|
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|35.7
|36
|
|Eastern end of Highway 24 concurrency; formerly Highway 24A south
|-
|38.3
|38
|Wayne Gretzky Parkway
|-
|40.7
|41
|Garden Avenue – Cainsville
|-
|rowspan="9" colspan="2"|Hamilton
|55.2
|55
|
|-
|58.5
|58
|Wilson Street
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|60.3
|60
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|61.4
|61
|
Garner Road
|Western end of Highway 6 concurrency
|-
|64.3
|64
|Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
Rousseaux Street
|-
|69.1
|69
|Aberdeen Avenue
|-
|70.5
|70
|Main Street
|Formerly Highway 8
|-
|72.8
|73
|York Boulevard
|Westbound exit and eastbound exit; formerly Highway 6 south
|-
|74.2
|74
|
|Eastern end of Highway 6 concurrency
|-
|rowspan="22"|Halton Region
|rowspan="9"|Burlington
|77.5
|78
|Waterdown Road
|Originally designed only with an Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; full interchange opened on November 1, 2010
|-
|colspan="4" align="center"|Highway 403 assumes exit numbers of QEW
|-
|rowspan="2"|81.7
|rowspan="2"|100
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|
|Western end of QEW concurrency
|-
|82.5
|101
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|84.4
|102
|
|
|-
|86.4
|105
|Walkers Line
|
|-
|88.5
|107
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|90.5
|rowspan="2"|109
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="13"|Oakville
|- bgcolor="#d3d3d3"
|92.1
|110
|Service Road
|Access removed in 2008 to accommodate widening of the QEW
|-
|92.5
|111
|
|
|-
|94.6
|113
|3rd Line
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|97.7
|rowspan="2"|116
|
|
|-
|Kerr Street
|Westbound exit only
|-
|98.8
|118
|
|
|-
|101.2
|119
|Royal Windsor Drive
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; formerly Highway 122
|-
|104.3
|123
|
|Eastern end of QEW concurrency; Highway 403 exits mainline
|-
|colspan="4" align="center"|Highway 403 exit numbers resume
|-
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"|104
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|Upper Middle Drive East
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=2|106.3
|rowspan=2|106
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan="9"|Peel
|rowspan="9"|Mississauga
|-
|109.4
|109
|
|-
|111.4
|111
|Winston Churchill Boulevard
|-
|113.0
|113
|
|-
|117.6
|117
|Mavis Road, Centre View Drive
|-
|119.7
|119
|Hurontario Street
|Formerly Highway 10
|-
|
|121
|
Eastgate Parkway
|-
|122.4
|122
|Eglinton Avenue
|Eastbound exit is via exit 121
|-
|125.2
|125
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|colspan="6" align="center"| continues north as
|}
400-series highways (Ontario)
The 400-series highways are a network of controlled-access highways throughout the southern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario, forming a special subset of the provincial highway system. They are analogous to the Interstate Highway System in the United States or the British Motorway...
in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
that travels between Woodstock
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
and Mississauga, branching off from and reuniting with Highway 401 at both ends and travelling south of it through Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
and Mississauga. It is concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
with the Queen Elizabeth Way
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...
(QEW) for 22 km (13.7 mi) from Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
to Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
. Highway 403 is also known as the Chedoke Expressway or Chedoke Parkway within Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. Although the Highway 403 designation was first applied in 1963 to a short stub of freeway branching off of the QEW, the entire route was not completed until August 15, 1997, when the Brantford to Ancaster
Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...
section was opened to traffic.
Woodstock – Burlington
Highway 403 begins at a junction with Highway 401 on the outskirts of Woodstock. The eastbound lanes split from eastbound Highway 401, whereas the westbound lanes merge into westbound Highway 401.It travels along the back lot lines of the second concession
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
south of former Highway 2, which Highway 403 largely serves as a bypass to. It passes beneath Oxford County Road 55 (formerly Highway 53) and curves southeast. After crossing into the third concession, it curves back to the east. The highway travels straight for some distance, meeting with the southern leg of Highway 24
Ontario Highway 24
Highway 24 is a highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which presently begins at Highway 3 in Simcoe, and ends at Highway 401, in Cambridge. Highway 24 runs in a north/south direction and has been in service since 1927...
, which travels south to Simcoe
Simcoe, Ontario
Simcoe is an unincorporated community and former town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada located near Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest community of Norfolk County....
.
The highway crosses the Grand River
Grand River (Ontario)
The Grand River is a large river in southwestern Ontario, Canada. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland...
to the south of Paris
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
, then passes over former Highway 2 as it enters into Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
. As it passes through Brantford, the highway angles southeast and passes beneath the northern leg of Highway 24 and then the Wayne Gretzky Parkway. It exits the small city to the east. Shortly after exiting Brantford, the highway curves northeast. It travels between Jerseyville Road and former Highway 2 to Ancaster
Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...
, jogging only to avoid cutting through Dunmark Lake. As the freeway enters Ancaster, it once again crosses former Highway 2 and dips through the southern side of the town.
East of Ancaster, the freeway passes through a short greenbelt, with Hamilton Golf and Country Club lying to the north. A short divided section of Highway 6 meets the freeway and continues concurrently with it to the north and east. To the south, it travels to John C. Munro International Airport, Caledonia
Caledonia
Caledonia is the Latinised form and name given by the Romans to the land in today's Scotland north of their province of Britannia, beyond the frontier of their empire...
and Jarvis
Jarvis, Ontario
Jarvis is a small community in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Jarvis is located near the towns of Simcoe, Townsend, Cayuga, Port Dover and Hagersville. It is located at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Highway 6.- Facilities :...
at Highway 3
Ontario Highway 3
King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3 and historically as the Talbot Trail, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the shore of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which runs from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor...
. Continuing, Highway 403 and Highway 6 curve north into Hamilton and pass the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
The Lincoln Alexander Parkway, officially nicknamed "The Linc", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario. Located on the Hamilton mountain, atop the Niagara Escarpment...
before abruptly curving to the east and descending the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
. Scenic views of Hamilton, its harbour, and a waterfall are both along this short, steep section. At the bottom of the escarpment the highway passes through a narrow, heavily developed corridor alongside former Highway 8
Ontario Highway 8
Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...
. It passes beneath multiple bridges in a depressed trench, eventually curving north at a sharp corner and passing beneath still more bridges. The highway returns to ground level alongside the Chedoke Creek, a now-channelized river from which the freeway may take its name.
As the freeway continues north, it crosses an isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
between Hamilton Harbour and Cootes Paradise
Cootes Paradise
Cootes Paradise is the largest wetland at the western end of Lake Ontario, on the west side of Hamilton Harbour. It is bordered by the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens , a private charitable status organization. These lands...
alongside several roads which it has served to replace. It circles around the northern shore of Hamilton Harbour and returns to an eastward orientation. The concurrency with Highway 6 ends at an interchange where Highway 403 continues east and Highway 6 travels north towards Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Waterloo and west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it...
. The freeway continues straight for several kilometres and meets the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 407 at the Freeman Interchange.
Oakville – Mississauga
Highway 403 travels concurrently with the QEW for 22.6 km (14 mi) between Freeman and Oakville, a straight section surrounded almost entirely by commercial units and warehouses. At the Ford Assembly Plant near the Halton–Peel regional boundary, Highway 403 branches off from the QEW and heads north for 5 km (3.1 mi) along the western edge of Mississauga. At that point it again meets Highway 407. Both freeway interchange, but curve to avoid each other. Highway 407 continues to the north and west, while Highway 403 curves east to follow alongside a hydroHydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
corridor through the centre of Mississauga. From here to Highway 401, high-occupancy vehicle
High-occupancy vehicle lane
In transportation engineering and transportation planning, a high-occupancy vehicle lane is a lane reserved for vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers...
(HOV) lanes are present in the shoulder lanes for vehicles with at least one passenger. Pressed between residential subdivisions on both sides, the freeway passes beneath Erin Mills Parkway, dips slightly to the south and crosses the Credit River.
On the other side of the river, the freeway passes to the north of downtown Mississauga, as well as the Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...
, the largest mall in Ontario. It passes beneath Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood.Within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, it is a major urban thoroughfare. Between Caledon and Orangeville, it is part of busy Highway 10, which leaves...
(once a section of Highway 10) and begins to widen. It abruptly curves to the north approaching Cawthra Road and widens further into a ten-lane collector-express system. This short section of highway passes beneath Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
and begins to diverge into a sprawling interchange approaching Highway 401. Access to Highway 410, which continues northward to Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
, is provided from the collectors lanes.
History
The corridor that connects London and Hamilton has always been important to Ontario. In late October 1793, Captain Smith and 100 Queen's RangersQueen's Rangers
The Queen's Rangers was a military unit who fought on the Loyalist side during the American War of Independence. After the war they moved to Nova Scotia and disbanded, but were reformed again in Upper Canada before disbanding again, in 1802, a decade prior to the War of 1812.-French and Indian...
returned from carving The Governor's Road 32 km (19.9 mi) through the thick forests between Dundas
Dundas, Ontario
Dundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
and the present location of Paris
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
. John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
was tasked with defending Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
from America following the revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and with opening the virgin territory to settlement. After establishing a "temporary" capital at York, Simcoe ordered an inland route constructed between Cootes Paradise
Dundas, Ontario
Dundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
at the tip of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and his proposed capital of London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. By the spring of 1794, the road was extended as far as La Tranche, now the Thames River
Thames River (Ontario)
The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.The Thames flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair...
.
Today, most of this route forms part of Highway 2
Ontario Highway 2
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
and former Highway 5.
The paving of the divided four-lane Middle Road
The Middle Road
The Middle Road was the name for a historic highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which served to link the cities of Toronto and Hamilton...
, with gentle curves, a grass median and grade-separated interchanges, would set the stage for the freeway concept. It was the first intercity freeway in North America when it opened in June 1939.
Thomas McQueston, the new minister of the Department of Highways and the man most responsible for the Middle Road, decided to apply the concept to sections of Highway 2 plagued with congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
. A portion east of Woodstock was rebuilt in this fashion, but World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
would put an end to the ambitions of McQueston, at least temporarily.
Initial construction
The end of the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
heralded the resuming of freeway construction in Ontario; the advances in machinery more than made up for lost time.
The construction of Highway 401 across the province took first priority. However, the opening of the section from Highway 4 near London to Highway 2 east of Woodstock on May 31, 1957 would complete part of the route required between London and Hamilton.
By 1958, planning on Chedoke Expressway, or Controlled Access Highway 403 was well underway,
though plans for a four lane freeway between Woodstock and Hamilton were around as early as 1954.
The opening of the Freeman Bypass of the QEW in August 1958 provided a connection point for a new freeway,
and construction began between Freeman and Hamilton by 1961.
Highway 403 between Longwoods Road (Highway 2) and the QEW was officially opened to traffic on December 1, 1963 at a length of 9 km (5.6 mi). Work was already underway on the next section of the Chedoke that would extend the freeway to Aberdeen Avenue.
This section was opened on July 9, 1965 and extended the freeway by 3.7 km (2.3 mi).
Meanwhile on Highway 2, work had begun on a bypass of Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
. The new freeway passed north of the town between Paris Road in the west and the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 53
Ontario Highway 53
Highway 53 is a former provincial highway in Southern Ontario, connecting Woodstock to Hamilton via Brantford. For much of its history, the road was co-signed with Highway 2 from Woodstock to Eastwood, where they parted ways...
in the east, a distance of 6.4 mi (10.3 km). This section opened on October 31, 1966.
A portion of the Brantford Bypass was itself bypassed in 1997 when the final section of Highway 403 was completed and is known as Garden Avenue.
However, the Brantford Bypass would remain an isolated section of Highway 403 for over 20 years.
Mississauga
Planning for the segment of Highway 403 through Mississauga dates back to the late-1950s when the Hamilton Expressway appeared on the Metropolitan TorontoMetropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
's regional transportation plan. It was to be a continuation of the Richview Expressway, which was ultimately never built, continuing from Toronto to Hamilton. The plan showed the expressway's eastern terminus as the Highway 401 and Highway 427 interchange. As Toronto's anti-expressway movement gained momentum, plans shifted the Hamilton Expressway to the west near Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek is one of the many creeks running through Toronto, Ontario and the Toronto Area into Lake Ontario, often characterized by their winding paths through deep ravines and distinctive shale banks....
. In 1962, the right-of-way alongside the hydro
Hydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
corridor from Burlington to Etobicoke Creek was protected after traffic studies indicated the need for a future freeway.
On May 25, 1965, the Department of Highways unveiled the Toronto Region Western Section Highway Planning Study. The plan designated Highway 403 north from Burlington and then parallel with the QEW to Highway 401 near Highway 27.
Plans were modified when Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
became premier in 1971. Davis initiated construction of Highway 410 along the Heart Lake Road corridor. The two lane highway opened in 1978, featuring a single directional and loop ramp at Highway 401 to provide access to and from Toronto. This interchange was a better connection point for Highway 403, and plans were revised to have it turn north at Cawthra Road. These plans were submitted and approved in 1978 by Mississauga, and construction began.
The new freeway opened in sections in the early 1980s. The first section between Cawthra Road and Highway 401 was opened August 18, 1980.
This was followed by a short section from Highway 5 (Dundas Street) south to the QEW at Ford Drive, which opened in mid-1981. Later that year, an extension to Erin Mills Parkway was opened on November 17, 1981.
The final section to be opened took the longest to complete, involving construction of two bridges over the Credit River valley. It opened on December 2, 1982. The cost of the entire 22 km (13.7 mi) Mississauga segment was $87 Million.
Around the same period, the Ministry of Transportation began to study upgrading Highway 401 to a collector express system between Renforth Drive and Highway 403, and along Highway 403 between Highway 401 and Highway 10.
This took place throughout the 1980s, and was completed by 1985; The existing outermost ramps from Highway 403 to Highway 401 eastbound were re-designated to serve collector traffic, as a pair of flyover ramps were added inside the interchange to serve motorists in the express lanes.
The right-of-way originally intended for Highway 403 between Cawthra Road and Etobicoke Creek was eventually used for a controlled access arterial extension called Eastgate Parkway, which was planned beginning in 1982.
The extension was built between 1987 and 1990, incorporating a portion of Fieldgate Drive at the eastern end.
In the fall of 1991, alongside the widening of Highway 410 into a full freeway, construction began on the connecting ramps between Highway 403 and Highway 410, which pass under the existing bridge structures for Highway 401 collector traffic, while new overpasses were constructed in the center for Highway 401 express lanes. The loop ramp from Highway 410 southbound to Highway 401 eastbound was replaced by a semi-directional high-speed flyover, while a new directional ramp and semi-direction flyover were added to serve westbound 401 commuters. Prior to the opening of this link, traffic from both freeways was forced onto eastbound Highway 401.
The 2.2 km (1.4 mi) link opened on November 2, 1992 at a cost of $7.3 million.
Bridging the gaps
A new segment of Highway 403 from Brantford to Highway 401 near WoodstockWoodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
opened in 1990. During the construction of the flyover ramp where Highway 403 westbound terminates, Highway 401 westbound traffic was diverted to the partially completed flyover embankment in order to accelerate construction of the rest of the overpass. Highway 403 was briefly left with three discontinuous sections; Brantford-Woodstock, Hamilton-Ancaster, and Mississauga. As a temporary stopgap, traffic from the Woodstock segment was routed to Highway 2 in order to connect with the Hamilton segment. The last remaining gap between Brantford and Ancaster was plagued by numerous delays, and finally opened in 1997. Highway 2
Highway 2 (Ontario)
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
, which was the only parallel route before the completion of Highway 403, was subsequently downloaded.
Controversy
Though some officials considered Highway 403 to be a perfect example of a freeway construction process, it was not built without its share of controversy. Portions of the freeway through Mississauga were built alongside established communities, leading to angry homeowners associations pressuring the province for noise mitigationNoise mitigation
Noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution. The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, architectural design, and occupational noise control...
measures and compensation.
In the late-1980s and early-1990s, the Mississauga section of Highway 403 played host to over two dozen fatal accidents over a five-year period, one of the highest rates in North America at the time, despite being up to modern road standards. This led Peel Regional Police and the media to nickname it the 'Death Highway'. In particular the stretch from Mavis Road to Erin Mills Parkway has been the site of numerous accidents. Highway 403 features a downward slope as motorists head eastbound towards the Mavis Road interchange, where drivers frequently complain of having to slam on the brakes when traffic comes to a standstill due to a sudden increase in volume, causing numerous rear-end collisions. There is also glare from the sun that causes vision problems throughout the day.
Recent construction
The Hamilton-Brantford and Mississauga sections of Highway 403 were initially planned to be linked up, but that land was used instead for an extension of Highway 407.After this decision, the province planned to renumber the Mississauga section as an extension of Highway 410, as that would have eliminated confusion with the unconnected Highway 403 segment in Woodstock/Hamilton, but that idea was later abandoned to avoid confusion for people accustomed to the "403" designation which has been use since 1982. Also, Highway 403 runs east-west for the most part, while Highway 410 is intended to run north-south (with future plans to have Highway 410 eventually run to Owen Sound
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
).
The freeway was finally made continuous in 2002, when the section of the QEW which connects both segments was co-signed
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
as Highway 403, a rarity for 400-series highways.
In 2002, the right shoulders between Erin Mills Parkway and Mavis Road were widened for GO Transit and Mississauga Transit to run express bus services. In 2003, high-mast lighting was added to the previously unlit Mississauga section between Highway 407 and Eastgate Parkway. Due to land availability afforded by the hydro corridor which runs along the north side of the freeway, the high-mast poles are mounted on the north shoulder instead of in the median. This project preceded the widening of Highway 403 between Winston Churchill Blvd and Highway 401/410, which saw a High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane added in each direction; the project started in summer of 2004 and these opened on December 13, 2005. The HOV lanes and the dividing Ontario Tall Wall
Jersey barrier
A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall is a modular concrete barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to both minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing crossover in the case of head-on accidents....
concrete barrier were constructed using the existing right-of-way provided by the grass median. The conventional truss lighting between Eastgate Parkway and Highway 401/410, which had been installed in 1986, was replaced by shoulder-mounted high-mast lighting in late 2004.
Sufficient right-of-way exists at the Highway 401-403-410 junction for a loop ramp from Highway 403 eastbound to Highway 401 westbound, and a directional ramp for vice versa, which would give Highway 401 eastbound traffic direct access to Cawthra Road, making it a full four-way interchange
Stack interchange
A stack interchange is a free-flowing grade separated junction between two roads.In countries where one drives on the right, left turns are handled by semi-directional flyover/under ramps...
. These links will be completed when Highway 401 is widened to a 12-lane collector-express system west towards Hurontario Street.
Exit list
|-|rowspan="2"|Oxford County
Oxford County, Ontario
Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...
|rowspan="2"|Norwich
Norwich, Ontario
The Township of Norwich is a municipality located in Oxford County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Preferred pronunciation of the town name is 'NOR-witch' , different from the city of Norwich, England, though its origin is more likely Norwich in Upper New York State, the area from which the...
|0.0
|
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|5.4
|6
|
|Formerly Highway 53
Ontario Highway 53
Highway 53 is a former provincial highway in Southern Ontario, connecting Woodstock to Hamilton via Brantford. For much of its history, the road was co-signed with Highway 2 from Woodstock to Eastwood, where they parted ways...
|-
|rowspan="7"|Brant
|rowspan="2"|Brant
Brant, Ontario
The County of Brant is a single-tier municipality and a census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. Despite its name, it is not a county by the standard definition, as all municipal services are handled by a single level of government. The county has service offices in Burford, Paris...
|15.3
|16
|
|-
|26.7
|27
|
Rest Acres Road – Paris
|Western end of Highway 24 concurrency
|-
|rowspan=5|Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
|30.2
|30
|
Oak Park Road
|-
|33.1
|33
|
|Formerly Highway 2
Ontario Highway 2
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
|-
|35.7
|36
|
|Eastern end of Highway 24 concurrency; formerly Highway 24A south
|-
|38.3
|38
|Wayne Gretzky Parkway
|-
|40.7
|41
|Garden Avenue – Cainsville
|-
|rowspan="9" colspan="2"|Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
|55.2
|55
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|-
|58.5
|58
|Wilson Street
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|60.3
|60
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|61.4
|61
|
Garner Road
|Western end of Highway 6 concurrency
|-
|64.3
|64
|Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
The Lincoln Alexander Parkway, officially nicknamed "The Linc", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario. Located on the Hamilton mountain, atop the Niagara Escarpment...
Rousseaux Street
|-
|69.1
|69
|Aberdeen Avenue
|-
|70.5
|70
|Main Street
|Formerly Highway 8
Ontario Highway 8
Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...
|-
|72.8
|73
|York Boulevard
|Westbound exit and eastbound exit; formerly Highway 6 south
|-
|74.2
|74
|
|Eastern end of Highway 6 concurrency
|-
|rowspan="22"|Halton Region
|rowspan="9"|Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
|77.5
|78
|Waterdown Road
|Originally designed only with an Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; full interchange opened on November 1, 2010
|-
|colspan="4" align="center"|Highway 403 assumes exit numbers of QEW
|-
|rowspan="2"|81.7
|rowspan="2"|100
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|
|Western end of QEW concurrency
|-
|82.5
|101
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|84.4
|102
|
|
|-
|86.4
|105
|Walkers Line
|
|-
|88.5
|107
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|90.5
|rowspan="2"|109
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="13"|Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
|- bgcolor="#d3d3d3"
|92.1
|110
|Service Road
|Access removed in 2008 to accommodate widening of the QEW
|-
|92.5
|111
|
|
|-
|94.6
|113
|3rd Line
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|97.7
|rowspan="2"|116
|
|
|-
|Kerr Street
|Westbound exit only
|-
|98.8
|118
|
|
|-
|101.2
|119
|Royal Windsor Drive
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; formerly Highway 122
|-
|104.3
|123
|
|Eastern end of QEW concurrency; Highway 403 exits mainline
|-
|colspan="4" align="center"|Highway 403 exit numbers resume
|-
|rowspan="2"|
|rowspan="2"|104
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|Upper Middle Drive East
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=2|106.3
|rowspan=2|106
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan="9"|Peel
|rowspan="9"|Mississauga
|-
|109.4
|109
|
|-
|111.4
|111
|Winston Churchill Boulevard
|-
|113.0
|113
|
|-
|117.6
|117
|Mavis Road, Centre View Drive
|-
|119.7
|119
|Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood.Within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, it is a major urban thoroughfare. Between Caledon and Orangeville, it is part of busy Highway 10, which leaves...
|Formerly Highway 10
|-
|
|121
|
Eastgate Parkway
|-
|122.4
|122
|Eglinton Avenue
|Eastbound exit is via exit 121
|-
|125.2
|125
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|colspan="6" align="center"| continues north as
|}