Highway 427 work completed
Expansion work on the province’s Highway 427 is complete, with the new lanes set to open on the weekend.
The Ontario government announced it will open the 10-kilometre expansion of Highway 427 from Finch Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive on September 18. The expanded road, it says, will help improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and move people and goods safely.
“I am pleased to announce the new and widened sections of Highway 427 will be open to the public,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “As part of our vision for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, our government is investing in highway infrastructure to address congestion and keep up with the growing needs of Ontarians.”
The expansion of Highway 427, which serves as a heavily used commuter route to the City of Vaughan and neighbouring communities, is expected to save commuters up to 25 minutes of total travel time for a two-way trip during peak periods compared to driving along parallel municipal roadways.
A 6.6-kilometre extension of the highway includes eight new lanes from Highway 7 to Rutherford Road and six new lanes to Major Mackenzie Drive. Three new interchanges at Langstaff Road, Rutherford Road and Major Mackenzie Drive have also been constructed to connect roadways without interruption. Two further interchanges near the Vaughan Intermodal Facility will accommodate long combination vehicles, making it easier for trucks to manoeuvre and move goods.
A four-kilometre segment has also been widened to eight lanes from Finch Avenue to Highway 7 along with an upgraded full interchange at Highway 7.
“The Highway 427 expansion will greatly benefit the people of Vaughan-Woodbridge. Not only will it help take vehicles causing crippling gridlock off our local roads, but it will also make our community safer while reducing travel times for commuters and commercial vehicles,” said Michael Tibollo, MPP for Vaughan – Woodbridge. “Most of all, it means the creation of new opportunities like we have never seen before.”
The province will also open one High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction of Highway 427 to further help improve traffic flow. The new northbound HOV lane will be located between Highway 409 and Rutherford Rd. The southbound HOV lane will start north of Rutherford Road and connect to an existing HOV lane south of Finch Ave.
Infrastructure Ontario awarded the $616-million contract for the project in January 2017 to LINK427, a public-private partnership team that included constructors Dragados Canada Inc., Miller Infrastructure and Bot Infrastructure Ltd., as well as designers MMM Group Ltd. and Thurber Engineering Ltd. Over the life of the project, the work created 1,000 jobs.
With construction now complete, LINK 427 will receive a substantial completion payment, followed by a series of monthly payments over the next 30 years to cover routine maintenance, construction, lifecycle repair, highway renewal and project financing.
Featured image: Highway 427 under construction. (Infrastructure Ontario)