Province announces plans to expand section of Hwy. 401 west of Toronto

A stretch of Ontario’s busiest highway will be expanding to accommodate heavy traffic west of Toronto.

The provincial government has revealed a plan to widen Highway 401 for 18 kilometres between Credit River in Mississauga, to Regional Road 25 in Milton.

Provincial transportation Minister Steven Del Duca was joined by local MPPs and the mayor of Brampton to make the announcement in Mississauga Monday. The busy highway itself served as a backdrop.

“As you can see here, you’re looking at the bane of everyone’s existence in northwest Mississauga, which is the slow pace of traffic on Highway 401,” said Bob Delaney, MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville. “And if you’re trying to commute into the city, somewhere around Trafalgar Road, you run into a wall of traffic.”

The provincial government estimates that 108,000 to 188,000 vehicles travel through the Peel and Halton regions each day.

That area includes Milton, one of the fastest growing towns in the country. Its population has doubled in the last 10 years, Statistics Canada data shows.

“Almost everyone who lives and works in this region uses the 401,” Del Duca said. “Because of that fact, you know, the transportation can truly make or break your day.”

The project will mean the addition of high-occupancy vehicle lanes in each direction of the highway, and the expansion of the current six lanes for a total of:

• 12 lanes from the Credit River to Winston Churchill Boulevard
• 10 lanes from Winston Churchill Boulevard to Highway 407 ETR / Highway 401 interchange
• 12 lanes from Highway 407 ETR / Highway 401 interchange to James Snow Parkway
• 10 lanes from the James Snow Parkway to Regional Road 25

Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie said the new lanes will help improve the flow of people and goods through the area.

“It’s an important announcement,” she said on the John Oakley Show on AM640. “I’m delighted that the province is pressing ahead.”

LISTEN: Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie joins the John Oakley Show

The project is currently in its earliest stage — the province has issued a request for qualifications from private-sector vendors to design, construct and finance the highway expansion.