Highway 401 construction projects in Kingston getting closer to completion

There’s another sign of progress along the 401 through Kingston.

Drivers are now able to get off the eastbound 401 on the new ramp to Gardiners Road, one of the final phases of work that’s taken the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) more than 10 years to complete.

Brandy Duhaime is a regional communications coordinator with the Ministry of Transportation.

“It allows traffic to easily access Gardiners Road instead of doing the previous loop around to get to Gardiners Road,” Duhaime explained.

“So this is an easier access for them to be able to do that. It also adds access to the new car pool lot which will be partly open next week.”

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Duhaime says the new car pool lot is much larger than the previous one. When fully open, she says, it will give motorists more space to be able to park and easier access in and out.

Another project on the 401 is at the east end of the city. Duhaime updates the stretch from the Cataraqui River bridge to the Highway 15 interchange.

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“That’s actually an expansion project and we’re adding an additional lane to Highway 401, so it’ll become two to three lanes when it is done in spring of 2020,” Duhaime said.

“We also replaced the Cataraqui River bridge which is a huge undertaking.”

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Duhaine says the final two projects are nearing completion, marking the end of a decade long effort to add a third lane on the 401 through Kingston and improve interchanges.