Highway 401 (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway
400-series highways
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....

 stretching 816.6 kilometres (507.4 mi) from Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

 to the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 border. The segment of Highway 401 passing through Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 is the busiest highway in North America,
and one of the widest and busiest in the world.
Together with Quebec Autoroute 20
Quebec Autoroute 20
Autoroute 20 is a major Quebec Autoroute, following the Saint Lawrence River through one of the more densely-populated parts of Canada, and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. At , it is the longest Autoroute in Quebec...

, it forms the transportation backbone of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, along which over half of Canada's population resides.
The entire route is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

. The posted speed limit is 100 km/h (62.1 mph) throughout its length.

Three individual highways were renumbered "Highway 401" by the end of 1952: the Toronto Bypass between Weston Road
Weston Road
Weston Road is a north-south street in west end Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route is named for the former Village of Weston, which was located near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West....

 and Highway 11 (Yonge Street); Highway 2A between West Hill and Newcastle
Newcastle, Ontario
Newcastle is a community in the Municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The Town of Newcastle was also the original name of what is now Clarington....

; and the Scenic Highway between Gananoque
Gananoque, Ontario
Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...

 and Brockville
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...

, now known as the Thousand Islands Parkway
Thousand Islands Parkway
The Thousand Islands Parkway is a parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately to the community of Butternut Bay, in Elizabethtown-Kitley, west of Brockville....

. These three sections of highway were 11.8 km (7.3 mi), 54.7 km (34 mi) and 41.2 km (25.6 mi) long, respectively, at the time of their assumption. Highway 401 became fully navigable from Windsor to the Quebec border in 1964. In 1965, it was given a second designation, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway, in honour of the fathers of Confederation
Fathers of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at...

. By the end of 1968, the Gananoque–Brockville section was bypassed and the final intersection grade-separated near Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

, making Highway 401 a freeway for its entire 816 km (507 mi) length. On August 24, 2007, the portion of the highway between Glen Miller Road in Trenton
Trenton, Ontario
Trenton is a community in Southern Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the main population centre in Quinte West....

 and the Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...

/Highway 404 Junction in Toronto was designated the Highway of Heroes, as the road is travelled by a funeral convoy for fallen Canadian Forces personnel
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 from CFB Trenton
CFB Trenton
Canadian Forces Base Trenton , is a Canadian Forces base located northeast of Trenton, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad...

 to the coroner's office in Toronto.

Route description

Highway 401 extends across Southwestern
Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Guelph to Windsor. The region had a population...

, Central and Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...

. In foresight of the future expansion of the highway, the planners purchased a 91.4 metres (299.9 ft) right-of-way along the entire length. Generally the highway occupies only a portion of this allotment.
It is one of the world's busiest highways; a 2008 analysis stated that the annual average daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic
Average Annual daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning and transportation engineering. It is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a useful and simple measurement of how busy the road is...

 (AADT) count between Weston Road and Highway 400 in Toronto was approximately 450,000,
while a second study estimates that over 500,000 vehicles travel that section on some days. This makes it the busiest roadway in North America, surpassing the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles, Interstate 10
Interstate 10 in Texas
Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. In the U.S. state of Texas, it runs east from El Paso, near the border with New Mexico, through San Antonio and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange, Texas....

 (I-10) in Houston and I-75
Interstate 75 in Georgia
In the U.S. state of Georgia, Interstate 75 runs north–south along the U.S. Route 41 corridor on the western side of the state, passing through the cities of Valdosta, Macon and Atlanta. It is also designated — but not signed — as State Route 401...

 in Atlanta. The just-in-time auto parts delivery systems of the highly integrated auto industry of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 and Ontario have contributed to the highway's status as the busiest truck route in the world, carrying 60% of vehicular trade between Canada and the US.

Highway 401 also features the busiest multi-structure bridge in North America, located at Hogg's Hollow
Hogg's Hollow Bridge
Hogg's Hollow Bridge, originally known as the Yonge Boulevard Viaduct, is a set of four separate highway bridges that span the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario and carries 14 lanes of Highway 401...

 in Toronto.
The four bridges, two for each direction with the collector and express lanes, carried an average of 373,700 vehicles daily in 2006.
The highway is one of the major backbones of a network in the Great Lakes region
Great Lakes region (North America)
The Great Lakes region of North America, occasionally known as the Third Coast or the Fresh Coast , includes the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario...

, connecting the populous Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 – Windsor corridor with Michigan, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and central Ontario's cottage country
Cottage country
Cottage country is a common name in Eastern Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. The name is often applied locally; that is, any major population centre may have its own popular "cottage country" area...

.
It is the principal connection between Toronto and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, becoming Autoroute 20
Quebec Autoroute 20
Autoroute 20 is a major Quebec Autoroute, following the Saint Lawrence River through one of the more densely-populated parts of Canada, and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. At , it is the longest Autoroute in Quebec...

 at the Quebec border.

Southwestern Ontario

Though Highway 401 does not physically extend the last few kilometres to Detroit,The first interchange on Highway 401 (Dougall Avenue) is numbered exit 13, but is only 2 km from 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...

. The Windsor–Essex Parkway will likely incorporate the initial kilometres into exit numbers along its length.
a proposed Windsor–Detroit border crossing may result in Highway 401 connecting directly to the border as early as 2013.
At present, Highway 401 begins at Huron Church Road (formerly Highway 3) in Windsor,
with four lanes diverging north and leaving Talbot Road (Highway 3) at Howard Avenue. At Dougall Avenue, the highway turns east, widens to six lanes and exits Windsor. From here, Highway 401 mostly parallels the former route of Highway 98 from Windsor to Tilbury.

The topography in southwestern Ontario is flat and the land use primarily agricultural, taking advantage of the fertile clay soil deposited throughout the region. The primary river through the region is 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...

, which drains the second largest watershed in southern Ontario, though several smaller creeks are interspersed throughout the region. Southwestern Ontario is also home to some of the few remaining stands of Carolinian forest
Carolinian forest
The Carolinian forest is a life zone in eastern North America characterized primarily by a predominance of deciduous, or broad-leaf trees. The term "Carolinian forest" is used primarily in Canada...

.

From Tilbury, the highway loses its tall wall median barrier and narrows to four lanes, following lot lines laid between concession road
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...

s in a plan designed to limit damage to the sensitive agricultural lands through which the highway runs.
Due to fatigue caused by the lack of driver engagement along the flat and straight lengths of highway,
the section of Highway 401 from Windsor to 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...

 (especially west of Tilbury
Tilbury, Ontario
Tilbury is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.-History:...

) has become known for deadly car accidents and pile-ups, earning it the nickname Carnage Alley.
As the highway approaches London, Highway 402 merges in, resulting in a six lane cross-section.
Within London, it intersects the city's two municipal expressway
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...

s, Highbury Avenue
Highbury Avenue
Highbury Avenue begins at South Edgeware Road in St. Thomas where it proceeds north as a two lane highway until Wilton Grove Road in London...

 and the Veterans Memorial Parkway
Veterans Memorial Parkway
The Veterans Memorial Parkway is a expressway located in London, Ontario. The expressway was previously known as Highway 100 from 1977 until 1994 and as Airport Road prior to September 2006. It is currently an at-grade, four-lane expressway...

.

The section between London and 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...

 generally parallels the former 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...

 but lies on the south side of the Thames River. While the topography in this area is less flat, the highway is generally straight. This part of Highway 401 often experiences heavy snowsquall
Snowsquall
A snowsquall is a sudden moderately heavy snow fall with blowing snow and strong, gusty surface winds. It is often referred to as a whiteout and is similar to a blizzard but is localized in time or in space and snow accumulations may or may not be significant.-Lake effect snow:When arctic air...

s in early winter, sometimes extending as far east as Toronto. To the south of Woodstock, Highway 401 curves northeast and encounters the western terminus of Highway 403. The highway heads towards Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

 and Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...

, where it encounters Highway 8 and returns to its eastward orientation.
East of Kitchener, the highway meanders towards Milton
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

, passing through hills and cut rock along the way.

Greater Toronto Area

As Highway 401 approaches the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

 (GTA), it descends through the ecologically protected 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...

 to the west of Milton.
After passing through the town, it enters the western side of Toronto's Greenbelt
Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe)
The Greenbelt is a permanently protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It surrounds a significant portion of Canada's most populated and fastest-growing area - The Golden Horseshoe....

, a zone around Toronto protected from development. After this 10 km (6.2 mi) gap, the highway interchanges with the Highway 407 Express Toll Route
Highway 407 (Ontario)
Highway 407, officially known as the 407 Express Toll Route , is a privately-operated 400-series highway and tollway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Despite being included as part of the 400-series network, Highway 407 is not part of the provincial highway network...

 and enters the first urbanized section of the GTA, passing through only a few rural areas between the cities of Mississauga and Oshawa.
Within the GTA, the highway passes several major shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

s including Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It contains over 250 stores and is located in the community of Downsview, in North York. It is the fifth largest shopping mall in Canada and also enjoys the highest sales per square foot of any mall in Canada, with...

, Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Town Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre, it is adjacent to the Scarborough Centre RT station and Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal. It was constructed by Oxford Properties and opened in...

 and Pickering Town Centre
Pickering Town Centre
Pickering Town Centre is a large regional shopping mall located in Pickering, Ontario.-History and features:The mall was opened in 1972 as the Sheridan Mall, and opened with 80 stores. Currently, the PTC has more than 200 stores. The PTC underwent major renovations in 1998...

.

As Highway 401 approaches the large Highway 403 / Highway 410 junction in Mississauga, it widens into a collector-express system
Local-express lanes
A Local-express lane system is an arrangement of roadways within a major highway providing one of more roadways for express lanes with a limited number of entrances and exits and also separate roadways for local or collector lanes which provide access to all interchanges...

,
a concept inspired by the Dan Ryan Expressway
Dan Ryan Expressway
The Dan Ryan is an expressway in the city of Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with I-290 near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both Interstate 94 and Interstate 90 south to 66th Street, a distance of...

 in Chicago. The system divides each direction of travel into collector and express lanes.
This gives the highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 a wide span and four carriageways. To avoid confusion between carriageways, blue signs are used over the collector lanes and green signs over the express lanes. Unlike the collector lanes, which provide access to every interchange, the express lanes only provide direct access to a select few. Access between the two is provided by transfers, which are strategically placed to prevent disruptions caused by closely spaced interchanges.
The overall purpose of the collector-express system is to maximize traffic flow for both local and long-distance traffic and, along with the COMPASS system, to manage traffic flow.
Two sets of collector-express systems exist in the GTA. The first set is currently 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long and connects Highway 403, Highway 410 and Highway 427.
This system primarily serves to accommodate and organize various traffic movements from the Highway 403 / 410 and Highway 427 interchanges along Highway 401, replacing an earlier plan that would have run Highway 403 directly to 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 the never-built Richview Expressway. East of the interchange with Renforth Drive, the collector lanes diverge to become the on-ramps to Highway 27, 427 and 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...

. The second 43.7 km (27.2 mi) system passes through the centre of Toronto and ends in Pickering to the east.
The 5 km (3.1 mi) gap between the two systems is a traffic bottleneck. However, the interchange cannot currently accommodate future widening of Highway 401.
Highway 401 widens to a total of eighteen lanes south of Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

. Progressing eastward, eight lanes are carried beneath the large spaghetti junction
Spaghetti Junction
"Spaghetti Junction" is a nickname sometimes given to a complicated or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that resembles a plate of spaghetti. The term is believed to have been coined by a journalist at the Birmingham Evening Mail in the 1970s to refer to the Gravelly Hill Interchange...

 at Highway 427. The highway curves northeast and follows a power transmission corridor to Highway 409, which merges with the mainline and forms the collector lanes. It returns to its eastward route through Toronto, now carrying fourteen to sixteen lanes of traffic on four carriageways.

To manage traffic through this heavily travelled section of roadway, Highway 401 was equipped with a traffic camera system called COMPASS in early 1991.
Using a combination of closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

 cameras, vehicle detection loops and LED changeable message signs
Variable message sign
A variable- message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign,...

, COMPASS allows the Ontario Ministry of Transportation Traffic Operations Centre to obtain a real-time assessment of traffic conditions and alert drivers of collisions, congestion and construction.
The system currently stretches from the Highway 403 / 410 interchange in Mississauga to Harwood Avenue in Ajax.

Highway 401 is often congested
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...

 in this section, with an average of 442,900 vehicles passing between Weston Road and Highway 400 per day as of 2008. In spite of this congestion, it is the primary commuting route in Toronto; over 50% of vehicles bound for downtown Toronto use the highway.

East of Highway 400 is The Basketweave
The Basketweave
The Basketweave is the name of a stretch of Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada, immediately east of the Jane Street underpass in Toronto; the name derives from the interesting criss-crossing design of the roads, which evokes imagery of a straw basketweave....

, a criss-crossing transfer between the express and collectors carriageways.
Twelve lanes pass beneath a complicated interchange with Allen Road
Allen Road
William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway or simply The Allen and formerly as the Spadina Expressway, is a short expressway/freeway in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from Kennard Avenue in the north, to Eglinton Avenue West in the south...

, built to serve the cancelled Spadina Expressway
Spadina Expressway
The Spadina Expressway was a proposed north-south freeway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was only partially built before being cancelled in 1971 due to public opposition. It was proposed in the mid-1960s as part of a network of freeways for Metropolitan Toronto. Its cancellation prompted the...

. Further east, the highway crosses Hogg's Hollow
Hogg's Hollow Bridge
Hogg's Hollow Bridge, originally known as the Yonge Boulevard Viaduct, is a set of four separate highway bridges that span the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario and carries 14 lanes of Highway 401...

, over the West Don River and Yonge Street in the centre of Toronto. It then crosses the East Don River and climbs toward the Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...

, which provides access to downtown Toronto and Highway 404, which provides access to the suburbs to the north. Progressing eastward, the highway continues through mostly residential areas in Scarborough, eventually reaching the Rouge Valley on the city's eastern edge and crossing into Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...

.
East of Pickering, it again meets the former Highway 2, which thereafter parallels Highway 401 to the Quebec border. As the highway approaches Brock Road in Pickering, the collector and express lanes converge, narrowing the fourteen lane cross-section to ten, divided only at the centre. It remains this width as it passes into Ajax
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...

,
before narrowing back to six lanes at Salem Road.

The stretch of Highway 401 through Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...

 and Oshawa features several structures completed during the initial construction of the highway in the 1940s. Several of these structures are slated for demolition, either due to their age, or to prepare for the planned widening of Highway 401 through this area.
A former Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

 overpass, which was fenced off but commonly used by pedestrians during Highway of Heroes repatriations, was demolished on the night of June 11, 2011. A second structure in Bowmanville is to be demolished during two overnight closures on July 9 and July 16.
At Harmony Road, the suburban surroundings are quickly replaced by agricultural land. The highway curves around the south side of Bowmanville
Bowmanville, Ontario
Bowmanville is the largest community in the Municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario about 75 km east of Toronto and 15 km east of Oshawa along Highway 2...

 and travels towards Highway 35 and Highway 115.

Eastern Ontario

From east of Highway 35 and Highway 115 to Cobourg
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...

, Highway 401 passes through a mix of agricultural land and forests, maintaining a straight course.
As the highway passes through Cobourg, it narrows to four lanes and the terrain becomes undulating, with the highway veering around hills and through valleys along the shores of Lake Ontario.
At Trenton
Trenton, Ontario
Trenton is a community in Southern Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the main population centre in Quinte West....

, the highway crosses the Trent Canal and returns to an agricultural setting. It then crosses the Moira River
Moira River
The Moira River is a river in Hastings County in eastern Ontario, Canada. It travels from its source in the centre of the county to the county seat Belleville and is named after Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Earl of Moira.-Course:...

 as it goes through Belleville
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...

 before heading eastward to Kingston. The Kingston portion of the highway, originally named the Kingston-Bypass, was one of the first sections of the highway to be completed.

East of Kingston, the highway continues through a predominantly agricultural area alongside the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

 to Gananoque, where it splits with the Thousand Islands Parkway
Thousand Islands Parkway
The Thousand Islands Parkway is a parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately to the community of Butternut Bay, in Elizabethtown-Kitley, west of Brockville....

.
The current Highway 401 runs parallel to the parkway several kilometres inland from the river. The Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

 returns through this heavily forested section of the highway. Highway 401 rejoins the Thousand Islands Parkway immediately southwest of Brockville, now heading northeast.

The remainder of the highway runs parallel to the former Highway 2 along the shore of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

 within the St. Lawrence Valley. Northeast of Brockville is the interchange with Highway 416, which heads north towards Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

. At the Quebec border, Highway 401 becomes Autoroute 20
Quebec Autoroute 20
Autoroute 20 is a major Quebec Autoroute, following the Saint Lawrence River through one of the more densely-populated parts of Canada, and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. At , it is the longest Autoroute in Quebec...

 and continues to Montreal.

History

Predecessors

Highway 401's history predates its designation by over two decades. As automobile use in southern Ontario grew in the early 20th century, road design and construction advanced significantly. Following frequent erosion of Lake Shore Road, then Macadamized,
a cement road known as the Toronto–Hamilton Highway was proposed in January 1914. Construction began on November 8 of that year, following the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.
The highway was designed to run along the lake shore, instead of Dundas Street
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...

 to the north, because the numerous hills encountered along Dundas would have increased costs without improving accessibility. Middle Road, a dirt lane named because of its position between the two, was not considered since Lake Shore and Dundas were both overcrowded and in need of serious repairs.
The road was formally opened on November 24, 1917, 5.5 m (18 ft) wide and nearly 64 km (39.8 mi) long. It was the first concrete road in Ontario, as well as one of the longest stretches of concrete road between two cities in the world.

Over the next decade, vehicle usage increased substantially, and by 1920 Lakeshore Road was again congested, particularly during weekends.
In response, the Department of Highways examined improving another road between Toronto and Hamilton. The road was to be more than twice the width of Lakeshore Road at 12 m (39.4 ft) and would carry two lanes of traffic in either direction.
Construction on what was then known as the Queen Street Extension west of Toronto began in early 1931.

Before the highway could be completed, Thomas McQuesten
Thomas McQuesten
Thomas Baker McQuesten was a Canadian athlete, militiaman, lawyer, politician and government appointee who lived in Hamilton, Ontario....

 was appointed the new minister of the Department of Highways, with Robert Melville Smith as deputy minister, following the 1934 provincial elections
Ontario general election, 1934
The Ontario general election, 1934 was the 19th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect the 90 Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....

.
Smith, inspired by the German autobahns — new "dual-lane divided highway
Divided Highway
Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...

s" — modified the design for Ontario roads,
and McQuesten ordered that the Middle Road be converted into this new form of highway.
A 40 m (131.2 ft) right-of-way was purchased along the Middle Road and construction began to convert the existing sections to a divided highway. Work also began on Canada's first interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...

 at Highway 10.

Beginning in 1935, McQuesten applied the concept of a dual-highway to several projects along 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...

, including along Kingston Road in Scarborough Township.
When widening in Scarborough reached the Highland Creek
Highland Creek (Toronto)
Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, and bass. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto , travels through a...

 ravine in 1936, the Department of Highways began construction on a new bridge over the large valley, bypassing the former alignment around West Hill.
From here the highway was constructed on a new alignment to Oshawa, avoiding construction on the congested Highway 2. As grading
Land grading
Grading in civil engineering and construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and garden improvements, or surface drainage...

 and bridge construction neared completion on the new highway between West Hill and Oshawa in September 1939, 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...

 broke out and gradually money was siphoned from highway construction to the war effort.
At the same time, between September 6 and 8, 1939, the Ontario Good Roads Association Conference was held at Bigwin Inn, near Huntsville
Huntsville, Ontario
Huntsville is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located north of Toronto and south of North Bay....

,
drawing highway engineers from across North America to discuss the new concept of "Dual Highways". On the first day of the convention, McQuesten announced his vision of the freeway: an uninterrupted drive through the scenic regions of Ontario, discouraging local business and local traffic from accessing the highway except at infrequent controlled-access points.
It was quickly announced in the days thereafter that this concept would be applied to a new "trans-provincial expressway", running from Windsor to the Quebec border.

Highway engineers evaluated various factors, including grading, curve radius and the narrow median used along the Middle Road (which was inaugurated on August 23, 1940, as 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...

),
and began to plan the course of a new dual highway mostly parallel to Highway 2, with precedence given to areas most hampered by congestion. Unlike the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), this highway would not be built along an existing road, but rather on a new right-of-way, avoiding the need to provide access to properties.
Along with immense improvements to machinery and construction techniques over its six-year course, the war provided ample opportunity for planners to conduct a large-scale survey of 375,000 drivers, asking what their preferred route would be to get to where they needed to go. Using this information, a course was plotted from Windsor to Quebec, bypassing all towns along the way.

Highway 2S, for Scenic, was the first completed section of new roadway. Built to connect with the Thousand Islands Bridge at Ivy Lea and opened as a gravel road in late 1941 or early 1942,
the road followed the shore of the St. Lawrence River and connected with the western end of the twinned Highway 2 near Brockville.

Following the war, construction resumed on roadways throughout Ontario. The expressway between Highland Creek and Oshawa was completed in December 1947, while other sections remained on the back burner. The Toronto–Barrie Highway was the primary focus of the Department of Highways at the time, and the onset of the Korean War
Korean 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...

 in 1949 continued to stall construction. Despite the delays, highway minister George Doucette officially announced the plans for construction of the new trans-provincial expressway in 1950, with the Toronto to Oshawa expressway serving as a model for the design. Work on the most important link, the Toronto Bypass, began in 1951, but it would not open with that name.

Assumption

In July 1952 (possibly July 1, the same day Highway 400 was numbered),The Department of Highways Fiscal Report for the year ending March 31, 1952, claims "Controlled Access Highways nos. 400 and 401 were signed". However, all other sources claim July.
the Highland Creek to Oshawa expressway and Highway 2S were designated Controlled-Access Highway No 401, a move scorned by one critic because of the lack of thought into the numbered name.
That same year, construction wrapped up on several sections of the Toronto Bypass; between Highway 400 and Dufferin Street in August, west to Weston Road in September, east to Bathurst Street in October and finally to Yonge Street in December.
Extensions east and west began in 1953; the eastern extension to Bayview Avenue would open in April 1955, the western extension was delayed by Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...

's arrival on October 15, 1954, which nearly destroyed the new bridge over the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....

. The reconstruction would take until July 8, 1955,
and the highway was opened between Weston and Highway 27 in September 1955.

The entire bypass, including the widening of Highway 27 into an expressway south of Highway 401,
was completed in August 1956.
Upon its opening, the bypass was described by one reporter as "a motorist's dream" providing "some of the most soothing scenery in the Metropolitan area." The reporter continued, with regard to the eastern section through Scarborough, that it "winds smoothly through pastures across streams and rivers, and beside green thickets. It seems a long way from the big city."
By 1959 however, the bypass was a lineup of cars, as 85,000 drivers crowded the roadway, designed to handle a maximum of 48,000 vehicles, on a daily basis.
The convenience of a road to get across the city helped influence the suburban shift in Toronto and continues to be a driving force of urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...

 today.

Meanwhile, beyond Toronto, the highway was being built in a patchwork fashion, focusing on congested areas first. Construction west from Highway 27 began in late 1954,
as did the Kingston Bypass in Eastern Ontario.
Work began to connect the latter with the Scenic Highway in 1955.
By 1956, construction had begun on the segment between Highway 4 in London and Highway 2 in Woodstock, as well as on the section between Windsor and Tilbury.

By the end of 1960, the Toronto section of the highway was extended both eastwards and westwards: first, to the east between Newcastle and Port Hope by June 30, then later to the west between Highway 25 in Milton and Highway 8 south of Kitchener on November 17.
By mid-1961, the section between Brighton
Brighton, Ontario
Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and west of Kingston. It is intersected by both Highway 401 and the former Highway 2. It is on the West end of the Bay of Quinte on the entrance of the Murray Canal....

 and Marysville had opened. The gap to the east, from Highway 28 in Port Hope to Highway 30 in Brighton was opened on July 20, 1961.
The gap between Woodstock and Kitchener was completed on November 9, 1961, while the gap between Tilbury and London was completed two lanes at a time; the northbound lanes were completed on October 22, 1963, the southbound on July 20, 1965. The gap between Marysville and Kingston was opened by 1962.
The final sections, from west of Cornwall to Lancaster, were opened in 1963 and 1964.
Finally, on October 11, 1968, the Thousand Islands Bypass opened. This final piece was commemorated with a plaque to signify the completion of Highway 401.

In Toronto, engineers and surveyors were examining the four-lane bypass, while planners set about designing a way to handle the commuter highway. In 1963, transportation minister Charles MacNaughton announced the widening of Highway 401 in Toronto from four to a minimum of twelve lanes between Islington Avenue and Markham Road. The design was taken from the Dan Ryan Expressway
Dan Ryan Expressway
The Dan Ryan is an expressway in the city of Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with I-290 near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both Interstate 94 and Interstate 90 south to 66th Street, a distance of...

 in Chicago, which was widened into a similar configuration around the same time. Construction began immediately. While the plan initially called for construction to end in 1967, it continued for nearly a decade. A minimum of four lanes were always open during the large reconstruction project, which included complex new interchanges at Highway 27, Highway 400, the planned Spadina Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. The system was completed in 1972, along with the Highway 27 bypass north of Highway 401. Most of the interchanges in Toronto were reconstructed as partial cloverleafs and a continuous lighting system was installed.
On January 11, 1965, at the dinner celebration of Sir John A. Macdonald's 150th birthday, John Robarts
John Robarts
John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...

, designated Highway 401 the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway to honour Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....

, two of Canada's Fathers of Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

.
Unlike other names later applied to the highway, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway designation covers the entire length of Highway 401. Signs designating the freeway and shields with the letters 'M-C' were installed, but these disappeared by 1997.
In 2003, 38 years after Robarts' naming of the highway, an MPP attempted to get the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway highway name enshrined into law; the bill only passed first reading and was not enacted.

In the 1970s, Highway 401 was widened to six lanes in Durham, but otherwise saw little improvement. The 1980s saw more sections widened, as well as a new collector-express system between Highway 403 / 410 and Highway 427 completed in mid-1985.
Plans were made to extend the eastern system from Neilson Road to Brock Road in Pickering in the late 1980s, and took over a decade to reach fruition by 2000.
This was followed shortly thereafter by the widening of the highway through Ajax and a new interchange at Pickering Beach Road (renamed Salem Road) and Stevenson Road.

The 1990s also saw the first step in widening the highway to six lanes from Toronto to London. A project in the mid-1990s brought the highway up to a minimum of six lanes between Highway 8 in Kitchener and Highway 35 / 115 in Newcastle.
Other projects prepared sections for eventual widening.
In 1993, the stretch of Highway 401 eastbound near Milton
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

 and westbound near Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...

 had chevrons painted in each lane in an effort to reduce tailgating
Tailgating
Tailgating is the practice of driving on a road too close to the vehicle in front, at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible...

, a concept borrowed from France and Britain. Signs advised motorists to keep at least two chevrons apart, in essence warning them not to follow too closely.
Some of these chevrons remain intact in the westbound lanes in Whitby, though the signs stating their use have since been removed.

Beginning in 1998, several projects were initiated on Highway 401 within Toronto. These included the addition of one lane through the Highway 427 interchange in 2005, as well as the resurfacing of the pavement through the city.

Advantage I-75

Between June 1990 and 1998, Highway 401 and Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...

 were used for a pilot project named Advantage I-75 to test out the reliability and versatility of an automated tracking system for transport trucks. Termed MACS for Mainline Automated Clearance System, it would allow a truck to travel from Florida to Ontario without a second inspection.
MACS was initially tested out at two truck inspection stations in Kentucky, with transponders installed in 220 trucks. Exact time, date, location, weight and axle data were logged as a truck approached an equipped station.
Following initial tests, MACS was deployed at every inspection station along I-75 from Miami to Detroit and along Highway 401 from Windsor to Belleville in 1994.
The project demonstrated the effectiveness of electronic systems in enforcing freight restrictions without delaying vehicles, while alleviating security fears that such systems could be easily compromised. The concept has since been applied to many parts of Canada, including Highway 407's electronic tolling system.

"Carnage Alley"

The section of Highway 401 between Windsor and London has often been referred to as Carnage Alley, in reference to the numerous accidents that occurred throughout its history. The term became more commonplace following several deadly pileups during the 1990s. The narrow and open grass median was an ineffective obstacle in preventing cross-median collisions. The nature of that section of highway, described as largely a straight road with a featureless agricultural landscape, was said to make drivers feel less involved and lose focus on the road. Several accidents resulted from motorists deviating from their lane and losing control of their vehicles.

Various other names, including The Killer Highway circulated for a time,
but Carnage Alley became predominant following an 87-vehicle pile-up on September 3, 1999, the worst in Canadian history, that resulted in eight deaths and forty five injured individuals.

Only a few days prior, then-Transportation Minister David Turnbull had deemed the highway "pleasant" to drive.
On the morning of September 3, the local weather station reported clear conditions due to a malfunction, while a thick layer of fog rolled onto the highway. Dozens of vehicles including several semi-trailers quickly crashed into each other shortly after 8 a.m., one following another in the dense fog, and the accumulating wreckage caught traffic traveling in the opposite direction.
Immediately following the accident, the MTO installed paved shoulders with rumble strips
and funded additional police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

 to patrol the highway, a move criticized as being insufficient.

Beginning in 2004, 46 km (28.6 mi) of the highway was widened from four asphalt lanes to six concrete lanes, paved shoulders were added, a concrete Ontario Tall Wall median was installed,
which was the solution that the Canadian Automobile Association
Canadian Automobile Association
The Canadian Automobile Association , commonly known as CAA, is a non-profit federation, founded in 1913, of nine clubs across Canada, providing roadside assistance service, a complete range of auto touring and leisure travel services, insurance services, and member discounts with preferred...

 promoted in 1999. Interchanges were improved and signage was upgraded as part of a five-phase project to improve Highway 401 from Highway 3 in Windsor to Essex County Road 42 (formerly Highway 2) on the western edge of Tilbury
Tilbury, Ontario
Tilbury is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.-History:...

.

Highway of Heroes

On August 24, 2007, the MTO announced that the stretch of Highway 401 between Glen Miller Road in Trenton and the intersection of the Don Valley Parkway and Highway 404 in Toronto would bear the additional name Highway of Heroes, in honour of Canada's fallen servicemen and servicewomen,
though Highway 401 in its entirety remains designated as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway.
This length of the highway is often travelled by a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 of vehicles carrying a fallen soldier's body, with his or her family, from CFB Trenton
CFB Trenton
Canadian Forces Base Trenton , is a Canadian Forces base located northeast of Trenton, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad...

 to the coroner's office at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto. Since 2002, when the first of Canada's fallen soldiers were returned from Afghanistan, crowds have lined the overpass
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...

es to pay their respects as convoys pass.
The origin of the name can be traced to a June 23, 2007 article in the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...

by columnist Joe Warmington, in which he interviewed Northumberland photographer Pete Fisher. Fisher, along with Bob Jenkins, an emergency dispatcher, were responsible for organizing the first bridge salutes following the death of four soldiers on April 18, 2002.
Warmington described the gathering of crowds on overpasses to welcome fallen soldiers as a "highway of heroes phenomena."
This led a Crahame Township volunteer firefighter to contact Fisher on July 10 about starting a petition, leading Fisher to publish an article which was posted to the Northumberland Today website.
The online article eventually caught the attention of London resident Jay Forbes. Forbes began a petition, which received over 20,000 signatures before being brought to the Minister of Transportation on August 22.
Following the announcement on August 24, the provincial government and MTO set out to design new signs. The signs were erected and unveiled on September 7, and include a smaller reassurance marker
Reassurance marker
A reassurance marker or road identification sign is a road sign that repeats the name or number of the current route. Typically posted at intervals alongside a numbered highway, the signs are intended to reassure drivers that they are traveling on the desired road .- North America :In the United...

 (shield), as well as a larger billboard version.

Since 2008

On August 10, 2008, following a series of explosions at a propane facility in Toronto, Highway 401 was closed between Highway 400 and Highway 404 as a precautionary measure, the largest closure of the highway in its history.
The highway remained closed until 8 p.m., though several exits near the blast remained closed thereafter.

Between 2006 and 2008, Highway 401 was widened from four to six lanes between Highway 402 and Wellington Road in London. This included replacing the original Wellington Road overpass.
In Oshawa, Exit 416 (Park Road) was replaced by a new interchange at Exit 415 (Stevenson Road). The contract, which began September 7, 2005, included the interchange and the resurfacing of 23.4 km (14.5 mi) of the highway between Oshawa and .
The westbound ramps were opened in mid-September 2007
and the eastbound ramps in mid-2009. The resurfacing was completed mid-2010.

In November 2010, the widening of Highway 401 from four to six lanes between Woodstock and Kitchener was completed after many years of planning and construction.
The project included the installation of a tall-wall median barrier, straightening curves and adding additional interchanges on the freeway, allowing it to be easily vacated in an emergency event.

Future

The MTO intends to widen all of the remaining four-lane sections to a minimum of six and place an Ontario Tall Wall along the entire length of the highway.

Windsor–Essex Parkway

In 2004, it was jointly announced by the American and Canadian governments that a new border crossing would be constructed between Detroit and Windsor. The Detroit River International Crossing
Detroit River International Crossing
The Detroit River International Crossing , alternatively New International Trade Crossing , is a multi-national construction project and committee between Canada and the United States to create a new border crossing over the Detroit River...

 (DRIC) was formed as a bi-national committee to manage the project.
The MTO took advantage of this opportunity to extend Highway 401 to the international border
International Border
The India–Pakistan Border , known locally as the International Border , is the international boundary between India and Pakistan that demarcates the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat from the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Pakistan borders India in the east. The border...

 and began an environmental assessment on the entire project in late 2005.
The City of Windsor also hired New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 traffic consultant Sam Schwartz
Sam Schwartz
Samuel I. Schwartz, a.k.a. Gridlock Sam, is one of the leading transportation engineers in the United States, and is widely believed to be the man responsible for popularizing the phrase gridlock. Educated at Brooklyn College and the University of Pennsylvania, he originally worked as a cabbie...

 to design a parkway to the border. Schwartz's proposal would eventually inspire the DRIC's own design, but his route was not chosen, with the DRIC opting instead to take a northern route.
On February 8, 2008, the MTO announced that it had begun purchasing property south of the E.C. Row Expressway,
upsetting many area residents who had purchased properties in the years prior.

On March 3, 2008, the Michigan Department of Transportation
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation is a constitutional government agency in the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac...

 and the MTO (in partnership with Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...

, the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...

 of the United States and the Detroit River International Crossing
Detroit River International Crossing
The Detroit River International Crossing , alternatively New International Trade Crossing , is a multi-national construction project and committee between Canada and the United States to create a new border crossing over the Detroit River...

 group) completed a joint assessment on the soils along the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...

 and determined that they could indeed support the weight of a new bridge; the stability of the underlying soil and clay and the impact of the nearby Windsor Salt mine had caused a great deal of concern for all parties involved in the project.

Despite protest from area residents,
as well as a dismissed lawsuit from Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun,
it was announced on May 1, 2008, that a preferred route had been selected and that the new route would be named the Windsor–Essex Parkway.
The new parkway will be below-grade and have six through-lanes. It will follow (but not replace) Talbot Road and Huron-Church Road from a new interchange at the current end of Highway 401 to the E.C. Row Expressway, where it will run concurrently
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...

 westward for 2 km (1.2 mi). From there, it will turn northwest and follow a new alignment to the border.
Initial construction of a noise barrier
Noise barrier
A noise barrier is an exterior structure designed to protect sensitive land uses from noise pollution...

 from North Talbot Road to Howard Avenue began in March 2010. Two new bridges south of the current Highway 3/401 junction are also under construction.
Full construction has begun as of August 2011,
with an expected completion date of 2013.

Southwestern Ontario

In Southwestern Ontario, several improvements are under way to provide six lanes on Highway 401 from Windsor to Toronto,
in response to the Carnage Alley pile-up in 1999.
West of Manning Road, the highway is currently being widened in anticipation of the Windsor–Essex Parkway.
Between Tilbury and Highway 402, the highway remains four lanes wide with a grass median. The widening and upgrading of this section is in the planning stages, with construction possibly beginning in 2012 and lasting for several years. Several interchanges are slated to be upgraded as part of this construction.

Within the London area, traffic volumes are expected to increase considerably, leading to poor highway conditions. The province has put in place an extensive plan to widen and reconstruct the London corridor between 2006 and 2021. This includes building a new interchange with Wonderland Road to help improve access to Highway 401 westbound from the city's southwest end. This may also include partial interchanges along White Oaks Road with Highways 401 and 402.
This project will coincide with reconstructing the outdated cloverleaf interchange
Cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...

 at Colonel Talbot Road and widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes between Highway 4 and Highway 402. Construction will start in 2013.
In addition, an environmental assessment is underway to examine the impact of reconstructing the three-way trumpet interchange with the Veterans Memorial Parkway into a four-way interchange in order to extend the expressway south of Highway 401. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is also planning on widening Highway 401 from six to eight lanes through part of the London corridor.

Long term plans call for Highway 401 in the Waterloo region to be widened to eight lanes as well. The interchange between Highway 401 and Highway 8 (King Street) is to be reconstructed to make it free-flowing for all directions of travel, easing congestion and improving traffic flow in the area.

Central Ontario

In their 2007 plan for southern Ontario, the MTO announced long-term plans to create high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes from Mississauga Road west to Milton.
Construction is also underway to widen Highway 401 to a collector-express system from Highway 403 and Highway 410 west to Hurontario Street, a distance of 2.8 km (1.7 mi).

Within Toronto, a select number of projects are being completed during overnight construction projects, including the widening and rehabilitation of the Hogg's Hollow bridge,
the replacement of the original gantries
Gantry (road sign)
A gantry is a traffic sign assembly in which signs are mounted on an overhead support, or railway signals supported....

 throughout the collector-express system, and reconstructing the Highway 401/400 interchange.

Current expansion plans in Durham include the construction of two new freeways north from Highway 401. The first will be directly east of Durham Regional Road 23 (Lakeridge Road), while the second will lie to the east of Durham Regional Road 34 (Courtice Road).
Alongside the extension of Highway 407, Highway 401 will be widened to twelve lanes, forming an extension to the current collector-express system, from its current end at Durham Regional Road 1 (Brock Road) in Pickering to Durham Regional Highway 12 (Brock Street) in Whitby.
Long term plans also call for HOV lanes to run from Brock Road to Durham Regional Road 33 (Harmony Road), though no planning has commenced.

Eastern Ontario

East of Durham, the MTO is planning to widen the entire length of Highway 401 to six lanes. Preliminary work includes the widening of the bridge over the Trent River
Trent River (Ontario)
The Trent River is a river in southeastern Ontario which flows from Rice Lake to empty into the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. This river is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway which leads to Georgian Bay. The river is 90 km long...

 in Trenton,
as well as the realignment of some roads alongside the highway.
By mid 2012, the highway will be widened for 6 km (3.7 mi) through Kingston.

Services

Highway 401 features 19 service centres controlled by the MTO. These service centres were announced in 1961 following public outcry to the lack of rest stops. They provide a place to park, rest, eat and refuel 24 hours a day.

The centres were originally leased to and operated by several major gasoline distributors; however, those companies have chosen not to renew their leases as the terms end. In response, the MTO put the operation of the full network of service centres out for tender, resulting in a 50-year lease with Host Kilmer Service Centres, a joint venture between hospitality company HMSHost (a subsidiary of Autogrill
Autogrill
Autogrill is an Italian-based, multinational catering and retail company, the world's largest in the travel dining sector, which is controlled with a 59% stake by the Edizione Holding investment vehicle of the Benetton family. Autogrill runs operations in 40 different countries, primarily in Europe...

) and Larry Tanenbaum
Larry Tanenbaum
Lawrence "Larry" Tanenbaum is a Canadian businessman who is chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment...

's investment company Kilmer van Nostrand.

Seventeen of the centres along Highway 401 will be reconstructed entirely. Two centres that were rebuilt in the late 1990s, specifically Newcastle and Ingersoll, will not be redeveloped at this time. Work on 15 of the 17 service centres to be reconstructed began in late 2009 or early 2010. The new service centres, opening in phases beginning in July 2010, feature a Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...

 gas station, an HMSHost-operated convenience store known as "The Market", as well as fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...

 brands such as Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast casual restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts. It is also Canada's largest fast food service with over 3000 stores nationwide. It was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade, after an initial venture in...

, A&W and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...

.

Service centres are located at the following points along Highway 401:
Location Direction(s) Nearby Exits Status
Tilbury North
Tilbury South
Westbound
Eastbound
56, 63 Reopened as of October 1, 2010
West Lorne
Dutton
Westbound
Eastbound
137, 149 Reopened as of October 1, 2010
Ingersoll Westbound 222, 230 Will not be redeveloped at this time. Leased by Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest petroleum company. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It is controlled by US based ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of its stock...

.
Woodstock Eastbound 222, 230 Closed for reconstruction on March 31, 2010; reopened July 2011
Cambridge North
Cambridge South
Westbound
Eastbound
286, 295 Closed for reconstruction as of September 7, 2011
Mississauga Eastbound 333, 336 Permanently closed as of September 30, 2006
Newcastle Westbound 440, 448 Will not be redeveloped at this time. Leased by Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest petroleum company. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It is controlled by US based ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of its stock...

.
Port Hope Eastbound 458,456 Was reopened by July 2011
Trenton North Westbound 509, 522 Reopened as of October 1, 2010
Trenton South Eastbound Limited services including fuel; full services to return early 2011
Camden East Westbound 582, 593 Closed for reconstruction March 31, 2010; reopened July 2011
Odessa Eastbound 599, 611 Open during 2010-11 reconstruction (while a new structure was built directly west of a now-demolished original facility on same property). New facility opened July 2011.
Mallorytown North
Mallorytown South
Westbound
Eastbound
675, 685 Closed for reconstruction; to reopen late 2011
Morrisburg Eastbound 750, 758 Reopened as of October 1, 2010
Ingleside Westbound 758, 770 Reopened Early 2011
Bainsville Westbound 825 Reopened as of October 1, 2010

Exit list

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
!Division
! style="width:100px;"|Location
!km
!Exit
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Canada–U.S. border
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|0.0
|0
|colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
Continues as Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...

 in Detroit, MI via a new bridge crossing over the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...

, planned
|-
|rowspan="9" colspan="2"|Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...


|-style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|1
|Ojibway Parkway
|Under construction
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|2
|E. C. Row Expressway
E. C. Row Expressway
The E C Row Expressway is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. It divides the city in half as it crosses it between the Ojibway Parkway in the west and Banwell Road in the east. The expressway is named after Ohio born Edgar Charles Row, the president of Chrysler Canada...


|Under construction, westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|3
|| - Huron Church Road – Ambassador Bridge
Ambassador Bridge
The Ambassador Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan, in the United States, with Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. It is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume: more than 25 percent of all merchandise trade between the United States...

 to US
|Under construction
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|4
|Todd Lane
|Under construction
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|6
|Service Road
|Under construction
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|
| – Ambassador Bridge
Ambassador Bridge
The Ambassador Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan, in the United States, with Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. It is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume: more than 25 percent of all merchandise trade between the United States...

 to US
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, full interchange under construction
|-
|12.6
|13
|Dougall Avenue – Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to US
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; Formerly Highway 3B
Ontario Highway 3B
Not to be confused with the Highway 3B that became Highway 51, in Norfolk County.King's Highway 3B was a provincially maintained highway in Windsor...

 / Highway 401A
|-
|13.4
|14
|
|Formerly Highway 98
|-
|rowspan=7|Essex
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...


|Tecumseh
Tecumseh, Ontario
Tecumseh is a town on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It has a population of just over 24,000.Tecumseh enjoys long summers and mild winters...


|rowspan=2|20.4
|rowspan=2|21
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=6|Lakeshore
Lakeshore, Ontario
Lakeshore is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on Lake St. Clair. Its nearest city is Windsor, located in Essex County. The town was incorporated in 1999 by amalgamating the Town of Belle River with the townships of Maidstone, Rochester, Tilbury North, and Tilbury West.Lakeshore has a...


|-
|27.5
|28
|
|
|-
|33.7
|34
|
|
|-
|40.0
|40
|
|
|-
|47.3
|48
|

|
|-
|55.7
|56
|
|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...


|-
|rowspan=6|Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Chatham–Kent is a unitary authority in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its centres of population are Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. Modern Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.- History :The former city of...


|Tilbury
Tilbury, Ontario
Tilbury is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.-History:...


|62.8
|63
|
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|rowspan=5|Chatham
Chatham, Ontario
Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...


|80.9
|81
|
|
|-
|89.3
|90
|

|
|-
|101.0
|101
|
|
|-
|108.3
|109
|
|Formerly Highway 21
|-
|116.2
|117
|
|
|-
|rowspan=6|Elgin
Elgin County, Ontario
Elgin County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario with a current population of approximately 46,000. The county seat is St. Thomas.It consists of:*Town of Aylmer*Municipality of Bayham*Municipality of Central Elgin...


|rowspan=2|West Elgin
West Elgin, Ontario
Population trend:* Population in 2006: 5349* Population in 2001: 5464* Population total in 1996: 5573** Aldborough : 4042** West Lorne : 1531* Population in 1991:** Aldborough : 3889** West Lorne : 1477...


|129.2
|129
|
|
|-
|137.3
|137
|
|Formerly Highway 76
|-
|rowspan=2|Dutton/Dunwich
Dutton/Dunwich, Ontario
Dutton/Dunwich is a municipality located in western Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.The municipality was formed in 1998 through an amalgamation of the Village of Dutton and former Township of Dunwich. It includes the Hamlets of Wallacetown, Duttona Beach, and the western parts of both...


|148.5
|149
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|157.4
|rowspan=2|157
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=2|Southwold
Southwold, Ontario
Southwold is a township in Elgin County, in Ontario, Canada, located on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is a rich agricultural zone producing predominantly corn and soybeans.-History:...


|-
|164.1
|164
|, Shedden
Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario
Shedden, Ontario is a hamlet in Southwold Township, Elgin County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is known as "The Rhubarb Capital of Ontario" and is home to the "Rosy Rhubarb Festival" which is held in early June each summer...


|
|-
|rowspan=7 colspan="2"|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...


|176.7
|177
|
|Signed as exits 177A (south) and 177B (north)
|-
|- style="background:#FFCC99"
|
|179
|Wonderland Road
|Planned, construction to begin in 2013
|-
|183.2
|183
|
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|185.9
|186
|Wellington Road
|
|-
|186.8
|187
|Exeter Road
|Formerly Highway 135 west
|-
|189.1
|189
|Highbury Avenue
Highbury Avenue
Highbury Avenue begins at South Edgeware Road in St. Thomas where it proceeds north as a two lane highway until Wilton Grove Road in London...

 – St. Thomas
St. Thomas, Ontario
St. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...


|Formerly Highway 126
|-
|193.6
|194
|Veterans Memorial Parkway
Veterans Memorial Parkway
The Veterans Memorial Parkway is a expressway located in London, Ontario. The expressway was previously known as Highway 100 from 1977 until 1994 and as Airport Road prior to September 2006. It is currently an at-grade, four-lane expressway...


|Formerly Highway 100
|-
|rowspan=4|Middlesex
Middlesex County, Ontario
Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...


|rowspan=4|Thames Centre
Thames Centre, Ontario
Thames Centre, Ontario, Canada, is a municipality in Middlesex County, directly west of the City of London. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the townships of West Nissouri and North Dorchester were amalgamated....


|195.5
|195
|
|Formerly Highway 74
|-
|199.3
|199
|
|
|-
|203.0
|203
|
|Formerly Highway 73
|-
|208.5
|208
|
|
|-
|rowspan=12|Oxford
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|South-West Oxford
South-West Oxford, Ontario
South-West Oxford is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,589 in the 2006 Canadian census.-Communities:The township includes the following communities within its boundaries:...

,
Ingersoll
Ingersoll, Ontario
Ingersoll is a town in Oxford County on the Thames River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The nearest cities are Woodstock to the east and London to the west....


|216.0
|216
|
|
|-
|218.5
|218
|

|
|-
|rowspan=2|South-West Oxford
South-West Oxford, Ontario
South-West Oxford is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,589 in the 2006 Canadian census.-Communities:The township includes the following communities within its boundaries:...


|222.2
|222
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|229.8
|rowspan=2|230
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=3|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...


|-
|231.9
|232
|
|Formerly Highway 59
|-
|rowspan=2|235.3
|rowspan=2|235
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=3|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...


|-
|236.3
|236
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|237.9
|rowspan=2|238
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|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...


|-
|Blandford-Blenheim
Blandford-Blenheim, Ontario
Blandford-Blenheim is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,149 in the Canada 2006 Census.Its government consists of a mayor and four councillors...


|250.1
|250
|
|
|-
|rowspan=6|Waterloo
|North Dumfries
North Dumfries, Ontario
The Township of North Dumfries is a rural township in Ontario, Canada, part of the Region of Waterloo. Its 2006 Census population was 9,063.The township includes the communities of Ayr, Branchton, Clyde, Reidsville and Roseville.-History:...


|267.9
|268
|
|Signed as exits 268A (east) and 268B (west) eastbound; formerly Highway 97
|-
|rowspan=2|Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

, Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...


|275.0
|275
|
|Replaced Doon-Blair Road exit in the 1970s
|-
|277.9
|278
|

|Signed as exits 278A (east) and 278B (west) eastbound
|-
|rowspan=3|Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...


|282.5
|282
| to
|
|-
|
|284
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=2|286.5
|rowspan=2|286
|rowspan=2|

|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=3|Wellington
Wellington County, Ontario
Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...


|rowspan=3|Puslinch
Puslinch, Ontario
Puslinch is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the County of Wellington south of Guelph. The area is rich in natural gas resources. The main source of production is agricultural, bottling and mining. Mining has been dominant throughout the county. About half of the township is...


|-
|295.7
|295
|
|West end of Highway 6 overlap
|-
|300.1
|299
|

|East end of Highway 6 overlap
|-
|rowspan=5|Halton
|rowspan=5|Milton
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...


|311.9
|312
|
|
|-
|320.1
|320
|
|Formerly Highway 25; GO Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

 bus stop on eastbound ramp.
|-
|323.8
|324
|
|
|-
|328.0
|328
|
|
|-
|330.4
|330
|
|Signed as exit 330 westbound; as exits 330A (west) and 330B (east) eastbound; no access from westbound 407 to eastbound 401 or westbound 401 to eastbound 407
|-
|rowspan=7|Peel
|rowspan=7|Mississauga
|332.7
|333
|Winston Churchill Boulevard
Winston Churchill Boulevard
Winston Churchill Boulevard is a long north-south roadway along the western edge of Peel Region, Ontario, Canada. The road begins at Lakeshore Road in the south in Mississauga, and ends in Caledon at Caledon/Garafraxa Town Line...


|
|-
|336.1
|336
|
|
|-
|339.6
|340
|Mavis Road
|
|-
|341.7
|342
|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
|-
|344.5
|344
|
|No access from eastbound 401 to westbound 403 or eastbound 403 to westbound 401
|-
|346.0
|346
|
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|350.3–
351.1
|348
| / Renforth Drive – Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

, Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...


|rowspan="5"|401-427 interchange. Exit 348 (eastbound exit and westbound entrance), Exit 350 (eastbound exit and westbound entrance), Exit 351 (westbound exit and eastbound entrance) and Exit 352 (westbound exit and eastbound entrance)
|-
|rowspan=30 colspan="2"|Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...


|-
|350
|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...


|-
|351
|Carlingview Drive
|-
|352
|
|-
|353.5
|354
|Dixon Road / Martin Grove Road
|
|-
|
|355
| – Toronto Airport
Belfield Road
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|356.0
|356
|Islington Avenue
|
|-
|357.4
|357
|Weston Road
Weston Road
Weston Road is a north-south street in west end Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route is named for the former Village of Weston, which was located near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West....


|
|-
|358.9
|359
|
|Eastbound express access to Highway 400
|-
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|360.5
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|360
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|Jane Street
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|Ramps removed, access to Jane Street via Black Creek Drive.
|-
|362.0
|362
|Keele Street
Keele Street
Keele Street is a north-south road in Toronto and York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches 47km, running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. South of Bloor Street, the roadway is today known as Parkside Drive, but was originally part of Keele Street...


|
|-
|364.0
|364
|Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street is a major north-south street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions west of Yonge Street. The street starts at the foot of Lake Ontario, continues north to Toronto's northern boundary with some discontinuities and continues into York Region where it...

, Yorkdale Road
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|364.8
|365
| Allen Road
Allen Road
William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway or simply The Allen and formerly as the Spadina Expressway, is a short expressway/freeway in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from Kennard Avenue in the north, to Eglinton Avenue West in the south...

, Yorkdale Road
|
|-
|366.2
|366
|Bathurst Street
|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|367.3
|367
|Avenue Road
|Formerly Highway 11A
|-
|369.0
|369
|Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...


|Formerly Highway 11
|-
|371.0
|371
|Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue is a major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is also designated as York Regional Road 34.-History:...


|
|-
|372.9
|373
|Leslie Street
|
|-
|374.9
|375
|
Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...

 – Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...


|
|-
|376.3
|376
|Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marks the border between the Old City of Toronto and Scarborough.-History:Victoria Park Avenue was originally a pioneer road for settlement of Scarborough...


|
|-
|377.6
|378
|Warden Avenue
|
|-
|379.2
|379
|Kennedy Road
|
|-
|380.8
|380
|Brimley Road
Brimley Road
Brimley Road is a north-south street in Scarborough and York Region, Ontario, Canada. The road carries 32000 vehicles daily as of May 2007 and is classified as a major arterial road by the city of Toronto....

 south, Progress Avenue
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance from northbound Brimley Road
|-
|381.6
|381
|McCowan Road
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|383.2
|383
|Markham Road
|Formerly Highway 48
Ontario Highway 48
King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially-maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton, Ontario. Prior to 1998, Highway 48 extended from Highway 401 in Toronto to...


|-
|
|Progress Avenue
|
|-
|385.0
|385
|Neilson Road
|
|-
|386.5
|387
|Morningside Avenue
|
|-
|389.0
|389
|Meadowvale Road
|
|-
|390.3
|390
|
|Signed as exit 392 westbound
|-
|rowspan=22|Durham
|rowspan=3|Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...


|394.0
|394
|
|Exit added in 1983
|-
|396.6
|397
|
|Westbound exit and entrance
|-
|398.3
|399
|
|
|-
|rowspan=4|Ajax
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...


|bgcolor=d3d3d3|
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|400
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|Church Street
|bgcolor=d3d3d3|Removed, exit replaced with Westney Road interchange (Exit 401) in 1988
|-
|401.3
|401
|
|Replaced Exit 400 (Church Street) in 1988
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
|402.5
|403
|
|Removed, exit replaced with Salem Road interchange (Exit 404) in 2003
|-
|404.3
|404
|
|Replaced Exit 403 (Harwood Avenue) in 2003
|-
|rowspan=2|Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...


|409.6
|410
|
|Formerly Highway 12
|-
|412.1
|412
|
|-
|rowspan=5|Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...


|
|415
|
|Replaced Exit 416 (Park Road) in 2009
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
|415.8
|416
|
|Removed, exit replaced with nearby Stevenson Road interchange (Exit 415) in 2009
|-
|417.6
|417
|
|Westbound exit is via exit 418
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|418.5
|418
|
|
|-
|419.4
|419
|
|
|-
|rowspan=8|Clarington
Clarington, Ontario
Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included...


|425.4
|425
|
|
|-
|428.4
|428
|Holt Road (Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the Township of Darlington, the former name of the municipality in which it is located.The Darlington station is a large...

)
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
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|431.3
|431
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|-
|432.4
|432
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|
|-
|435.2
|435
|Bennett Road
|
|-
|436.3
|436
|
|
|-
|440.1
|440
|, Bond Head
|
|-
|448.1
|448
|
|
|-
|rowspan=8|Northumberland
Northumberland County, Ontario
Northumberland County is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in central Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Durham County , west of Hastings, southeast of Kawartha Lakes and south of Peterborough County. The county seat is Cobourg...


|rowspan=3|Port Hope
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...


|456.6
|456
|Wesleyville Road
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|-
|461.4
|461
|
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|464.8
|464
|
|Formerly Highway 28
|-
|rowspan=2|Cobourg
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...

, Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario (township)
Hamilton Township is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario. It surrounds the Town of Cobourg.The township was named after Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec from 1782-1785.-Communities:*Baltimore*Bewdley*Camborne...


|472.6
|472
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|
|-
|474.5
|474
|
|Formerly Highway 45
|-
|Alnwick/Haldimand
Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario
Alnwick/Haldimand is a township in central Ontario, Canada, in Northumberland County, situated between Lake Ontario and Rice Lake. It was formed in 2000 by the merger of Alnwick Township in the north and Haldimand Township in the south...


|487.0
|487
|
|
|-
|Cramahe
Cramahe, Ontario
Cramahe is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario, Canada.Joseph Keeler opened a store on the site of present-day Colborne about 1819. A community began to grow as other small businessmen followed suit...


|497.2
|497
|
|
|-
|Brighton
Brighton, Ontario
Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and west of Kingston. It is intersected by both Highway 401 and the former Highway 2. It is on the West end of the Bay of Quinte on the entrance of the Murray Canal....


|509.7
|509
|
|Formerly Highway 30
|-
|rowspan=10|Hastings
Hastings County, Ontario
Hastings County is located in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is The Cheese Capital of Canada. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. The population was 125,915 in 2001 and grew to 130,474 in the 2006 Canada Census...


|rowspan=4|Quinte West
Quinte West, Ontario
Quinte West is a city, formerly part of Hastings County, but now a Separated municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, . It is located on the western end of the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario...


|520.4
|522
|
|
|-
|525.4
|525
|
|Formerly Highway 33
|-
|526.5
|526
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|538.5
|rowspan=2|538
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=3|Belleville
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...


|-
|542.7
|543
| to
|Signed as exits 543A (south) and 543B (north); formerly Highway 14
|-
|543.2
|544
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Tyendinaga
Tyendinaga, Ontario
Tyendinaga is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Hastings County. The township had a population of 4,070 in the Canada 2006 Census....


|555.7
|556
|
|
|-
|566.4
|566
|

|
|-
|rowspan=2|570.5
|rowspan=2|570
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=5|Lennox and Addington
Lennox and Addington County, Ontario
Lennox and Addington County, Ontario is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Greater Napanee. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario.It includes the following municipalities:...


|rowspan=3|Greater Napanee
Greater Napanee, Ontario
Greater Napanee is a town in Lennox and Addington County in the Eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada and is approximately 40 kilometres or 24.8 miles west of Kingston. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte...


|-
|578.8
|579
|
|Formerly Highway 41
|-
|582.1
|582
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Loyalist
Loyalist, Ontario
Loyalist is a township in central eastern Ontario, Canada on Lake Ontario. It is in Lennox and Addington County and consists of two parts: the mainland and Amherst Island. It was named for the United Empire Loyalists, who settled in the area after the American Revolution.-Communities:The primary...


|593.4
|593
|
|Formerly Highway 133
|-
|598.8
|599
|
|
|-
|rowspan=7|Frontenac
Frontenac County, Ontario
Frontenac County, as defined by Statistics Canada, is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The City of Kingston is included in the census division, but is politically separated from the County of Frontenac. It has a land...


|rowspan=7|Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...


|610.8
|611
|
|Formerly Highway 38
|-
|613.0
|613
|, Sydenham
Sydenham, Frontenac County, Ontario
For other places called Sydenham, see Sydenham .Sydenham, named after Lord Sydenham, is a community in Frontenac County, located in the municipality of South Frontenac...


|
|-
|615.3
|615
|Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard
|
|-
|617.0
|617
|
|
|-
|619.0
|619
|
|
|-
|623.0
|623
|
|
|-
|631.9
|632
|
|
|-
|rowspan=18|Leeds and Grenville
Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario
The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville are located Ontario, Canada. The population, as of the 2006 census, was 99,206. The United Counties have a land area of . Leeds and Grenville are located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario, and front on the St. Lawrence River and...


|rowspan=2|Gananoque
Gananoque, Ontario
Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...

, Leeds and the Thousand Islands
Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Ontario
Leeds and the Thousand Islands is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties.-Communities:...


|645.1
|645
|
|Formerly Highway 32
|-
|646.7
|647
|Thousand Islands Parkway
Thousand Islands Parkway
The Thousand Islands Parkway is a parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately to the community of Butternut Bay, in Elizabethtown-Kitley, west of Brockville....

 – Ivy Lea, Rockport
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=4|Leeds and the Thousand Islands
Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Ontario
Leeds and the Thousand Islands is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties.-Communities:...


|-
|647.9
|648
|

|Eastbound via exit 647
|-
|658.8
|659
|
|
|-
|661.0
|661
|
|
|-
|Front of Yonge
Front of Yonge, Ontario
Front of Yonge is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties. The township had a population of 2,639 in the Canada 2001 Census.-Communities:...


|675.5
|675
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Elizabethtown-Kitley
Elizabethtown-Kitley, Ontario
Elizabethtown-Kitley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.-Communities:The township comprises the communities of Addison, Bellamys, Bellamys Mills, Bells Crossing, Bethel, Butternut Bay, Crystal, Eloida, Fairfield, Fairfield East, Forthton,...


|-
|684.7
|685
|Thousand Islands Parkway
Thousand Islands Parkway
The Thousand Islands Parkway is a parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately to the community of Butternut Bay, in Elizabethtown-Kitley, west of Brockville....


|Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|-
|686.7
|687
|
|Formerly Highway 2
|-
|rowspan=2|Brockville
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...


|696.2
|696
|
|Formerly Highway 29 / Highway 42
|-
|698.0
|698
|North Augusta Road – Brockville
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...

, North Augusta
North Augusta, Ontario
North Augusta is a community of approximately 500 residents in Ontario, Canada. It is located roughly 12 miles north of the city of Brockville, in the Township of Augusta...


|
|-
|Augusta
Augusta, Ontario
Augusta is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.-Communities:The township comprises the communities of Algonquin, Bisseltown, Blue Church, Charlieville, Domville, Garretton, Glenmore, Herrons Corners, Lords Mills, Maitland,...


|704.8
|705
|, Maitland
Maitland, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario
Maitland is a community of approximately 1800 residents, about 5 km east of the city of Brockville, in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River in the township of Augusta. The small village enjoys a rich history dating to the times of British colonialism...


|
|-
|Prescott
Prescott, Ontario
Prescott is a town of approximately 4,180 people on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada. The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, 5 km east of Prescott in Johnstown, connects it with Ogdensburg, New York...


|716.2
|716
|
|
|-
|rowspan=4|Edwardsburgh/Cardinal
Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, Ontario
Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is a township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of eastern Ontario. It includes the villages of Cardinal, Johnstown and Spencerville, as well as several smaller communities....


|-
|720.1
|721A
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exit 721 eastbound
|-
|721.2
|721B
|, Johnstown
Johnstown, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario
Johnstown is a community in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in eastern Ontario, Canada, part of the township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. It is located at the Canadian terminus of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge and at the southern terminus of Highway 416 and Highway...

, US
|Signed as exit 721 westbound
|-
|730.0
|730
|
|
|-
|rowspan=13|Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties, Ontario
The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry is an upper tier county and census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Cornwall...


|rowspan=3|South Dundas
South Dundas, Ontario
South Dundas is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River...


|737.8
|738
|
|
|-
|750.2
|750
|
|Formerly Highway 31
|-
|758.2
|758
|Upper Canada Road
|
|-
|rowspan=3|South Stormont
South Stormont, Ontario
South Stormont is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The township was incorporated on January 1, 1998, by amalgamating the former geographic townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck....


|769.5
|770
|
|
|-
|777.8
|778
|
|
|-
|786.4
|786
|
|Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=3|Cornwall
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...


|789.5
|789
| to US
|
|-
|791.8
|792
|McConnell Avenue
|
|-
|rowspan=2|796.1
|rowspan=2|796
|rowspan=2|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|rowspan=4|South Glengarry
South Glengarry, Ontario
South Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada on the St. Lawrence River in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.The township was created on 1 January 1998, by amalgamating the townships of Charlottenburgh and Lancaster with the independent village of...


|-
|804.6
|804
|
|
|-
|813.8
|814
|
|Formerly Highway 2 south / Highway 34 north
|-
|825.4
|825
|
|
|-
|colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Ontario–Quebec boundary
|828.0
|colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
Continues east as A-20
Quebec Autoroute 20
Autoroute 20 is a major Quebec Autoroute, following the Saint Lawrence River through one of the more densely-populated parts of Canada, and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. At , it is the longest Autoroute in Quebec...

 towards Montreal, QC

See also

  • Southern Ontario Transportation

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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