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116-539: King's Highway   403 (pronounced "four-oh-three"), or simply Highway   403 , is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that travels between Woodstock and Mississauga , branching off from and reuniting with Highway 401 at both ends and travelling south of it through Hamilton (where it is also known as the Chedoke Expressway ) and Mississauga. It is concurrent with

232-562: A hydro corridor through the centre of Mississauga. A portion of the Mississauga Transitway express bus service utilizes the freeway's right shoulders between Erin Mills Parkway and Mavis Road. Between Highway   407 and Highway   401, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are present in the left shoulder lanes for vehicles with at least one passenger. Sandwiched between residential subdivisions on both sides,

348-467: A 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) limit on select stretches, and various collision avoidance and traffic management systems. The design of 400-series highways has set the precedent for a number of innovations used throughout North America , including the parclo interchange and a modified Jersey barrier design known as the Ontario Tall Wall. As a result, they currently experience one of

464-557: A 400-series highway may be built where the existing highway's traffic counts fall below 10,000. The MTO plans and finances the construction and maintenance of the King's Highway system, which includes the 400-series network. The system includes 1,971.8 kilometres (1,225.2 mi) of freeways. Highway 401 is the longest freeway at 828.0 kilometres (514.5 mi), in addition to being the widest and busiest road in Canada. Highway 420

580-637: A compromise whereby a 24-hour patrol was established to watch for children until a proper fence could be constructed. The route was opened on September   3, without any ceremony. This completed the Hamilton section of Highway   403. Planning for the segment of Highway   403 through Mississauga dates to the late 1950s when the Hamilton Expressway appeared on the Metropolitan Toronto 's regional transportation plan. It

696-466: A five-year period, one of the highest rates in North America at the time, despite being up to modern road standards. This led Peel Regional Police and the media to nickname it the "Death Highway." In particular, the stretch from Mavis Road to Erin Mills Parkway has been the site of numerous accidents. In this section, Highway   403 features a downward slope as motorists head eastbound towards

812-585: A fourth leg for the future Burlington-Mississauga link, although this necessitated replacing the directional ramp with a lower-capacity loop ramp for the movement from Toronto-bound QEW to the Brantford-bound Highway ;403 (as some traffic was expected to be diverted away from the Burlington Skyway to the under-construction Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway and planned Red Creek Expressway ). The reconfigured Freeman Interchange

928-513: A major user of the airport in the 1930s, but the airport closed in the 1950s to make way for residential development. In 1940, Mount Hope Airport was opened and became the site of RCAF Station Hamilton . During World War II , the field hosted two units for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan : first, No.  10 Elementary Flying Training School (later moved to RCAF Station Pendleton ) using

1044-630: A million passengers as more low-cost carriers began service at the airport. Passenger numbers sharply declined in 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With about 25% of the annual cargo tonnage of Canada's busiest cargo airport Toronto-Pearson, Hamilton is a major Canadian cargo airport. It has consistently ranked as the third or fourth busiest cargo airport in Canada over the last decade behind only Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver and, since 2017, Montréal–Trudeau. With around 70% of Hamilton's cargo tonnage being domestic cargo it has consistently ranked as

1160-404: A minimum 4 lane cross-section with grade separation at all junctions. Interchanges tend to be spaced at least 1.5 kilometres apart in urban areas unless there are basket weave ramps or collector lanes to facilitated shorter merge distances. In rural areas, interchanges tend to be spaced at least 3 kilometres apart, although exceptions exist. When the cross-section of highway is larger than 10 lanes,

1276-826: A network of controlled-access highways in 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 Autoroute system of neighbouring Quebec , and are regulated by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). The 400-series designations were introduced in 1952, although Ontario had been constructing divided highways for two decades prior. Initially, only Highways  400 , 401 and 402 were numbered; other designations followed in

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1392-461: A semi-directional flyover that arcs from the west to the south. This north–south segment of Highway   403 was originally planned as a temporary routing to be bypassed by a new direct Oakville-Burlington link; but in 1995 this routing became permanently part of Highway   403 when the proposed link instead became part of Highway   407. Highway   407 continues to the north and west, while Highway   403 turns east to follow alongside

1508-538: A sharp corner and passing beneath more bridges. This section features a reduced speed limit of 90 km/h (56 mph) as opposed to 100 km/h (62 mph). The highway returns to ground level alongside the Chedoke Creek, a now-channelized river from which the freeway may take its name. As the freeway continues north, it crosses an isthmus between Hamilton Harbour and Cootes Paradise alongside several roads which it has served to replace. It circles around

1624-400: A short greenbelt, with Hamilton Golf and Country Club lying to the north. A divided segment of Highway 6 meets the freeway and continues concurrently with it through Hamilton; to the south, Highway   6 travels to Hamilton International Airport , Caledonia , and Jarvis at Highway 3 . Continuing east, Highway   403 and Highway   6 curve north into Hamilton and meet

1740-635: A smaller 6,010 ft × 150 ft (1,832 m × 46 m) asphalt runway, enough to handle large cargo operations with aircraft such as the Boeing 747 or Antonov An-124 . Hamilton's first airport was the Hamilton Municipal Airport or Civic Airport at Reid Avenue North and Dunsmure Road (site of Roxborough Park) in 1929. It began as the home to the Hamilton Aeroclub. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) became

1856-552: Is also built to 400-series standards, however a 400-series designation has yet to be applied. Most other freeways and expressways in Ontario that lack a 400-series designation have lower construction standards, lower design speeds and lower speed limits. The MTO began planning for the use of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes with the HOV Opportunities Study, contracted to McCormick Rankin in 2001. This led to

1972-715: Is from Downtown Toronto . In October 2017, the Pickering City Council supported the development of an airport in Pickering during its joint-bid with the rest of Greater Toronto to host Amazon HQ2 . However, a GTAA report in December 2017 suggested that an airport in Pickering was not necessary at the moment and that Pearson can meet demand until 2037. Hamilton charges 30 to 50 per cent lower fees to airlines than Pearson and its compact size makes travel quicker for passengers and allows aircraft to spend less time on

2088-485: Is the shortest of the routes at 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi). There are four examples of 400 series standard highways in Ontario that are not signed as such. The Gardiner Expressway between Highway 427 and Parklawn Road was originally built as a section of QEW (Hwy 451) and therefore is built to 400-series standards but lost its QEW designation after being downloaded to the City of Toronto. The section of Highway 7 between

2204-475: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices , Ontario utilizes green signs for guidance purposes, including distances to nearby interchanges and destinations. Generally, blue signage is used to list services and attractions at upcoming exits, known as Tourism-Oriented Directional Signing . However, several exceptions exist, notably blue guidance signage for toll highways such as Highway 407 , in addition to

2320-634: The Bob Rae government altered these plans in 1995 due to budgetary constraints. It was also announced the Mississauga section of Highway   403 would be renumbered as Highway   410, although this was not done. Instead, Highway   403 was signed concurrently along the Queen Elizabeth Way in 2002, remedying the discontinuity. On September 4, 1998, Highway   407 opened between Highway   401 and Highway   403, and by

2436-581: The Credit River valley; it opened on December   2, 1982. The cost of the entire 22 km (13.7 mi) Mississauga segment was $ 87 million. Around the same period, the Ministry of Transportation began to study upgrading Highway   401 to a collector–express system between Renforth Drive and Highway   403, and along Highway   403 between Highway   401 and Highway   10 (Hurontario Street). This took place between late 1982 and

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2552-838: The De Havilland Tiger Moth and Fleet Finch , then No. 33 Air Navigation School using the Avro Anson . After the war, the airport gradually shifted towards civil use, until the military ceased using it as a base for Air Reserve operations in 1964. From 1969 to 1985, Nordair offered jet service from Hamilton to Montreal, Grand Bahama Island and Windsor. City Express flew to Montreal and Ottawa for three months in 1985. Tempus Air offered same route as City Express from 1986 to 1988. USAir began service to Pittsburgh in 1987. By 1988, Pan Am Express flew to New York City and Nationair flew to London, England. Pan Am Express and Nationair stopped their operations at Hamilton in

2668-556: The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway before abruptly turning to the east and descending the Niagara Escarpment . Scenic views of Hamilton, its harbour , port and Lower Princess Falls are along this steep descent. At the bottom of the escarpment the highway travels through a narrow, heavily developed corridor alongside former Highway 8 . It passes beneath multiple bridges in a depressed trench, eventually curving north at

2784-652: The Ontario Tall Wall median barrier and the Parclo A-4 interchange design, the latter which became standard in the design for the widening of Highway 401 through Toronto in 1962. The Institute of Traffic Engineers subsequently recommended this design to replace the cloverleaf interchange throughout North America. Ontario highways rank fourth in North America for fatality rates, with 0.61 fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers in 2017. However, this also includes two-lane provincial highways. On May 1, 2019,

2900-571: The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) for 22 km (14 mi) from Burlington to Oakville . The Highway   403 designation was first applied in 1963 to a short stub of freeway branching off the QEW at Burlington, and the entire route was completed on August   15, 1997, when the section from Brantford to the then-still independent Town of Ancaster was opened to traffic. The section of Highway   403 between Woodstock and Burlington

3016-514: The Thames River . Today, most of this route forms part of former Highway 2 and former Highway 5 . The paving of the divided four-lane Middle Road , with gentle curves, a grass median, and grade-separated interchanges, would set the stage for the freeway concept. It was the first intercity freeway in North America when it opened in June 1939. Thomas McQuesten , the new minister of

3132-666: The Vancouver International Airport , took over 100 per cent ownership of TradePort International in a $ 13-million deal. In late 2007, Trade Port Co. and Citi Corp. bought land from the city of Hamilton to expand runway 06/24 to 9,000 ft (2,743 m). This was expected to happen sometime between 2015 and 2019. Hamilton saw growth as Air Canada resumed daily flights to Montreal in 2016 via Air Canada Express and WestJet adding service to Edmonton , Halifax and Winnipeg . In 2017, Hamilton experienced an 80 per cent increase in passengers, to 600,000, which

3248-401: The collector lanes of highways. The baseline standard for the construction of or expansion to a freeway in Ontario is an average daily traffic count of 10,000 vehicles per day. However, other factors are considered as well, particularly future traffic volume forecasts. To promote economic development in a disadvantaged region (e.g., the current extension of Highway 400 to Northern Ontario ),

3364-595: The hydro corridor between Burlington and Etobicoke Creek was protected after traffic studies indicated the need for a future freeway. On May   25, 1965, the Department of Highways unveiled the Toronto Region Western Section Highway Planning Study. The plan designated Highway   403 north from Burlington and then parallel with the QEW to Highway   401 near Highway   27. By the time construction

3480-427: The 1930s. The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) was first, an upgrade to the partially constructed Middle Road in 1934. McQuesten also sought out the economic opportunities that came with linking Toronto to Detroit and New York state by divided roadways with interchanges at major crossroads. Although he no longer served as Minister of Highways by the onset of World War II , his ambitious plans would come to fruition in

3596-526: The 1960s and 1970s, additional freeways were planned or built, including Highway 427 in Toronto, Highway 403 through Mississauga, Highway 410 north to Brampton and Highway 416 to connect Highways 401 and 417. Highway 420 was designated in Niagara Falls, though it had been built as part of the QEW in 1941. Other major works included the skyway bridges along the QEW and

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3712-736: The 1970s, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and the Government of Canada planned a second international airport for Toronto in Pickering, Ontario , to act as an official relief airport for Toronto-Pearson . Supporters of the plan argued that Hamilton is too far from Toronto to be a reliever, while the opposers pointed out that relief airports for Logan International Airport in Boston ( Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport ), for example, are farther from Downtown Boston than Hamilton Airport

3828-424: The 400-series network, several extensions of existing freeways have been built or are underway, including Highway 410 north of Brampton in 2009, Highway 400 to north of Parry Sound in 2010, Highway 417 to Arnprior in 2012, Highway 404 to Keswick in 2014, Highway 401 through Windsor in 2015, and four-laning Highway 406 to Welland in late 2015. The 400-series highways always have

3944-599: The Brantford Bypass, from Highway   2 (Paris Road) to Rest Acres Road, which would become Highway   24. This work consisted of the twin bridges over the Grand River and an interchange at Rest Acres Road. The Canadian National Railway underpass west of Highway   2 was built by the railway. By the beginning of 1978, this work was completed. Work resumed west of Highway   24 in early 1982 to connect with Highway   401 near Woodstock to relieve

4060-963: The Chedoke Expressway (Highway 403) through Hamilton ; the Don Valley Parkway Extension (Highway 404) northward from the soon-to-be constructed Toronto expressway; Highway 405 to connect with the American border near St. Catharines ; Highway 406 south from St. Catharines to Welland ; Highway 407 encircling the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), though not built for another 40 years; Highway 409 to connect Highway 401 with Toronto International Airport ; and The Queensway (Highway 417) through Ottawa. The first sections of these freeways were opened in 1963, 1977, 1963, 1965, 1997, 1974, and 1960, respectively. Throughout

4176-521: The Department of Highways and the man most responsible for the Middle Road, decided to apply the concept to sections of Highway   2 plagued with congestion . A portion east of Woodstock was rebuilt in this fashion, but World War II would put an end to McQuesten's ambitions, at least temporarily. The end of the Korean War in 1953 heralded the resumption of freeway construction in Ontario;

4292-583: The Highway   401-403-410 interchange, alongside the widening of Highway   410 into a full freeway, and the further expansion of Highway 401's collector-express system. At the time traffic from both freeways was forced onto eastbound Highway   401. Two semi-directional flyover ramps were built, for the Highway ;401 eastbound to Highway 410 northbound movement, and the Highway 410 southbound to Highway 401 eastbound movement,

4408-637: The LRT cross Highway   403 on its own elevated guideway to the west of Hurontario Street overpass. There are preliminary proposals for adding HOV lanes to Highway   403 within Burlington, alongside a proposal to modify the Freeman Interchange. The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 403, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario .  400-series highways (Ontario) The 400-series highways are

4524-506: The MTO introduced a multibillion-dollar Horseshoe Network Project, which included plans to incorporate HOV lanes into numerous 400-series highways. By then, work was already advanced on several projects, including the northbound HOV lane on Highway 404 (that opened on July 23, 2007) and an HOV lane along both directions of Highway 403 between Highway 407 and Highway 401. A third pair of HOV lanes has since been introduced to

4640-547: The Mavis Road interchange; drivers complain of having to slam on the brakes when traffic comes to a standstill, leading to rear-end collisions. There is also glare from the sun that causes vision problems throughout the day. With the expanded capacity of the Burlington Skyway , and the unanticipated traffic volumes on Highway 403, the Freeman Interchange was now faced with a capacity problem. To resolve this,

4756-570: The QEW as it crosses Ford Drive (Halton Regional Road 13) , with the eastbound lanes diving under the QEW and Upper Middle Road before reuniting with the westbound carriageway. After running north–south for 5 km (3.1 mi) along the western edge of Mississauga, Highway   403 meets with Highway 407 again at a combination interchange where the two freeways curve 90 degrees to avoid crossing each other. Approaching this junction Highway   403 westbound traffic defaults onto Highway   407 so motorists have to continue on Highway   403 via

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4872-426: The QEW was opened to traffic on December   1, 1963 at a length of 9.0 km (5.6 mi). Work was already underway on the next section of the route that would extend it to Aberdeen Avenue . That section opened on July   9, 1965, extending the freeway by 3.7 km (2.3 mi). Meanwhile, to the west, work had begun on a bypass of Brantford. The new freeway passed north of the city between Paris Road in

4988-473: The QEW, as the current north–south routing of Highway   403 along the Mississauga-Oakville boundary to end at the QEW was intended to be temporary and eventually assumed by the proposed Highway   407. When originally opened in 1981, the Highway   403 westbound carriageway initially followed a ninety degree turn from west to south near Ninth Line, however in 1989 this was replaced by

5104-895: The QEW/403 through Oakville, and a fourth individual HOV lane travels eastbound on Highway 417 from just west of Eagleson Road in Ottawa to just east of Moodie Drive. More than 450 kilometres (280 mi) of HOV lanes are currently proposed for construction by 2031. Future plans include extending existing HOV lanes and introducing them to other 400-series freeways. as of October 2014 , two projects have been confirmed: Highway 410 between Highway 401 and Queen Street in Brampton, and Highway 427 between Highway 409 and Highway 7. The MTO has stated that HOV lanes will only be introduced through new construction and that no general-purpose lanes will be converted. The general goals of

5220-490: The United Kingdom, including Liverpool , Manchester and Doncaster . In 2010, WestJet cut two-thirds of its flights out of Hamilton. The only remaining service by WestJet was one daily service to Calgary . In 2015, Air Canada Rouge planned to begin daily service to Calgary by June 2015 but the launch was delayed and ultimately cancelled. In 2007, YVR Airport Services (now Vantage Airport Group ), which runs

5336-600: The United States declined as nearby Buffalo Niagara International Airport gained popularity for cross-border travellers in the region, but Hamilton remained an important base for a number of domestic low-cost carriers . The airport is the third largest cargo airport (after Toronto–Pearson and Vancouver ) and the "largest overnight express cargo airport" in Canada. Hamilton includes a 10,006 ft × 200 ft (3,050 m × 61 m) asphalt runway with centreline lighting for low-visibility operations and

5452-476: The addition of a new HOV lane to the Highway   403 eastbound collectors that would tie into the expanded Highway   410, as well as the approach to the loop ramp to Highway   401 westbound. Construction commenced on these ramps by 2017. The construction was completed in November 2018, allowing for full access in all directions between both freeways. Highway   403 between Woodstock and Burlington

5568-443: The advances in machinery more than made up for lost time. The construction of Highway   401 across the province took first priority. However, the opening of the section of Highway 401 from Highway   4 near London to Highway   2 east of Woodstock on May   31, 1957 would complete part of the route required between London and Hamilton. By 1958, planning on the Chedoke Expressway, or Controlled Access Highway   403,

5684-489: The airline's eastern region hub , and flying to destinations from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia . Continental Airlines also offered service to Cleveland in 2000 but stopped in the same year. In April 2004, seeking to compete with Air Canada for business travellers, WestJet moved its eastern hub from Hamilton to Toronto Pearson International Airport . While Hamilton retained flights to many destinations, services to Montreal and Ottawa were ended. In

5800-642: The airport to Hamilton GO Centre and West Harbour GO Station . Megabus began daily express service between the airport and Toronto in 2019, as of 2024 serving one trip a day from the Union Station Bus Terminal . King Shuttle provides pre-booked service from the airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport , Toronto Union Station , other destinations in Greater Toronto Area , and Niagara Falls . The aviation programs of Mohawk College have shared facilities at

5916-473: The back lot lines of the second concession south of former Highway   2. This first section of the highway is also the least travelled portion, with approximately 20,900   vehicles using it on an average day in 2016. The highway passes beneath Oxford County Road 55 (formerly Highway   53) and curves southeast. After crossing into the third concession, it curves back to the east. The highway travels straight for several kilometres, meeting with

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6032-606: The bottlenecked Highway 403/QEW/Ford Drive interchange in Oakville. Since 2017, traffic using the existing loop ramp in the NE corner to access Highway 403/QEW was directed onto a new overpass instead of sharing the existing overpass with westbound Highway 403 traffic. The existing bridges carrying QEW traffic across Ford Drive and the eastbound ramp to Highway 403 were demolished and replaced by new wider structures which can accommodate future HOV lanes and high-mast lighting. At

6148-594: The central gap, crossing the Credit River, was completed in December 1982. Construction to bridge the gaps in Highway   403 between Ancaster and Woodstock was carried out over three major phases. The first phase was a short extension of the Brantford Bypass beginning in 1975, however motorists would have to continue on Highway   2/53 to reach Highway   401. Later, work began to connect that extension with Highway   401 near Woodstock, which opened in 1988. An existing portion of Highway   2 served as

6264-409: The company folded in 1997. In 1996, Hamilton-Wentworth signed a contract with a private company to manage and operate it for 40 years. The consortium consisted of WestPark Developments, Vancouver Airport Authority and TradePort International Corporation Ltd., a subsidiary of Vantage Airport Group, which manages 10 airports. In 2000, WestJet expanded to Canada's eastern region, choosing Hamilton as

6380-546: The connector between the Woodstock-Brantford and Ancaster-Hamilton segments, until the last phase between Ancaster and Brantford finally opened in 1997. The final discontinuity, between Burlington and Oakville, was signed as a concurrency with the QEW in 2002. Originally, Highway   403 was to be extended westward from Oakville to connect directly with the Burlington-Brantford segment, bypassing

6496-589: The dividing Ontario Tall Wall concrete barrier were constructed using the existing right-of-way provided by the grass median. Metrolinx began construction of the Mississauga Transitway West between Winston Churchill Boulevard and Erin Mills Parkway in October 2013, including realignment of hydro towers and new bus-only lanes crossing the existing ramps on the north side of Highway   403's interchange with Winston Churchill Boulevard, which

6612-438: The early 1980s. The first section between Cawthra Road and Highway   401 was opened August   18, 1980. This was followed by a short section from Highway 5 (Dundas Street) south to the QEW at Ford Drive, which opened in mid-1981, with a further extension to Erin Mills Parkway opening on November   17th of that year. The final section to be opened took the longest to complete, involving construction of two bridges over

6728-434: The end of the decade, construction of Highway 407 and Highway 416 had begun, and Highway 410 was expanded from two to four lanes. Highways 407 and 416 opened in the late 1990s. Until early 2015, Highways 407 and 416 were the most-recently designated (and constructed) freeways in Ontario. This has changed with the construction of Highways 412 and 418 . In addition to these new additions to

6844-548: The existing bridge crossing Highway   403. At the southern approach to the bridge, there would be a junction for an LRT branch to the Mississauga City Centre, and the junction would have crossed the southbound traffic lanes of Hurontario Street and a Highway   403 exit ramp at grade. However studies showed that this initial LRT route would seriously impact vehicular traffic at the Highway   403-Hurontario interchange. A revised 2021 route proposes that

6960-558: The expansion of Highway 401 through most of Toronto into twelve-lane collector–express systems. By the mid-1980s, the network had more-or-less taken its current shape, with only Highways 407, 412, 416 and 418 yet to be built. Instead, emphasis was placed on expanding existing routes to accommodate increasing traffic volumes. However, extensions of Highway 400 towards Parry Sound , Highway 403 between Woodstock and Hamilton, Highway 404 towards Newmarket , and Highway 427 towards Vaughan were underway. By

7076-410: The express lanes defaulting to Highway   401 east of that interchange, while the collector lanes thereafter continues north as Highway 410 to Brampton . Highway   403 begins at a junction with Highway   401 on the outskirts of Woodstock. The eastbound lanes split from eastbound Highway   401, whereas the westbound lanes merge into westbound Highway   401. It travels along

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7192-467: The first divided highways conceived for Ontario, Highway   403 is one of the most recently completed freeways in the province; the multiple segments of the route did not become continuous until 2002. Planning for the route was underway by 1958, as a portion of QEW was realigned from its original alignment of Middle Road to the Freeman Diversion which also included three-legged junction for

7308-483: The first phase of an interchange between Highway   403 and Highway   407, while the Highway   403 westbound carriageway was shifted to a semi-directional flyover. The northern leg (to Highway   401 just west of Mississauga) and western leg of that junction would be completed later; the partially-completed interchange included a temporary east–west connector (known internally by MTO as Highway 7197) to Trafalgar Road (Halton Regional Road   3). However,

7424-777: The first time in over a decade, but ceased operations citing Boeing 737 MAX groundings . During the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario , Hamilton airport saw 60% reduction in passenger services over the year 2020 while peak levels of cargo operations were maintained. The airport was a key entry point for imported medical supplies into the country, including Canada's first shipment of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine which landed on December 14, 2020 from Cologne , Germany by UPS Airlines . In January 2023, Icelandic airline Play announced plans to bring flights between Hamilton and Reykjavík in June 2023, re-introducing service to Europe. Since

7540-599: The following decades as Highways 400, 401, 402, 403 (between Woodstock and Hamilton), and 405. The construction boom following the war resulted in many new freeway construction projects in the province. The Toronto–Barrie Highway (Highway 400), Trans-Provincial Highway (Highway 401), a short expansion of Highway 7 approaching the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia (Highway 402), and an expansion of Highway 27 (eventually designated as Highway 427 by

7656-431: The following year. Canadian Partner began service to Montreal and Ottawa in 1989. Canadian Partner's service to Montreal and Ottawa ended in 1991. In the same year, Pem-Air and Air Laurentian offered service to Ottawa but both airlines stopped the route in 1993. Northwest Airlink offered flights to Detroit from 1992 to 1993. There was no scheduled passenger service until Greyhound Air flew to Hamilton in 1996 before

7772-403: The freeway enters Ancaster, it once again crosses former Highway   2 and dips through the southern side of the town. Since July 12, 2024, the speed limit on the 26 km (16 mi) stretch between the west end of the highway and Brantford and the 14.5 km (9.0 mi) stretch between Brantford and Hamilton is 110 km/h (68 mph). East of Ancaster, the freeway passes through

7888-512: The freeway soon thereafter crosses the Credit River . On the other side of the river, between the interchanges with Mavis Road and Hurontario Street (formerly Highway 10 ), Highway   403 skirts to the north of downtown Mississauga , as well as the Square One Shopping Centre . After a split with Eastgate Parkway, the freeway abruptly curves to the north. As the curve straightens, Cawthra Road's lanes converge with

8004-423: The freeway to form a collector-express system as it approaches the interchange with Eglinton Avenue , while the eastbound express-to-collector transfer also marks the start of another HOV lane. The portion of the highway between Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue is the busiest along the route, with approximately 180,000   vehicles travelling it on an average day in 2016. After crossing Matheson Boulevard,

8120-530: The freeway's central HOV lanes terminate and merge with the express lanes. The freeway then approaches a sprawling interchange , with the express lanes curving east and defaulting to Highway   401's express lanes east of that junction, while the collector lanes (including its HOV lane) pass under several sets of flyovers and thereafter continues north as Highway 410 to Brampton . The freeway's collector lanes also have connecting ramps to both directions of Highway   401's collector lanes. Though one of

8236-489: The future Highway   403. Sections of Highway   403 through Hamilton opened between December 1963 and September 1969. An isolated section known as the Brantford Bypass was opened in October 1966, and would remain unconnected to other freeways for over 20   years. Plans for a third segment through Mississauga were contemplated throughout the 1960s, but were not finalized until late 1977, after which construction began. Portions opened at both ends in 1980 and 1981, while

8352-525: The government of Ontario was looking towards raising the speed limits of the 400-series highways up to 120 km/h (75 mph) Jeff Yurek , Transportation Minister at that time had stated that "The 400-series highways were built for, I believe, a speed limit of 120 km/h safely." A 110 km/h (68 mph) trial was set up on three stretches of highways on September 26, 2019, to test the viability of increasing speed limits. The three trialed sections along with three more sections were permanently changed to

8468-447: The ground. Air Canada operates a bus connection between Hamilton and Toronto Pearson International Airport when flights are booked with them. Hamilton has experienced significant volatility in its passenger traffic numbers. The airport met its peak at 1,041,204 passengers in 2003, when it was a hub for WestJet for a year before moving operations to Toronto-Pearson. Between 2016 and 2019, passenger numbers again increased close to

8584-441: The high traffic volumes along Highway   2. This included interchanges at Brant County Road   25 and Highway   53. A section from Highway   24 to County Road   25 was opened in November 1984, followed by the section west of there to Highway   53 one year later. Construction of the gap between Highway   53 and Highway   401 began in late 1985, followed by the overpass crossing Highway   401 for

8700-426: The higher speed limit on April 22, 2022, and two more sections were trialed. The two trialed sections were made permanent along with 10 more sections on July 12, 2024. On October 2, 2024, Premier Doug Ford mentioned in a press conference that he had directed Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to raise the speed limit on all remaining 400-series highway sections “where it is safe to do so”. Conforming with

8816-421: The latter which replaced an existing loop ramp. The removal of that loop ramp, as well as completion of the new flyovers in the interchange, would free up space for connections between Highway 403 and Highway 410 whose construction started in December 1991. The 2.2 km (1.4 mi) link opened on November   2, 1992 at a cost of $ 7.3 million. In 1975, construction began on a westward extension of

8932-587: The left-hand exit/entry of the flyover ramps marking the western terminus of Highway 407 , then it merges with Queen Elizabeth Way . Highway   403 travels concurrently with the QEW for 22.6 km (14.0 mi) between the Freeman Interchange and Oakville, a straight section surrounded almost entirely by commercial units and warehouses. At the Ford Assembly Plant near the Halton – Peel regional boundary, Highway   403 branches off from

9048-476: The lowest accident and fatality rates comparative to traffic volume in North America. When the 400-series designations were first applied to Ontario freeways in 1952, several divided highways had already been opened in Southern Ontario. Originally inspired by German Autobahns , Minister of Highways Thomas McQuesten planned a network of "Dual Highways" across the southern half of the province during

9164-488: The mid-1970s) into part of the Toronto Bypass were all underway or completed by the early 1950s. Seeking a way to distinguish the controlled-access freeways from the existing two-lane King's Highways, the Department of Highways created the 400-series designations in 1952. By the end of the year, Highway 400, 401, and 402 were numbered, although they were only short stubs of their current lengths. Highway 401

9280-492: The middle of 2001 access was added to the Burlington–Oakville segment of Highway   407 previously intended to be part of Highway   403. In early 2001, high-mast lighting was added to the unlit Mississauga section between Highway   407 and Eastgate Parkway. The lighting masts are placed between the westbound carriageway and hydro corridor, rather than in the median like most other provincial freeways. In 2003,

9396-470: The new section lacked any barriers preventing children from wandering onto the highway, postponing the ceremony until August   27 as temporary snow fencing was erected. This proved inadequate, and protests grew more vocal over the following week. Several petitions were presented to Deputy Highway Minister H. Howden on August   26, and the ceremonies were cancelled. Over the following week, Minister of Highways George Gomme met with residents and reached

9512-527: The northern shore of Hamilton Harbour and returns to an eastward orientation. The concurrency with Highway   6 ends at an interchange where Highway   403 continues east and Highway   6 departs north towards Guelph . The freeway continues straight for several kilometres, passing by the Burlington Transmission Station, until it approaches the Freeman Interchange where the opposing carriageways split apart to accommodate

9628-482: The northern side of Hamilton Harbour to encounter the QEW. From there, co-signed with the QEW, it travels straight through Burlington and Oakville, departing from the QEW to the north at the Mississauga–Oakville boundary. The freeway then crosses through the centre of Mississauga in an east–west direction, serving its city centre. Turning north, Highway   403 splits up into a collector-express system , with

9744-400: The north–south routing of Highway   403 along the Mississauga-Oakville boundary that would then be re-designated as part of the proposed Highway   407. Budget shortfalls in 1995 resulted in a change of plans, so Highway   403 retained the existing north–south segment in Oakville, while the vacant corridor for Highway   403 from Oakville to Burlington has since been occupied by

9860-483: The present Highway 403 only connects to the QEW west of the interchange, but a new set of flyover ramps are being proposed from Highway 403 to the QEW east of that junction using the existing right-of-way which would allow for a direct freeway connection from Milton to south Mississauga. The 2017 initial design of the Hurontario LRT line had it occupying the centre median of Hurontario Street including

9976-400: The previously mentioned issues that occurred in 1969, portions of the freeway through Mississauga were built alongside established communities, leading to angry homeowners' associations pressuring the province for noise mitigation measures and compensation. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Mississauga section of Highway   403 was the site of more than two dozen fatal accidents over

10092-806: The project are to help increase highway efficiency (an HOV lane is claimed by the Ontario government to have the ability to move as many people as four general-purpose lanes), reduce congestion, conserve energy and help protect the environment. During the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games held in Toronto , several HOV lanes had their minimum requirements increased from two passengers to three, and some highways had their general-purpose lanes temporarily converted to HOV lanes to accommodate increased traffic. These temporary restrictions lasted from June 29 to August 18. 2021 saw several new HOV lanes opened. The southbound HOV lane on Highway   400 between King Road and Major Mackenzie Drive

10208-491: The renamed Ministry of Transportation began planning for the missing link of Highway 403 between Burlington and Mississauga that would run parallel to the QEW; this right-of-way would be sold to the 407 ETR consortium in 1995 and built as part of that route. Work began in August 1991 to reconfigure the directional T interchange to modern standards which included realigning the QEW carriageways as mainline traffic, and adding

10324-457: The right shoulders between Erin Mills Parkway and Mavis Road were widened for GO Transit and Mississauga Transit to run express bus service . These projects preceded the widening of Highway   403 between Highway   407 and Highway   401/410, through which a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane was added in each direction; the project started on September 29, 2003 and was completed and opened on December   13, 2005. The HOV lanes and

10440-782: The road is usually arranged into a local–express lane system, which exist on sections of Highways 400, 401, 403, 404 and 427. On all but a few interchanges in the whole system, ramps merge freely on the highway except if there are ramp meters in use, and stop or yield controlled ramps are rare. An interchange with stop-controlled ramps onto Highway 400 at Canal Road is currently scheduled for replacement. While older freeways have some lapses in safety features, contemporary 400-series highways have design speeds of 130 km/h (81 mph), speed limits ranging from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 110 km/h (68 mph), various collision avoidance and traffic management systems, and several design standards adopted throughout North America. Of note are

10556-702: The southern leg of Highway 24 , which travels south to Simcoe . The highway crosses the Grand River to the south of Paris , then passes over former Highway   2 as it enters Brantford . As it passes through Brantford, the highway angles southeast and passes beneath the northern leg of Highway   24 and then the Wayne Gretzky Parkway. The route exits the small city to the east and curves northeast shortly thereafter. It travels between Jerseyville Road and former Highway   2 to Ancaster , jogging to avoid cutting through Dunmark Lake. As

10672-466: The subsequent decades. To this day, not all controlled-access highways in Ontario are a part of the 400-series highway network. The network is situated almost entirely in Southern Ontario , although Highway 400 extends into the more remote northern portion of the province. Modern 400-series highways have high design standards, speed limits of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), with

10788-450: The summer of 1985; the existing outermost ramps from Highway   403 to Highway   401 eastbound were re-designated to serve collector traffic, as a pair of flyover ramps were added inside the interchange to serve motorists in the express lanes. The right-of-way originally intended for Highway   403 between Cawthra Road and Etobicoke Creek was eventually used for a controlled-access arterial extension called Eastgate Parkway, which

10904-573: The test trial of three HOV lanes in the GTA in December 2005: southbound Highway 404 between Highway 7 and Highway 401, with a dedicated HOV ramp built to connect with westbound Highway 401, and Highway 403 in both directions between Highway 407 and Highway 401 in Mississauga. Since then, HOV lanes have been opened on several 400-series freeways around the Golden Horseshoe and National Capital Region . In May 2007,

11020-415: The third busiest domestic cargo airport in Canada behind Vancouver and Toronto. Amazon , DHL , FedEx , Purolator , and UPS operate major shipping centres within or next to the airport. The airport is located near Highway 6 , which provides access to Hamilton International Airport via Highway 403 . The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) operates bus route 20 A-Line Express, a limited-stop service, from

11136-429: The town of Carleton Place and its junction with Highway 417 is also built to 400-series standards, but a 400-series designation has yet to be applied. Highway 69 between Sudbury and Key River is built to 400-series standards in anticipation of it becoming part of Highway 400 once the 70-kilometre (43 mi) gap between the two freeways is filled. Highway 115 north of Highway 35/Highway115 concurrency and Peterborough

11252-520: The wake of the WestJet pullout, CanJet began service to Hamilton in 2003. Then in the spring of 2005, two weeks after Air Canada Jazz announced it would enter the local market with service from Hamilton to Montreal and Ottawa, CanJet announced a complete withdrawal from Hamilton. Citing high fuel prices, Air Canada Jazz withdrew its services from Hamilton airport to Montreal and Ottawa by 2008. From 2007 to 2009, Flyglobespan offered seasonal service to

11368-440: The west and the junction of Highway   2 and Highway 53 in the east, a distance of 10.3 km (6.4 mi); it opened October   31, 1966. A portion of the Brantford Bypass was itself bypassed in 1997 when the final section of Highway   403 was completed and is known as Garden Avenue. However, the Brantford Bypass would remain an isolated section of Highway   403 for over 20   years. In Hamilton, work

11484-581: The westbound lanes, which began in 1987 with the westbound carriageway of Highway   401 temporarily diverted to speed up construction of the cast-in-place post-tensioned flyover. Transportation minister Ed Fulton ceremoniously opened the new freeway connection on September   26, 1988, completing the Woodstock to Brantford link. Highway   403 was briefly left with three discontinuous sections: Woodstock–Brantford, Ancaster–Burlington, and Oakville–Mississauga. Between Brantford and Ancaster, traffic

11600-462: The westmost segment of Highway   407 ETR that opened in 2001 The corridor that connects London and Hamilton has always been considered important to Ontario. In late October 1793, Captain Smith and 100 Queen's Rangers returned from carving The Governor's Road ( Dundas Street ) 32 km (20 mi) through the thick forests between Dundas and the present location of Paris . John Graves Simcoe

11716-471: Was actually underway, plans had been completely modified to connect the overburdened QEW at Oakville with Highway   401 at the new Highway   410 interchange. This interchange was a better connection point for Highway   403, but would also require the widening of Highway   401 from six lanes to twelve. Plans were submitted and approved in December 1977 by Mississauga city council, and construction began. The new freeway opened in sections during

11832-468: Was assembled across the province in a patchwork fashion, becoming fully navigable between Windsor and the Quebec border on November 10, 1964; Highway 400 was extended north to Coldwater on Christmas Eve 1959; Highway 402 was extended to London between 1972 and 1982. In addition to this network backbone, plans for additional 400-series highways were initiated by the late 1950s, comprising

11948-421: Was carried out over the next seven years, with the link opening on August   15, 1997. Highway   2, which was the only parallel route before the completion of Highway   403, was subsequently downloaded to regional jurisdiction. Though some officials considered Highway   403 to be a perfect example of a freeway construction process, it was not built without its share of controversy. In addition to

12064-449: Was completed on December 31, 2016. Land was reserved at the Highway   401/403/410 junction for a loop ramp from Highway   403 eastbound to Highway   401 westbound, and a directional ramp for the opposite movement, however as a prerequisite Highway   401 first had to be widened west of this interchange. The existing underpasses for the Highway   403 to Highway   410 link have sufficient right-of-way to accommodate

12180-430: Was defaulted onto Highway   2, a four-lane road with numerous private driveways and at-grade intersections. On March   24, 1987, Chris Ward , MPP for Wentworth North announced that construction of the missing link between Brantford and Ancaster would begin in 1989. Construction began in mid-1990. It included interchanges at Garden Avenue, Highway   52 and Highway   2. A continuous construction program

12296-489: Was formally dedicated as the Alexander Graham Bell Parkway on April   27, 2016, in honour of Alexander Graham Bell . The majority of Highway   403 is surrounded by suburban land use, except west of Hamilton, where it passes through agricultural land; Brantford is the only urban area through this section. In Hamilton, Highway   403 descends the Niagara Escarpment , then wraps around

12412-602: Was formally dedicated as the Alexander Graham Bell Parkway on April   27, 2016. At the Desjardins Canal in Hamilton, starting in May 2022 the existing bridge for the eastbound lanes was replaced by a new single span pre-stressed NU girder structure bridge, while for the westbound lanes the 3 span 18 steel girder westbound structure was rehabilitated. [1] [2] [3] Improvements were made to

12528-470: Was opened on September   11, 2021; while the northbound lane opened two months later on November   11. The Highway   427 extension, which opened on September   18, included an HOV lane north of Finch Avenue. The following table lists planned expansions to the HOV network by 2031. John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport The airport opened in 1940 as Mount Hope Airport, which

12644-761: Was partially opened on October 23, 1993 to serve the existing QEW and Highway 403 segments; the first sod for what would open as Highway 407 was turned that day. The completed ramps (the first to be built were cast-in-place post-tensioned bridges to cross Highway 403 westbound, followed in 2000 by precast girder bridges to pass over the North Service Road) connecting to the future Burlington-Mississauga freeway sat unused until that segment finally opened on July 30, 2001, as part of Highway 407 ETR. The Hamilton-Brantford and Mississauga sections of Highway   403 were eventually planned to be linked up via an east–west extension that would run parallel to

12760-410: Was planned beginning in 1982. The extension was built between 1988 and 1994, incorporating a portion of Fieldgate Drive at the eastern end. The first section, between Cawthra Road and Dixie Road, opened in early 1991. This was followed several years later by the section from Dixie Road to Eglinton Avenue that opened in late 1994. In 1990 construction was underway on the planned but not-yet-built parts of

12876-580: Was primarily a Royal Canadian Air Force base, the history of which is reflected at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum located next to the airport. The end of World War II saw the closure of the base, and its conversion to civil use attracted regional and international passenger services with connections to major Canadian cities and seasonal destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. Regular services to

12992-553: Was still well below its capacity of 3 million per year. In 2018, ultra-low-cost carriers including Swoop , Flair Airlines , Canada Jetlines chose Hamilton as a hub for service to the Greater Toronto region. Flair Airlines later shifted operations to Toronto-Pearson in mid-2018 and Air Canada Express again ended its service to Montreal in early-2019. From March to September 2019, Norwegian Air Shuttle operated flights to Dublin , bringing transatlantic service to Hamilton for

13108-481: Was tasked with defending Upper Canada from the United States following the American Revolution and with opening the virgin territory to settlement. After establishing a "temporary" capital at York , Simcoe ordered an inland route constructed between Cootes Paradise at the tip of Lake Ontario and his proposed capital of London . By the spring of 1794, the road was extended as far as La Tranche, now

13224-485: Was to be a continuation of the Richview Expressway , which was ultimately never built, continuing from Toronto to Hamilton. The plan featured the expressway's eastern terminus at the Highway   401 and Highway   427 interchange. As Toronto's anti-expressway movement gained momentum, provincial plans shifted the Hamilton Expressway to the west near Etobicoke Creek . In 1962, the right-of-way alongside

13340-493: Was underway on an extension of the Chedoke Expressway to Mohawk Road, crossing the Niagara Escarpment. This tedious project, which required extensive rock blasting, was soon accompanied by construction from Mohawk Road to Highway   2 near Ancaster. Both projects were completed together and originally scheduled to be opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August   22, 1969. However, local residents complained

13456-502: Was well underway, though plans for a four-lane freeway between Woodstock and Hamilton existed as early as 1954. The opening of the Freeman Diversion alignment of the QEW in August 1958 provided a connection point for the future Chedoke Expressway, and construction began the same day that the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway opened: October   31, 1958. Highway   403 between Longwood Road (Highway   2) and

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