Ontario Highway 427

Highway 427
Route information
Length:	19.9 km[2] (12.4 mi)
Existed:	December 4, 1971[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	Queen Elizabeth Way/Gardiner Expressway – Toronto
	Highway 401  Highway 407
North end:	Regional Road 7 – Vaughan
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways 400-series • Former ← Highway 420 QEW →

King's Highway 427, also known as Highway 427 and colloquially as the 427, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which connects the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Gardiner Expressway with York Regional Road 7, formerly Highway 7. An arterial extension continues 800 metres (2,600 ft) north to Zenway Boulevard, known as York Regional Road 99. This arterial extension will likely be replaced by a proposed northward extension.

Highway 427 is Ontario's second busiest freeway by volume and one of the busiest in North America. Like the nearby Highway 401, a portion of it is divided into a collector-express system with twelve to fourteen continuous lanes. Notable about Highway 427 are its several multi-level interchanges; the junctions with QEW and Highway 401 were Ontario's first four-level interchanges and were constructed in the late-1960s and early-1970s, while the interchanges with Highway 409 and Highway 407 are more recent and were completed in 1992 and 1995, respectively.

Highway 427 is the main feeder to Toronto Pearson International Airport from the north and south. However, while much of the traffic coming from Highway 407, Highway 401 (eastbound), and the QEW / Gardiner Expressway makes use of the freeway for airport access, it also serves the western portion of Etobicoke (Rexdale), the northeastern portion of Mississauga (Malton) and the western portion of Vaughan (Woodbridge).

Route description

Highway 427 begins at the Queen Elizabeth Way. When built, this was one of the largest interchanges in North America.

Highway 427 is the second busiest freeway in Canada with an average of 300,000 vehicles using the section between the QEW and Highway 401 per day. The section between Burnhamthorpe Road and Rathburn Road has an Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) count of 341,200. The route is 19.9 km (12.4 mi) long.^[2]

At its southern end, the route begins at Coules Court, where Brown's Line becomes Highway 427.^[2] Alderwood Plaza, located on the east side of the route, has a parking lot which provides access to the highway; this is the only at-grade access along the length of the freeway, which thereafter divides and descends beneath Evans Avenue.^[3] The route weaves through the first of two complicated interchanges, providing northbound access to Evans Avenue and the Gardiner Expressway, and southbound access to The Queensway, QEW, Gardiner Expressway and Evans Avenue. North of the interchange, the lanes from Brown's Line diverge. Ramps to and from the QEW and Gardiner Expressway pass over the southbound lanes and converge to form the express lanes of a collector-express system, while the remainder form the collector lanes. This system serves to divide local traffic from freeway-to-freeway traffic; the express lanes provide access between the QEW / Gardiner Expressway and Highway 401, while the collector lanes provide local access between those interchanges.^[4]

Looking south from Rathburn Road

After crossing Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) tracks, the freeway interchanges with Dundas Street. A set of criss-crossing ramps provide access between the collector and express lanes north of here,^[4] referred to as a Basketweave. The highway passes beneath Bloor Street West, but does not provide direct access to it. Instead, ramps to parallel arterial roads are provided; The East Mall and The West Mall parallel the freeway from Evans Avenue to Rathburn Road.^[3] A full interchange is provided shortly thereafter with Burnhamthorpe Road, southwest of Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute. Across from the collegiate, an offramp provides access from the southbound lanes to Holiday Drive and The West Mall. Shortly thereafter, to the north, is a partial interchange with Rathburn Road, which provides access from the northbound lanes and to the southbound lanes.^[4]

Transfers provide a second and final opportunity to cross from express to collector lanes, or vice versa, south of a complicated 1.56 square kilometres (0.60 sq mi) interchange. A final set of ramps along the collector-express system provides access to and from the southbound lanes and Eringate Drive, after which the collectors diverge and the express lanes cross the southbound collectors. The collectors provide access to and from Eglinton Avenue then become Highway 27, while the express lanes interchange with Highway 401 and continue north.^[4]

Highway 427 pushes through the sprawling interchange, being displaced approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) to the west. Despite its size, there is no ramp to provide access from southbound Highway 427 to eastbound Highway 401.^[3] The freeway crosses Renforth Drive then curves to the east of Runway 24R and 24L of Pearson Airport.^[5] Shortly thereafter, it crosses and interchanges with Dixon Road and Airport Road, between which it forms the demarcation line.^[4] Several ramps diverge at this point to provide access to Pearson Airport, and the freeway narrows to eight lanes.^[3]

From here to Finch Avenue, the freeway follows the boundary line between Toronto and Mississauga.^[4] It encounters the third multi-level junction along its length, with Highway 409, which provides access to the airport as well as providing the southbound to eastbound movement that cannot be performed at the interchange with Highway 401 to the south.^[3] Highway 427 continues straight north, narrowing once more to six lanes.^[3] After crossing the Georgetown GO line, it passes west of Woodbine Racetrack and passes beneath Rexdale Boulevard, Morning Star Drive and Finch Avenue West; the first and last feature interchanges. The freeway bends slightly eastward and crosses the Humber River as it drains from Claireville Reservoir.^[4]

The highway bends slightly northeast as it crosses the Humber River, and no longer serves as the boundary between Mississauga and Toronto.^[4] Approaching the fourth and final sprawling interchange, Highway 427 crosses Steeles Avenue and enters Vaughan.^[3] It passes beneath Highway 407 and crosses through an undeveloped area before terminating at its final interchange with Highway 7.^[3][4] The mainline continues north as a four lane arterial road to Zenway Boulevard, and is designated as York Regional Road 99.^[2][4]

The interchange between Highway 427 and Highway 409 was built to its current configuration by 1992

History

Although Highway 427 was not officially designated until 1972,^[6] several sections of freeway were already in place prior to that date. The Toronto bypass, constructed between 1949 and 1956,^[7] established Highway 27 as a four lane freeway between the Queen Elizabeth Way and the new trans-provincial Highway 401.^[8] Highway 401 was extended to the west soon after,^[9] but the divided Highway 27 would not be extended north at that time.^[8] As part of the reconstruction of Toronto International Airport (now Toronto Pearson), a new freeway was built from west of the Highway 401 and Highway 27 junction north to Dixon Road and Indian Line, along the western boundary of Toronto. This was originally known as the Toronto International Airport Road and later the Airport Expressway.

During the nine-year reconstruction of Highway 401 from a four-lane highway to a collector-express system between 1963 and 1972,^[10] the Airport Expressway was connected with the divided sections of Highway 27 to form a continuous freeway. The massive interchange between the highways was constructed with the proposed Richview Expressway in mind beginning in the late-1960s.^[11] It was opened to traffic on December 4, 1971, prior to Highway 27 being renumbered as Highway 427.^[1]

In 1980, Highway 427 was extended to Highway 50 (Albion Road) along the Indian Line, passing over and around the Clairville Reservoir. This was later abandoned in favour of a new routing that provided better access with the future Highway 407.

By 1992, the final at-grade intersections – One at Morning Star Drive, and other being a left-turn to the southbound lanes with eastbound Highway 409 – were replaced, making Highway 427 a fully controlled-access freeway for its entire length.

Highway 427 directly north of the Highway 401/27/Eglinton mega-interchange. Initially built in 1963 as the Toronto International Airport Road, this was widened in the late 1990s to its current configuration.

By the mid-1990s the northern stretch from Highway 401 to Highway 7 was completed, bypassing the former secondary route known as Indian Line, which also served as the Toronto/Peel boundary.

From 2004–2005, an "Ontario" tall-wall concrete median barrier, incorporating high-mast lighting, was installed in the segment between Highway 401 and the QEW, after complaints that the existing steel "W" guardrail (in use since 1972) was insufficient to stop traffic from crossing over to the opposing lanes, considering the high volumes. Though the original truss light poles (initially fitted with mercury, later replaced with high-pressure sodium in the 1990s), were no longer in use, they were not removed until around 2009.

Future

An environmental assessment is currently underway to determine the route for a future extension of Highway 427 from Highway 7, through Brampton and Bolton, to at least Highway 89, and possibly as far north as Barrie. This extension would serve parallel bypass of the existing Highway 400 whose traffic levels are expected to outstrip expansion capacity in the next 20 years.

A temporary arterial road extension was built in 2007 by the Region of York and designated as York Regional Road 99. This road serves to provide improved access to Highway 50, but will be removed when construction begins on the freeway extension.

Exit list

Division	Location	km[2]	Destinations	Notes
Highway 427 continues south as Brown's Line
Toronto		0.0	Coules Court	Southbound terminus of Highway 427
		0.3	Evans Avenue	No access to Gardiner Expressway from northbound entrance
		0.6	Queen Elizabeth Way – Hamilton Gardiner Expressway – downtown Toronto	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; other movements are directed to Evans Avenue
			Sherway Gardens Road The Queensway	No northbound exit; no access to QEW from southbound entrance.
		2.3	Dundas Street	Formerly Highway 5; no access to QEW from southbound entrance
			Gibbs Road	Northbound entrance only
			Valhalla Road	Northbound exit only
			Eva Road	Southbound exit and entrance
		4.2	Burnhamthorpe Road
			Holiday Drive	Southbound exit only
		5.2	Rathburn Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			Eringate Drive	Southbound entrance only; southbound exit accessible from Highway 27 and Eglinton Avenue
		7.8	Eglinton Avenue	No access to Highway 401 east from northbound entrance
			Highway 27 north	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			Highway 401
Toronto–Peel border	Toronto–Mississauga border	10.3	Dixon Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			Fasken Drive	Northbound exit only
		11.6	Highway 409	Southbound access to eastbound 401 via Highway 409
		14.2	Regional Road 5 (Derry Road) Rexdale Boulevard
		16.0	Finch Avenue West
York	Vaughan	18.3	Highway 407
		19.9	Regional Road 7 – Brampton, Vaughan	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Highway 427 continues north as York Regional Road 99

References

Sources

1. ^ ^{a b} "Highway 27 Interchange Fully in Service". The Globe and Mail (Toronto) 128 (38,061): p. 5. December 4, 1971. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2004). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Government of Ontario. http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5. Retrieved February 26, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Google, Inc. Google Maps – Highway 427 length and route (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://g.co/maps/y94wt. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Peter Heiler Ltd. (2011). Golden Horseshoe (Map). pp. 101, 107, 113, 118, 353, section A2–T5, X–Z3. ISBN 978-1-55198-877-1. 
5. ^ "Aviation Investigation Report - A01O0299". Greater Toronto Airport Authority. 2001. http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2001/a01o0299/a01o0299.asp. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
6. ^ Sewell p. 70
7. ^ Sewell p. 63
8. ^ ^{a b} "Speed Limit In Ontario Now At 60". The Ottawa Citizen (Southam Newspapers) 116 (281): p. 23. May 29, 1959. http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=zvoxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cOQFAAAAIBAJ&dq=toronto-bypass&pg=3054%2C3466986. Retrieved March 25, 2010. 
9. ^ Ministry of Transportation and Communications pp. 8–9 "Hwy. 10 to Hwy 27. (Toronto) 6.60 November 3, 1958"
10. ^ Shragge p. 93
11. ^ "A New Maze in the Making for Motorists". The Globe and Mail (Toronto) 126 (37,427): p. 43. November 20, 1969. 

Bibliography

• Brown, Ron (1997). Toronto's Lost Villages. Polar Bear Press. ISBN 1-896757-02-2. 
• Butorac, Yvonne (June 1, 1995). Great Exits – The 401. Boston Mills Press. ISBN 1550461370. 
• '401' The Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1975?. 
• Sewell, John (2009). The shape of the suburbs: understanding Toronto's sprawl. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9587-9. http://books.google.ca/books?id=dFA2YUVA57wC&lpg=PA15&dq=%22Don%20Valley%20Parkway%22&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q=%22Don%20Valley%20Parkway%22&f=false. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
• Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. ISBN 0-7743-9388-2. 
• Stamp, Robert M. (1987). QEW – Canada's First Superhighway. The Boston Mills Press. ISBN 0-919783-84-8. 

External links

• Highway 427 route
• Highway 427 Corridor Environmental Assessment
• Lost Road: Indian Line Road
• Highway 427 @ Asphaltplanet.ca