Bradford Bypass
Bradford Bypass | |
|---|---|
| File:Bradford Bypass (Highway 400 - 404 Link) Updated Diagram.jpg | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario | |
| Length | 16.2 km[1] (10.1 mi) |
| History | Proposed late 1990s Lower priority infrastructure |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  Highway 400 near Bradford |
 County Road 4 (Yonge Street) | |
| East end |  Highway 404 near Keswick |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Divisions | Simcoe County York Region |
| Towns | Bradford West Gwillimbury, King, East Gwillimbury |
| Highway system | |
_Updated_Diagram.jpg){kind=link}
The Bradford Bypass is a proposed east-west highway that would pass north of the town of Bradford, Ontario, Canada. The route would serve as a connector between Highway 400 and Highway 404 on the northern edge of the Greater Toronto Area, in York Region and Simcoe County.[2] The planned western terminus would be Highway 400 near Bradford. The planned eastern terminus would be Highway 404 near Queensville.
Route description
The proposed route of the Bradford Bypass would have it start at a stacked interchange with Highway 400 midway between 8th Line and 9th Line of Bradford West Gwillimbury. From there the four lane rural highway would proceed east, crossing the 10th Sideroad and interchanging with Yonge Street (former Highway 11) immediately north of the town of Bradford. It would then curve southeast to cross the West Holland River into the municipality of East Gwillimbury in the Regional Municipality of York, after which it would interchange with Bathurst Street and straighten out towards the east. The highway would cross the East Holland River and pass immediately south of the Silver Lakes Golf and Country Club. It would cross the original Yonge Street then cut through farmland, parallel with Queensville Sideroad. At Leslie Street, immediately north of the community of Queensville, a partial interchange would provide westward access onto the Bradford Bypass. It would end shortly thereafter at Highway 404.[3]
History
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation conducted an environmental assessment of the project, which considered the highway to be needed for forecast traffic needs of 2025. York Region included the highway in its official plans. Construction was expected to begin by the end of the 2000s, but this changed with the change in provincial government from Ernie Eves to Dalton McGuinty. The McGuinty government developed the "Smart Growth" plan for the Golden Horseshoe Region and did not include the Bradford Bypass in its plans for future highways. In 2016, renewed efforts by the Municipalities reaffirmed the need and request for this highway connection.[4] [5] On May 18, 2017, the Province indicated that this link is back on the updated growth plan.[6]
Continued delays in the construction of the Bradford Bypass meant that the approximately 50,000 cars per day transiting between the two highways used Davis Drive, the former northern end of the 404. This caused massive traffic problems in downtown Newmarket. A bypass was possible by driving a short distance west of the 404 to Leslie Avenue, then north to Green Lane, which connected westward to Yonge Street. However, Green Lane was a two-lane dirt road and spanned the East Holland River using a single-lane bridge built in the 1910s. Several upgrades were carried out to improve this route, including an extension of the 404 to Green Lane, and the widening of Green Lane to a four-lane route across Yonge to Bathurst Street. This route is currently known as the Newmarket Bypass,[7] and opened to Bathurst in 2004.[8]
On 15 August 2019 MPP Caroline Mulroney announced that planning for the bypass will resume.[9]
Proposed exit list
The following table lists the proposed locations for interchanges along the Bradford Bypass contained within the MTO review.[3]
| Division | Location | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simcoe County | Bradford West Gwillimbury | 0.0 | Highway 400 – Toronto, Barrie
|
||
| 5.8 | County Road 4 (Yonge Street) – Bradford, Innisfil
|
Formerly Ontario Highway 11 | |||
| York Region | King - East Gwillimbury boundary | 9.3 | Bathurst Street | ||
| Queensville (East Gwillimbury) | 14.8 |  Regional Road 12 (Leslie Street)
|
Eastbound Exit and Westbound Entrance Only | ||
| 16.2 | Highway 404 – Toronto, Keswick
|
||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- ^ Ministry of the Environment (April 13, 2011). "Highway 400 - Highway 404 Extension Link (Bradford Bypass)". Government of Ontario. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "Bradford Bypass Urgently Required to Support Forecasted Growth, Region Says". The King Township Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ a b http://www.downloads.ene.gov.on.ca/files/eaab/hwy400-404_bradford_NoC.pdf
- ^ "Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review Highway 400-404 Connecting Link" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ "What is the Highway 400–404 Connecting Link?". Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ "East-west transportation artery through Bradford back on province's books". Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ Class Environmental Assessment Update Bathurst Street, Green Lane West to Yonge Street (PDF) (Technical report). 4 June 2009.
- ^ Grey, Jeff (6 September 2004). "Yearly Labour Day traffic snarl unlikely to straighten out soon". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "BREAKING NEWS: Province gives green light to Bradford Bypass". Retrieved August 15, 2019.
External links
- "Bradford Bypass plan shelved, but not eliminated" - York Region
- "Environmentalists glad to see province drop plans for Bradford Bypass" - York Region
- "Bradford bypass not in plans" - York Region
- "Good riddance to bypass, environmentalists say" - Simcoe
- "Province pushes secret deal for Simcoe" - Toronto Star
- Ontario Government page on the Bradford Bypass (named "Highway 400-Highway 404 Extension Link")
- Information about the proposal from the Town of East Gwillimbury