Highway 406 (Ontario)
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| Highway 406 |
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| Length: | 25 km[1] (15.5 mi) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1965[citation needed] | ||||||||||||
| South end: | Welland | ||||||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 Hwy 58 in Thorold |
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| North end: |  QEW in St. Catharines |
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Highway 406 is a 400-series highway in Ontario, Canada.
It serves as the primary north-south route though the central portion of the Niagara Peninsula, connecting Welland, Thorold and downtown St. Catharines to the Queen Elizabeth Way. The section through downtown St. Catharines wraps through the Twelve Mile Creek valley in a very winding and twisted route, and is therefore only posted at 80 km/h (50 mph) rather than the usual 100 km/h (60 mph). The northbound transition to this lower speed limit has been the scene of many serious accidents, as motorists are unable to judge the sharp turn that occurs just after the reduction in speed limit.
Construction began in 1963, with the first section open in 1965. Extensions were opened in 1970, 1971, 1984, 1991 and 1994. The highway is currently 25 km (16 miles) long.
The highway rose to importance with the introduction of the Ontario Greenbelt legislation that called for more development in southern Niagara as opposed to fruit-rich portion below the Niagara Escarpment. It is expected that the highway will be extended further south into the region, but no timetable has been set. Erie—Lincoln MPP Tim Hudak has introduced a bill in the Ontario Legislature that, if passed, will designate Highway 140 as an extension of Highway 406 into Port Colborne[2]. This bill is supported by local civic leaders, who see it as the first step to the eventual twinning of Highway 140 as a proper 400-series highway. In August 2007, "To 140" shields were posted along with 406 reassurance markers for the length of the southbound portion of the route.
Highway 406 is one of only two 400-series highways with non-freeway sections, the other being Highway 400, which is scheduled to be upgraded by 2007. South of Port Robinson Road, Highway 406 is a conventional two-lane highway with at-grade intersections. A long called-for widening and conversion to a full freeway from the current end of the dual carriageway segment of road (roughly 1 km south of Beaverdams Road) to Port Robinson Road was completed in 2007. No concrete date has been set for a conversion further southward to Welland.
The highway is currently 25 km (16 miles) long, 20 km of which is full freeway with the remaining portion limit-access two-lane highway.
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[edit] Volume Information (2005)
- Highest Volume: 47,800 AADT from Glendale Avenue to Westchester Avenue
- Lowest Volume: 12,800 AADT from East Main Street to Woodlawn Road
[edit] Lane configurations from North to South
| Section | Travel Lanes |
|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth Way to Port Robinson Rd | 2 Travel Lanes in Each Direction |
| Port Robinson Rd to East Main St | 1 Lane per Direction, Undivided |
[edit] Exit list
| Location | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welland | 0 | RR 27 (East Main Street) – Port Colborne, Welland | At-grade |
| 2 | Woodlawn Road (RR 41) | At-grade | |
| Thorold | 4 | Merritt Road (RR 37) - Holland | At-grade; south end of former Hwy 58 south overlap |
| 5 | Port Robinson Road (RR 63) | At-grade | |
| 8 |  Hwy 20 south / Hwy 58 / 20 – Fonthill, Niagara Falls |
North end of Hwy 58 overlap | |
| 11 | RR 67 (Beaverdams Road) | ||
| 15 | RR 71 (St. David's Road) | ||
| St. Catharines | |||
| 15 | Hwy 58 north – Thorold |
South end of Hwy 58 overlap | |
| 17 | RR 89 (Glendale Avenue) | ||
| 19 | RR 91 (Westchester Avenue) | ||
| 20 | RR 46 (Geneva Street) | Southbound exit is via exit 20 | |
| 21 | RR 77 (4th Avenue) | ||
| 25 | QEW – Niagara, Toronto |
[edit] Railway Crossings
Highway 406 is unique, having the only at-grade railway crossing of any 400 series highway. A crossing with a Trillium Railway spur is just south of the Woodlawn Road intersection. This section of Highway 406, however, is not a full freeway, but rather a two-lane expressway. It will be removed when the freeway is extended southward.
[edit] Future plans
An extension south of East Main Street to reach the proposed Mid-Peninsula Highway is currently under review. This section would initially be built as a two-lane freeway, and later upgraded to a full divided freeway as traffic counts warrant. When the extension southward is finalized, kilometre posts will be updated to reflect the eventual length of the highway.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, 2004 Annual Average Daily Traffic
- ^ Hudak Introduces Legislation To Extend Highway 406 To Port Colborne; Bill to designate Highway 140 as part of Highway 406
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