Hwy. 400 widening through Vaughan could cause headaches for motorists
Widening of Hwy. to 8 lanes from 6 between Major Mackenzie Drive and King Road requires temporary closures of 2 local roads

yorkregion.com
April 6, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Spring, as most drivers know, marks the kick off to construction season in southern Ontario and this year will see a long-awaited widening of Highway 400 through northern Vaughan and into King Township get rolling.

That could cause headaches for local road users who will also see two major east-west arteries closed for lengthy periods during the three-year project, expected to last until November 2019.

Construction work to widen Hwy. 400 to eight lanes, from six lanes, between Major Mackenzie Drive and King Road to allow for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes is scheduled to start in May.

The work also includes preparation for the eventual widening of the highway to 10 lanes.

During construction, a stretch of Kirby Road at Hwy. 400 will be closed for about five months, starting in June, to widen the bridge over the highway, Donald Cleghorn, project manager for SNC-Lavalin Inc., told Vaughan councillors Tuesday, April 4.

Traffic signals will be installed at Kirby Road and Jane Street as well as at Kirby Road and Weston Road during the road closure to help motorists navigate those intersections more easily.

Next year, a portion of King-Vaughan Road is slated to be closed for eight months, from April to the end of November, so the bridge over the highway can be removed and replaced, he noted.

The bridge will be demolished on a Sunday morning, of a non-holiday weekend, early in the year in order to minimize disruption, Cleghorn added.

Highway 400 will be completely closed for about eight hours that day for the demolition.

There will also be nightly ramp closures at some interchanges and service centres at times during the widening, which as originally slated to begin back in 2011 before it was put on hold.

The pain for drivers caused by this project could be further aggravated by road work the city is planning in the area in 2018 and 2019.

That includes rehabilitation of King-Vaughan Road between Pine Valley Drive and Kipling Avenue; Pine Valley Drive from Kirby Road north as well as Kirby Road from Albion-Vaughan Road to Huntington Road and from Kipling to Keele Street.