Ontario Highway 401 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Highway 401 |
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Macdonald–Cartier Freeway | ||||
Highway 401 within Ontario, Canada
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario | ||||
Length | 817.9 km (508.2 mi) | |||
History |
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Major junctions | ||||
West end | Highway 3 to Windsor | |||
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East end | A-20 towards Montreal, QC | |||
Location | ||||
Major cities: | Windsor, London, Kitchener, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Kingston and Cornwall | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Ontario Highway 401, also called King's Highway 401, is a provincial highway in southern Ontario, Canada. It is 817.9 kilometres (508.2 miles) long. It starts near Ontario's border with Quebec, where the road is called Quebec Autoroute 20. The western end of the highway is in Windsor.
Construction on the highway started in 1947. By 1952, three different parts of the highway were finished, with the three parts connected by 1964. In 2013, another part of the highway was started. This part would extend the highway to the New International Trade Crossing at the Canadian-U.S. border near Detroit.
In 2008, part of the highway between Trenton and Toronto was called the "Highway of Heroes". This was because many Canadian soldiers who were killed overseas arrived at the Trenton airforce base. Their bodies were then transported along the highway to Toronto.
Images for kids
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The widest segment of Highway 401 is near Toronto Pearson International Airport, with 18 through lanes. Also shown is the Dixie Road interchange.
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Highway 401 widens to six lanes at Highway 402 in London.
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Highway 401 looking west from Don Mills Road overpass, with the Concord Park Place condo development and North York General Hospital in the background.
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Highway 401 ends at the Quebec border, where Autoroute 20 continues towards Montreal and the Maritime provinces.
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The widening of Highway 401 from four to twelve lanes in Toronto took nine years and was accomplished with at least four lanes open at all times. Shown here is the Highway 401 / Don Valley Parkway / Highway 404 interchange under construction in 1965.
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Highway 401 facing southwest in 1958, at the interchange with then-Highway 98 (now Provincial Road) in the foreground, and the split at Dougall Parkway in the background. This segment would be reconstructed in 2008-10.
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Highway 401 was widened in 2008 between Highway 402 and Wellington Road in London. Additional widening west of Highway 402 is planned.
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The Highway 401 extension in Windsor, opened in 2015, is a six-lane below-grade roadway with tunnels and greenspace. It will connect to the planned Gordie Howe International Bridge.
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Highway 401 in the Greenbelt, at the interchange with Guelph Line. The stretch of Highway 401 between Highway 8 and Highway 407 ETR is slated to be widened from six to ten lanes, including two HOV lanes.
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Highway 401 looking east between Avenue Road and Yonge Street; the North York skyline is visible in the distance
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Highway 401 at the interchange with Highway 410 and Highway 403 in Mississauga