North America's (Worlds?) Busiest Highway

[TownGuy]

Is the 401....


The Dawn of a New Day, Highway 401 by John Tavares Jr, on Flickr


Hwy 401 Westbound @ Liverpool Rd by Danielle Scott, on Flickr


DTI_5942r by crobart, on Flickr


Highway 401 by Jimmy Wu Photography, on Flickr

Closed here

Highway 401 Closed!! by Tom Podolec, on Flickr


Highway 401 Closed!! by Tom Podolec, on Flickr

It is one of the world's busiest highways;[6] a 2008 analysis stated that the annual average daily traffic (AADT) count between Weston Road and Highway 400 in Toronto was approximately 450,000,[2] while a second study estimates that over 500,000 vehicles travel that section on some days.[5] This makes it the busiest roadway in North America, surpassing the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles and I-75 in Atlanta.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontar...r_Toronto_Area

As for whether it is the busiest in the world. Statistically don't think anyone knows what it is. The 401 would be the odds on favourite, though.

[Innsertnamehere]

There aren't many highways wide enough to compete with the 401, but a lot of countries don't publish how busy the highways are (china for example), so there is no real way of knowing for sure. The 401 is the busiest out of countries that publish traffic data though.

[mousquet]

Getting lost in counting lanes. It does look like LA's most insane freeways indeed. You'd end up in a coupla dozens of lanes pattern by pushing such a transit strategy too far on the outskirts of large cities like this. It's just impossible for taking way too much room. Everyone on here is aware.

I guess when even the better-off smiles from getting in a train, we're safer.

[Innsertnamehere]

18 continuous lanes is the widest part, the busiest part is 15 lanes though. 62km of 10+ lanes width today, with that expanding to 84km by the end of the decade and 147km once fully built out.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Getting lost in counting lanes. It does look like LA's most insane freeways indeed. You'd end up in a coupla dozens of lanes pattern by pushing such a transit strategy too far on the outskirts of large cities like this. It's just impossible for taking way too much room. Everyone on here is aware.

I guess when even the better-off smiles from getting in a train, we're safer.

And yet Toronto has a far stronger transit system with greater ridership than almost any North American city. I don't have the data at hand but I believe it's second only to New York and Mexico City.

Toronto's 405 is massive, but it goes through the suburbs and carries through-traffic around the city in addition to local traffic (commuters, etc). Compare to the New Jersey Turnpike which has a similar collector-distributor layout. Both Toronto and New York have little or no highways running continuously through the city center (the turnpike photo is Elizabeth, NJ - a suburb).

[Perklol]

So where those places? I'll make sure to avoid that area for many years...

[Innsertnamehere]

The Collector-express system on the turnpike is getting widened essentially all the way to Philadelphia too, once that is done it will be a more impressive highway than the 401, if not quite as busy. The Collector-Express system will be way longer though, at 68 miles. I-95 and the 401 actually play similar roles to the US and Canada, connecting key metro areas and both acting as by far the most important corridor in each country.

The 401 (not 405, the 405 is some small connecting highway near Buffalo) was constructed as a 4 lane bypass of the city in the early 1950's, and thus doesn't enter the old part of the city. It quickly clogged up with traffic, and the province widened it from 4 lanes to 12 lanes, with the first 12 lane sections opening in the mid 1960's. It now varies between 10 and 18 lanes through the city, though the busiest part is 15 lanes and the majority is 14.

They also say that the 401 between Toronto and Detroit is the busiest trucking corridor in North America, though that one isn't as easy to prove. the highway is the lifeblood of the city though, that is for sure.


Toronto does have high transit ridership as well, even in its suburbs. The old city has something like a 35-40% modal share and the suburbs typically sit between 10 and 12%.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by ardecila

And yet Toronto has a far stronger transit system with greater ridership than almost any North American city. I don't have the data at hand but I believe it's second only to New York and Mexico City.

Toronto's 405 is massive, but it goes through the suburbs and carries through-traffic around the city in addition to local traffic (commuters, etc). Compare to the New Jersey Turnpike which has a similar collector-distributor layout. Both Toronto and New York have little or no highways running continuously through the city center (the turnpike photo is Elizabeth, NJ - a suburb).

Third is Montreal, not T.O.

[TownGuy]

^ No it's not. Montreal is 3rd for rapid transit but not overall transit usage.

[ardecila]

Sorry, was thinking of the 405 in LA - another behemoth highway.

[Jelly Roll]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The Collector-express system on the turnpike is getting widened essentially all the way to Philadelphia too, once that is done it will be a more impressive highway than the 401, if not quite as busy. The Collector-Express system will be way longer though, at 68 miles. I-95 and the 401 actually play similar roles to the US and Canada, connecting key metro areas and both acting as by far the most important corridor in each country.

They just opened the new lanes last week. It has made a big difference.

[Beedok]

I've never understood how it was busier than the QEW.

[MolsonExport]

Drive both at all times of the day, and it is clear that 99% of the time, 401>QEW.

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The Collector-express system on the turnpike is getting widened essentially all the way to Philadelphia too, once that is done it will be a more impressive highway than the 401, if not quite as busy. The Collector-Express system will be way longer though, at 68 miles. I-95 and the 401 actually play similar roles to the US and Canada, connecting key metro areas and both acting as by far the most important corridor in each country.

The 401 (not 405, the 405 is some small connecting highway near Buffalo) was constructed as a 4 lane bypass of the city in the early 1950's, and thus doesn't enter the old part of the city. It quickly clogged up with traffic, and the province widened it from 4 lanes to 12 lanes, with the first 12 lane sections opening in the mid 1960's. It now varies between 10 and 18 lanes through the city, though the busiest part is 15 lanes and the majority is 14.

They also say that the 401 between Toronto and Detroit is the busiest trucking corridor in North America, though that one isn't as easy to prove. the highway is the lifeblood of the city though, that is for sure.


Toronto does have high transit ridership as well, even in its suburbs. The old city has something like a 35-40% modal share and the suburbs typically sit between 10 and 12%.

Thought I read something about that. Is that highway 3-3-3-3 or 4-4-4-4?

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Drive both at all times of the day, and it is clear that 99% of the time, 401>QEW.

I didn't mean from actual experience so much as where they're located. The QEW connects Hamilton to Toronto and feels like it runs through the population heart of the GTA, while the 401 seems to mostly slink along the edge.

[UPChicago]

Not a great accomplishment, it takes an hour to get 4 or 5 miles in LA......smh

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by Beedok

I didn't mean from actual experience so much as where they're located. The QEW connects Hamilton to Toronto and feels like it runs through the population heart of the GTA, while the 401 seems to mostly slink along the edge.

The 401 connects all of southern Ontario to Toronto. Also major population centres like KW that are close by. Geographically I've always felt like the 401 at Yonge feels like the heart of the GTA. The QEW skirts the lake too much.

[MolsonExport]

The 401 is as much a through road as a way station within Toronto/GTA. If you are driving from Montreal-->London, you have to take the 401 (or pay $29 fucking dollars to use the 407 bypass, which also currently means a long skirt north through Whitby on a sideroad).

[muppet]

Beijing's ringroads?

6 million cars

[TownGuy]

Quite possibly. On the other hand I don't see 12-18 lanes there.