Hamilton Roads

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Plans to expand Hamilton’s Highway 6 move forward
https://www.insauga.com/plans-to-exp...-move-forward/

This is great news!

Assuming the existing bridges are fine, interchanges at Book Rd. and the airport connection will be the most involved parts, plus whatever they decide to do at U. James... e.g., will there be an interchange with expanded Hwy 6 directly feeding into the highway south of the current intersection? Or just widen the current intersection and keep the lights.

This is the Ontario news release:
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...ighway-6-south

HAMILTON – The Ontario government has procured AECOM as the successful engineering consultant to undertake a Preliminary Design and Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Update Study for the widening of Highway 6 South in the City of Hamilton. The project will increase lane capacity from two lanes to four over a nine kilometre segment between Highway 403 and Upper James Street, as part of the government’s plan to build Ontario.

“Our smart, targeted highway investments, like widening Highway 6 South in Hamilton, will better connect communities, create good-paying jobs and support the needs of a growing population,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “Four-laning this corridor will improve the movement of people and goods, while serving the national, regional and local economies.”

Highway 6 from Highway 403 to Upper James Street is the primary connection from John Munro Hamilton International Airport to the Greater Golden Horseshoe via Highway 403.

“The widening of Highway 6 from two lanes to four is vital to the continued growth of the John Munro Hamilton International Airport and the surrounding areas,” said Donna Skelly, MPP Flamborough-Glanbrook. “This is an important step forward in our work to ensure the safe, efficient movement of people and goods here in Hamilton and across the region.”

The Preliminary Design and EA Update Study will include outreach to Indigenous communities, municipalities, and stakeholders including the airport and business owners, and will commence in spring 2022, with a targeted completion of spring 2024.

[Innsertnamehere]

I suspect we won't see interchanges at all and instead will simply see a Hanlon Parkway type road with two carriageways but still signalized intersections.

[ScreamingViking]

Maybe. The airport access may demand more than that, depending on the truck traffic in and out (though much of that may be using Upper James, for the warehouse/distribution centre properties east and north of the air field)

They could also just do simple diamond interchanges. I'd hope for a bridge over Book because that setup isn't ideal for trucks -- they either have to slow down for the light coming down the hill from the 403, or accelerate uphill if heading north from a stop at the intersection.

[Pulkvedis Pods]

I am wondering if the increased capacity of Highway 6 Northbound is going to strain the interchange with Highway 403 and the Linc even more. That short stretch of highway sees plenty of accidents because of merging vehicles from the 6 onto 403 and left lane vehicles merging right to get on to the Linc. That area needs to be seriously studied and planned right!

[Innsertnamehere]

I agree that I hope for interchanges, but a simple second carriageway will be a fraction of the cost of two new interchanges atop it.

The Airport Parkway interchange would probably be a relatively simple (and relatively inexpensive) trumpet interchange, but Book has been planned as a full Parclo A4 and will be pricey.

The Liard Road interchange on the Hanlon Parkway would be similar to Book Road and it cost $15 million in 2011, so today you are probably looking at $20-25 million.

[LikeHamilton]

I read recently that the Hanlon Parkway is getting interchanges at some crossings and some are being closed. MTO has announced a new interchange is to be built between Maltby Road and Wellington Road 34. There will be a removal of the at-grade intersections at Maltby Road and Wellington Road 34. A design-build contract has been awarded to Dufferin Construction with actual construction to start later this year. The plan is for the remaining intersections to be replaced. Some will be interchanges; others will be converted to overpasses or underpasses according to the MTO. There are 7 at grade intersections to be replaced.

When the original HWY 6 bypass was announced, it was to be a 4 lane highway with the capacity to be widened to 6 lanes. All crossing roads where to have a bridge across the highway with on and off ramps at Book Road, Butter Road and at the entrance to the airport. A budget was set and then they took 10 years to start it. Like everything else with Hamilton, the government of the day would not give any more money to the project except what was originally budgeted for. By the way the project was started in 2001 and completed in November 2004. The Premier was Mike Harris when approved for construction. So the highway had to fit the budget. They cancelled the bridge at Book Road and put in a level intersection on an 80 km highway (first intersection from a 100 km highway) with it controlled by traffic lights. Then they removed the ramps from Butter Road. The exit at Airport Road did not get a bridge over the highway and only one ramp with just a left turn lane into the airport. It just received a traffic light at the exit to Airport Road. And lastly they took out the other 2 lanes that were to be separated by a median.

As to traffic, at certain times of the day it is bumper to bumper. At 3 to 8 in the morning it is a long line of trucks coming from the airport. As to trucks going there, they have had to close off part of the south end of the parking lot to build a controlled staging area to corral and control all of the trucks coming into the airport.

They need the bridge at Book Road because the heavy trucks slow down for the light there, take a long time to regain their speed. This causes long lines of traffic to form behind them and sometime very impatient people will try and pass them. There have been a few head on accidents on this stretch of road.

I know the airport has been pushing for the two extra bridges, Airport and Book Road with interchanges at Book Road, Airport Road and one at Glancaster Road. This last one would help open up the southwest end of the airport to freight traffic. All of the land at this end of the airport is being swallowed up by developers.

Eventually, this section of Highway 6 will be linked up to the Caledonia Bypass.

I am happy about this announcement. I was hoping for a sooner start date like the end of this year or early 2023.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

Eventually, this section of Highway 6 will be linked up to the Caledonia Bypass.

They should build the two-lane link to the Caledonia Bypass by the time the current roadway is twinned. Otherwise, they're just dumping an even bigger roadway onto the current Highway 6. And while they're at it, put in an interchange at Caithness St (Hwy 54) so traffic has an outlet when the bridge is blockaded.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by Pulkvedis Pods

I am wondering if the increased capacity of Highway 6 Northbound is going to strain the interchange with Highway 403 and the Linc even more. That short stretch of highway sees plenty of accidents because of merging vehicles from the 6 onto 403 and left lane vehicles merging right to get on to the Linc. That area needs to be seriously studied and planned right!

They are already doing the studies on the 403 to expand it. That has been ongoing for a few years.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

When the original HWY 6 bypass was announced, it was to be a 4 lane highway with the capacity to be widened to 6 lanes. All crossing roads where to have a bridge across the highway with on and off ramps at Book Road, Butter Road and at the entrance to the airport. A budget was set and then they took 10 years to start it. Like everything else with Hamilton, the government of the day would not give any more money to the project except what was originally budgeted for. By the way the project was started in 2001 and completed in November 2004. The Premier was Mike Harris when approved for construction. So the highway had to fit the budget. They cancelled the bridge at Book Road and put in a level intersection on an 80 km highway (first intersection from a 100 km highway) with it controlled by traffic lights. Then they removed the ramps from Butter Road. The exit at Airport Road did not get a bridge over the highway and only one ramp with just a left turn lane into the airport. It just received a traffic light at the exit to Airport Road. And lastly they took out the other 2 lanes that were to be separated by a median.

As to traffic, at certain times of the day it is bumper to bumper. At 3 to 8 in the morning it is a long line of trucks coming from the airport. As to trucks going there, they have had to close off part of the south end of the parking lot to build a controlled staging area to corral and control all of the trucks coming into the airport.

They need the bridge at Book Road because the heavy trucks slow down for the light there, take a long time to regain their speed. This causes long lines of traffic to form behind them and sometime very impatient people will try and pass them. There have been a few head on accidents on this stretch of road.

I know the airport has been pushing for the two extra bridges, Airport and Book Road with interchanges at Book Road, Airport Road and one at Glancaster Road. This last one would help open up the southwest end of the airport to freight traffic. All of the land at this end of the airport is being swallowed up by developers.

I'd think if they do any interchanges it would just be two to start -- Book and the airport access road. Glancaster seems like it would be too close, and Butter may make sense (to me it would be Butter or Glancaster, not both) but I'm not sure the traffic volumes would warrant a third until we see development on the land southwest of the airfield.

If a Book Rd. interchange happens, I wonder if the city would extend Dickenson to connect directly, rather than keeping that awkward jog north on Glancaster with the sharp turn at Book?

I also wonder when it would make sense to have ramps on/off Hwy 6 at Garner on the south side, given the industrial/commercial development that will be happening and its need for better airport access. One could argue the local roads provide enough, but that traffic may be a nuisance to residents.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by mishap

They should build the two-lane link to the Caledonia Bypass by the time the current roadway is twinned. Otherwise, they're just dumping an even bigger roadway onto the current Highway 6. And while they're at it, put in an interchange at Caithness St (Hwy 54) so traffic has an outlet when the bridge is blockaded.

Traffic volumes would dictate the need for a new link. These are a bit old now for the segments we're talking about; I'd wager the numbers for the 2-lane section are a lot higher today, especially at Butter and Book, but whether the levels between 6 New and Caledonia are much different I don't know (they were pretty stable between 2007 and 2016, but growth in Caledonia may have cause them to rise more recently)
Provincial Highways Traffic Volumes, 1988-2016 (PDF)

2016 Hwy 6, Annual Average Daily Traffic volumes:
Argyle St S: 9,700
Argyle St N: 23,700
Haldibrook Rd: 24,600
"old" Hwy 6 (Upper James): 22,700
Whitechurch Rd: 9,300
Butter Rd: 13,500
Book Rd: 15,700

From the US-DOT publication below capacity for a 2-lane highway with no signals is 1,490 vehicles per hour per direction. That doesn't account for peak flows though, and high volumes of trucks would affect that too.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinfor...3/hpms_cap.pdf


Re: an interchange at 54, given the tight squeeze of the river any link to the Hwy 6 bypass of Caledonia would probably mean building an access road between them - e.g., have one coming north off an intersection with 54 that curves and meets 6 (an intersection would probably suffice for now)

[Innsertnamehere]

If it does get extended to Caledonia eventually, I imagine it’ll be a 4-lane freeway to “replace” the existing highway 6.

I imagine highway 6 has been getting busier with the subdivisions getting built in Caledonia, Hagersville and Jarvis have been growing as well and Norfolk County has also experienced strong growth lately, mostly in Port Dover and Simcoe which rely on Highway 6 to get to the GTA.

I don’t see that happening for another little while though, highway 6 operates fine between Caledonia and Hamilton still. MTO has reserved the land for it though.

The general rule of thumb for upgrading a 2-lane road to 4 lanes is to have an AADT of 10-15k, with some extra variables like how much truck traffic it has. I think 6 is on the lower end of that, but has a ton of truck traffic so is getting prioritized.

[Pulkvedis Pods]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

They are already doing the studies on the 403 to expand it. That has been ongoing for a few years.

Thanks for the heads up. Do you have any knowledge as to what is being looked at?

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Pulkvedis Pods

Thanks for the heads up. Do you have any knowledge as to what is being looked at?

MTO recently finished the EA on the 403/QEW interchange in Burlington, and is now working on the part from Waterdown Road to York Street, including the northern interchange with Highway 6.

MTO hasn't started work designing anything further west yet, including through downtown up the mountain and around Highway 6, but it's identified as something they want to do at some point.

https://hwy403hwy6preliminarydesignea.ca/

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The general rule of thumb for upgrading a 2-lane road to 4 lanes is to have an AADT of 10-15k, with some extra variables like how much truck traffic it has. I think 6 is on the lower end of that, but has a ton of truck traffic so is getting prioritized.

The 4-lane section seems to flow well, though the safety issue remains. I just hope the government doesn't decide to turn it into a right-in/right-out like 35/115. As a stopgap a barrier may be ok for a relatively short time, but it's not ideal. A highway with a proper median would definitely need to be in a new parallel corridor, but I agree with you it will be a while yet.

Hwy 6 North has the same problem but it's busier, especially between Carlisle Rd. and Hwy 5/Dundas... 2016 AADT is 33,000 to 38,000 and that's likely much higher now with all the development in Waterdown and growth in Guelph and KW increasing traffic between the 401 and 403. Once the Morriston bypass is built and there's an interchange at Hwy 5 there may be more pressure to do something along the rest of that route.

[Pulkvedis Pods]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

MTO recently finished the EA on the 403/QEW interchange in Burlington, and is now working on the part from Waterdown Road to York Street, including the northern interchange with Highway 6.

MTO hasn't started work designing anything further west yet, including through downtown up the mountain and around Highway 6, but it's identified as something they want to do at some point.

https://hwy403hwy6preliminarydesignea.ca/

Thanks! Another thing I was wondering about as to how something like a dedicated Truck highway could work through the GTHA. Semi-trailers/18 wheelers/multi-multi axle vehicles wahtever cause precarious conditions oftentimes because of greatly variable speeds - due to inclines, tight turns and curves making heavy transport a hindrance to nimble vehicles in merge zones and interchanges. Such a roadway could help trucks avoid the interchange heavy highways 403/6 corridor.

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

If a Book Rd. interchange happens, I wonder if the city would extend Dickenson to connect directly, rather than keeping that awkward jog north on Glancaster with the sharp turn at Book?

That and a lot more are in the works. Most of the present roads in the area of the airport and HWY 6 have gone through or are going through an Environmental Assessment. There are plans and already in the budgeted for, the bringing up roads to urban standards, widening and extending most of the roads in the area. This includes widening some of the roads to 4 to 6 lanes, adding sidewalks and bike lanes to all of the roads in this area, new roads and road extensions. The Book Road Extension is already in the budget and is planned for 2026/27. They even have in the works an extension of Twenty Road from Glancaster to Southcote Road and Garth Street extension to Dickenson Road.

Also the ramps for Glancaster Road where asked for by the Airport.

Here are just some of the roads in the budget.

• Book Road Extension - Smith to Glancaster - 2026/27
• Dickenson - Upper James to Glancaster - 2024
• Airport Road. - Upper James to Glancaster - 2025/26
• Garth Extension - Twenty to Dickenson - 2027/28
• Arterial Road 1N (New) (AEGD) – Glancaster Road to Dickenson Road - 2024

[Innsertnamehere]

The city is starting an $85 million sewer project this year as well to connect a new major sewer up to the AEGD to provide a ton of additional servicing capacity. It'll extend along Dickenson and Golf Club Rd from Upper James to highway 56, where it will hook up to the sewer servicing Binbrook which runs south to the Woodward Wastewater Treatment plant.

There is relatively limited servicing capacity in the area until that is done in 2025, but after that the floodgates will open for new industrial development in the area.

[Innsertnamehere]

https://hwy403hwy6preliminarydesigne...ommended-plan/

Recommended plan for widening the 403 from York Boulevard to Waterdown Road, including widening Highway 6 south of Highway 5.

Finally fixes the left turn merges off of Highway 6, and overall seems quite reasonable.

I wonder when MTO will start design west of York Boulevard for the 403 widening - how they deal with the King/Main interchange will be interesting.

[TheRitsman]

https://youtube.com/shorts/0dKrUE_O0VE?feature=share

[Innsertnamehere]

I was looking at MTO's highway program mapping, and noticed that the Highway 6 interchange in Waterdown is now listed as "future expansion", which suggests that it is now funded.