407 ETR
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Highway 407 is regarded as a bypass of Highway 401, the main trunk route though Southern Ontario and the world's busiest highway with well over 500,000 average daily trips on a section between Highway 427 and Highway 404. Major freeway junctions are located at (from West to East) the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 403, Highway 401, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 400 and Highway 404. Other major street junctions include Bronte Road (Halton Regional Road 25), Hurontario Street, Highway 27, Yonge Street and Markham Road (Highway 48). Overall there are 40 different junctions on Highway 407 connecting the toll road with the main transportation network in the Greater Toronto Area.
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Unique characteristics
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The 407 uses a system of cameras and transponders to toll vehicles automatically. There are no toll booths. A radio antenna detects when a vehicle with a transponder has entered and exited the highway, calculating the toll rate. For vehicles without a transponder, an automatic number plate recognition system is used. Monthly statements are mailed to users. The name Express Toll Route (ETR) is used since there are no toll booths to stop at. The 407 is the world's first highway to feature this system throughout.
The 407 is not a government-owned highway, though it does operate under a leasing agreement with the government. A 99-year lease to was sold by the provincial government to 407 ETR International Incorporated for approximately 3.1 billion Canadian dollars in 1999. Highway 407 is believed to be the first financially successful privately-owned toll road in North America.
History
Highway 407 was the eighth 400-Series Highway planned for Ontario, to serve as a bypass of Highway 401 through Toronto and to serve as a major east-west corridor across the sprawling suburbs to the north of the city. The first sections were completed as temporary routings for Highway 403 in Mississauga and Oakville. The next phase to begin construction was a short connector between Highway 427 and Highway 400, and the upgrading of Highway 7 through Richmond Hill to a six-lane grade-separated expressway, which today runs parallel to Highway 407. In addition, cross-street overpasses and ramps for the interchange connections to Highway 427 and Highway 400, and modifications to accommodate the highway at the Highway 403/QEW interchange, were constructed by the Ministry of Transportation in the early 1990s. To construct the highway more quickly and to save much-needed provincial funds during an economic recession, the provincial government resorted to a public-private partnership to facilitate construction of the highway. Two firms bid on the project, with Canadian Highways International Corporation being selected as the operator of the highway. Financing for the highway would be paid by user tolls lasting 35 years, after which it would return to the provincial system as a typical, un-tolled 400-Series Highway. The highway opened in 1997, and highway cost roughly $1.6 billion.
As part of a controversial plan to finance revenue for tax cuts, the highway was sold to a conglomerate of private companies in 1999 for $3.1 billion. The deal included an unprecedented 99-year lease agreement, unlimited control of the highway and its tolls, as well as a clause protecting the corporation from any competition, not the least of which includes a ban on construction of any nearby provincial highways that may reduce toll revenue. When purchased, the highway ran from the junction of Highway 403 in Mississauga to Markham Road in Markham. Extensions westward to the Queen Elizabeth Way and eastward to Highway 7 and Brock Road in Pickering were constructed by the corporation, as mandated in the lease agreement. Both of these extensions were not part of the original Highway 407 plans, rather, these protected corridors were to be future, non-tolled 400-Series highways. Today, the highway is valued at over $10 billion.
The company, known as 407/ETR International Incorporated is 30% owned by the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group, one of the largest private developers of toll roads in the world. The company is also owned by Spanish and Quebec-based companies.
Future of the 407
Recently, the Ontario provincial government has quarrelled with 407 ETR over toll rates and customer service. On February 2 2004, the government delivered notice to 407 ETR that they are considered to be in default of their contract because of 407 ETR's decision to raise toll rates without first obtaining the government's permission. The court's initial decision sided with 407 ETR: on July 10 2004, an independent arbitrator affirmed that 407 ETR has the ability to raise toll rates without first consulting the government. The government filed an appeal of this decision but was overruled by a Ontario Superior Court decision released on January 6 2005; however, a subsequent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal on June 13, 2005 granted the government permission to appeal the decision. Legal troubles have placed future eastward extensions of the highway on hold, and it is unknown when construction may begin.
Tolls
Current tolls run 14.1 cents per kilometre for cars and light trucks during off-peak times and 14.95 cents per kilometre for cars and light trucks during peak times. If a vehicle does not have a transponder, an additional $3.35 is charged per trip. This fee is in addition to a $2 account fee each month the 407 ETR is used. For transponder accounts, there is a monthly $1 account fee and $1 lease payment per transponder. This makes the 407 the most expensive toll road in North America, despite claims made otherwise by the owners of the 407. Despite the exorbitant toll rates, it is not unusual for the highway to become slow with traffic volume.
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Lane Configurations from West to East
| Section | Travel Lanes |
|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth Way to Highway 403 | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 403 to Highway 401 | 2 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 401 to Highway 427 | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 427 to Highway 400 | 4 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 400 to McCowan Road (York Road 67) | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| McCowan Road to Highway 7/Brock Road (Durham Road 1) | 2 Lanes per Direction |
Interchanges from West to East
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 1 | Highway 403 and Queen Elizabeth Way |
| Burlington | 5 | Dundas Street (Halton Road 5) |
| Burlington | 9 | Appleby Line |
| Oakville | 13 | Bronte Road (Halton Road 25) |
| Oakville | 18 | Neyagawa Boulevard |
| Oakville | 21 | Trafalgar Road (Halton Road 3) |
| Oakville - Milton - Mississauga Corner Boundary | 24 | Highway 403 |
| Milton - Mississauga Boundary | 28 | Britannia Road (Halton and Peel Road 6) |
| Milton - Mississauga Boundary | 31 | Derry Road (Halton Road 7 and Peel Road 5) |
| Halton Hills - Milton - Mississauga Corner Boundary | 34 | Highway 401 |
| Brampton - Mississauga Boundary | 39 | Mississauga Road (Peel Road 1) |
| Brampton | 42 | Mavis Road |
| Brampton | 44 | Hurontario Street |
| Brampton | 46 | Highway 410 |
| Brampton | 48 | Dixie Road (Peel Road 1) |
| Brampton | 50 | Bramalea Road (westbound only) |
| Brampton | 53 | Airport Road (Peel Road 7) |
| Brampton | 54 | Goreway Drive (westbound only) |
| Vaughan | 58 | Highway 427 |
| Vaughan | 59 | 'Highway 27' (York Road 27) |
| Vaughan | 63 | Pine Valley Drive (York Road 57) |
| Vaughan | 65 | Weston Road (York Road 56) (eastbound only) |
| Vaughan | 66 | Highway 400 |
| Vaughan | 67 | Jane Street (York Road 55) |
| Vaughan | 69 | Keele Street (York Road 6) |
| Vaughan | 73 | Dufferin Street (York Road 53) |
| Vaughan | 75 | Bathurst Street (York Road 38) |
| Vaughan - Richmond Hill - Markham Corner Boundary | 77 | Yonge Street (York Road 1) |
| Richmond Hill - Markham Boundary | 79 | Bayview Avenue (York Road 34) |
| Markham | 81 | Leslie Street (York Road 12) (eastbound only) |
| Markham | 83 | Highway 404 |
| Markham | 84 | Woodbine Avenue (York Road 8) |
| Markham | 86 | Warden Avenue (York Road 65) |
| Markham | 88 | Kennedy Road (York Road 3) |
| Markham | 90 | McCowan Road (York Road 67) |
| Markham | 92 | Markham Road (Highway 48/York Road 68) |
| Markham | 94 | Ninth Line (York Road 69) |
| Markham | 96 | Markham Bypass (York Road 48) |
| Markham - Pickering Boundary | 98 | York-Durham Line (York Road 30) |
| Pickering | 100* | North Road (future interchange) |
| Pickering | 102* | Pickering Airport Connector (future interchange) |
| Pickering | 103* | Sideline 24 (future interchange) |
| Pickering | 106* | Brock Road (Durham Road 1) (currently an at-grade intersection) |
| Pickering | 108* | Highway 7 (currently an at-grade intersection) |
- *Exit number not posted (or future interchange), based on kilometre post.
Future 407 East Interchanges from West to East (exit numbers assumed)
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| Pickering | 110 | Westney Road (Durham Road 31) |
| Pickering | 112 | 407-401 Durham West Connector (proposed freeway) |
| Pickering - Whitby Boundary | 114 | Lakeridge Road (Durham Road 23) |
| Whitby | 119 | Baldwin Street (Highway 12) |
| Whitby | 120 | Thickson Road (Durham Road 26) |
| Oshawa | 122 | Thornton Road |
| Oshawa | 124 | Simcoe Street (Durham Road 2) |
| Oshawa | 127 | Harmony Road (Durham Road 33) |
| Clarington | 131 | Enfield Road (Durham Road 34) |
| Clarington | 133 | 407-401 Durham East Connector (proposed freeway) |
| Clarington | 137 | Durham Road 57 |
| Clarington | 139 | Liberty Street (Durham Road 14) |
| Clarington | 145 | Mosport Road |
| Clarington | 150 | Highway 35/115 |
See also
- 400-Series Highway
- Garden State Parkway
- New Jersey Turnpike
- New England Thruway
- New York State Thruway
- Private highway
External links
- 407/ETR Official Website (http://www.407etr.com)
- Ontario Ministry of Transportation (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca)Template:ONT 400 Hwys