02-08-2023, 11:44 AM
(02-08-2023, 11:08 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:(02-08-2023, 10:30 AM), buWatdot Wrote: This section of the expressway is long overdue for expansion. There were plans probably 10 years ago now, but the province moved forward with the expansion on the Kitchener side only. Perhaps this is moving towards reviving those plans. Closing the Lancaster off ramp will make the expansion possible. Without the closure, keeping the expressway open southbound during construction will be virtually impossible.
Note that the Waterloo expansion of the expressway is not just to accommodate "rush hour volume". More importantly it is to build a proper median to improve overall safety. The number of deaths over the decades from cars crossing the median is significant.
Do you have a specific number on the deaths from crossover collisions? (or even injuries)? I know the 401 near Windsor had a serious issue with crossover collisions (the highway of death or something like that) but in the 16 years I lived in the region I cannot recall even one serious collision of that form, let alone a significant pattern, but I wasn't always paying attention.
I do hope they don't widen the highway, the last thing we need in the region is more traffic.
I don't know about a pattern, but a family friend died on the highway right near the Bridgeport exit in 2006 from crossing over the median. I know his dad used to put flowers on the side of the highway near Bluevale for years. The article notes that 2 people died in that same spot, 3 years apart. So it's not super common, but has definitely happened at least a handful of times.
https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...ssway.html