For Several Months now the 407 construction has been underway with little impact or any sort of noticeable construction to the general public. Over the summer months and up to today there are very noticeable signs of the route and where new bridges and overpasses will be built. While driving home I stopped to take a few shots of the overpass construction on Simcoe Street just north of Winchester in Oshawa.

It is fascinating to watch a project of this magnitude take shape and see what kind of impact it will have on the surrounding towns, hamlets and cities. We will have to wait until late in 2015 to see just how good or bad the impact will be. I am speculating it will be a positive impact, despite my feelings of seeing large tracts of land disappear into what will become a massive transportation corridor.

The Following Information was taken from the 407 Project update website: Link 

The Project

Highway 407 East Phase 1 is a $1 billion infrastructure project that will:

• Extend Highway 407 by 20.3 kilometres between Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa;
• Connect Highway 407 East to Highway 401 with the West Durham Link, a 10-kilometre, four-lane divided highway to be built east of Lake Ridge Road in Whitby; and
• Require a five-kilometre realignment of Highway 401 to accommodate the West Durham Line.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Ontario selected the 407 East Development Group (407EDG) to design, build, finance and maintain Highway 407 East Phase 1.

The Province of Ontario will own and control Highway 407 East and the West Durham Link. Both highways will be toll highways. The Province will receive toll revenue and set toll rates.

There will be six lanes on Highway 407 East from Brock Road to the West Durham Link; four lanes from West Durham Link to Harmony Road, and four lanes on West Durham Link. In total, there will be approximately 148 new lane kilometres with up to 11 interchanges including two highway-to-highway interchanges, 31 major water-crossing structures and 16 road crossings.

Phase 1 interchanges will be built at:

• 407/Brock Road
• 407/Lake Ridge Road
• 407/Baldwin Street
• 407/Thickson Road
• 407/Simcoe Street
• 407/Harmony Road.
• West Durham Link/Dundas Street
• West Durham Link/Taunton Road
• West Durham Link/Highway 7
• Highway 401/Lake Ridge Road
• Freeway-to-freeway interchanges at West Durham Link/Highway 401 and West Durham Link/Highway 407

Construction will be completed in late 2015.