Queen Elizabeth Way

This 2013 photo shows the Toronto-bound Queen Elizabeth Way approaching Highway 427 in Mississauga. The Gardiner Expressway continues the route of Queen Elizabeth Way into Downtown Toronto. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

Length:

Constructed:

Reference Route:

139.1 kilometers (86.4 miles)
22.6 kilometers (14.1 miles) overlap with ON 403
1931-1956
(rebuilt as full freeway 1953-1978)
ON 451

"But from somewhere east of Suez
Where the roads are at their worst,
Down to rocky Alabama
Of the motorists accursed,
For bumps and thrills and all the ills
That, travelling, one gets into,
The greatest jar you give your car
Is Hamilton to Toronto."

-- Excerpt from QEW: Canada's First Superhighway describing a common rhyme about driving from the 1910s

PLANS PREDATE WORLD WAR I: The first mention of a Toronto-to-Hamilton Highway was in 1910, when a division of the Ontario Department of Agriculture began work on a paved highway between the two cities. Known eventually as Lakeshore Road, the highway was built atop former colonial and indigenous trails. When it opened in 1917 after two years of reconstruction, Lakeshore Road was the first intercity paved highway in Ontario and one of the longest continuously paved roads in the world. One year after Lakeshore Road opened, the province finally set up an independent Department of Public Highways (later known as the Department of Highways [DOH]).

BETWEEN THE WARS, IMPROVING ACCESS BETWEEN CITIES: As traffic volumes jumped in the years between the end of World War I and the Great Depression, Lakeshore Road soon was unable to handle the increased traffic loads, and the many hills and curves made it difficult to build a safer, more modern alternative. The DOH found its solution in rebuilding Middle Lane - a modest country road running between Lakeshore Road (originally designated Highway 2) and Dundas Street (Highway 5) - as a modern, four-lane divided highway. As Canada entered the Great Depression, the province soon recast the rebuilding of Middle Road as the new alignment for the Toronto-Hamilton Highway as a job creation program.

Work began on the conversion of Middle Road in 1930. The newly expanded Middle Road was to be a paved, four-lane undivided provincial highway built within a right-of-way of 86 feet (26.2 meters), versus 66 feet (20.1 meters) for a two-lane provincial highway. By 1934, Middle Road was graded from the western edge of the Toronto city limits to Port Credit (Mississauga), where a new bridge was being built across the Credit River.

Provincial elections in June 1934 brought a new Liberal Party government into power, and with that came the appointment of T.B. McQuesten as the new Minister of Highways. McQuesten brought with him experience as member and later chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission, and during his tenure, McQuesten championed plans for a parkway connecting the Peace Bridge (completed in 1927) and the Falls View / "Honeymoon" Bridge (built in 1898, collapsed in 1938, replaced by the Rainbow Bridge in 1941), borrowing heavily from turn-of-the-century parkway plans developed in Buffalo and other cities by Frederick Law Olmstead to link inner-city parks with newly developed "garden suburbs."

For the Middle Road proposal, McQuesten once again looked south of the border for more updated inspiration for this parkway design. The 1920s and 1930s saw the development of modern multi-lane parkways built under the supervision of master planner Robert Moses in the New York metropolitan area. These parkways were built with grade separations, landscaped buffer areas, and multi-use trails, and later with landscaped medians separating opposing traffic flows. Unlike the New York-area parkways, which incorporated curves and hills to take advantage of the landscape, McQuesten's Middle Road proposal sought a more efficient, straight-line alignment. Where possible, the right-of-way was widened to 130 feet (40 meters) to allow for larger landscaped buffer areas.

These design sketches from the 1930s show proposals for a cloverleaf interchange at Hurontario Street in Mississauga (left photo, looking west) and a trumpet interchange where Middle Road (right photo, looking west) meets the New Niagara Highway. The Hurontario Street interchange was reconfigured in the early 1960s when the QEW was widened, while the trumpet interchange was rebuilt over the years as the location where the QEW, Highway 403, and Highway 407 (ETR) intersect. (Sketches from the Toronto Public Library archives.)

DESIGN INNOVATIONS: Work began on the Middle Road improvement in 1931. The Middle Road improvement did not have full grade separation of intersecting roads, but it provided for interchanges at major intersecting roads. Notable interchange plans included a cloverleaf interchange at Hurontario Street in Mississauga, the first of its kind in Canada, as well as a trumpet interchange between Middle Road and the New Niagara Highway in Burlington. McQuesten's design also called for full grade separation of intersecting railroad tracks. The province initially sought to control access to local streets and private businesses by granting licenses, but eventually, the province adopted more modern design standards that limited access to interchanges and intersections. The original plans also featured a seven-span, open-spandrel concrete arch bridge featuring an Art Deco design at Port Credit.

By the mid-1930s, the design standards were updated as construction pushed westward towards Burlington. The right-of-way was expanded from the original 86 feet (26.2 meters) to 130 feet (39.6 meters), allowing for the construction of a variable grassy median and acceleration-deceleration lanes. All railroad grade crossings were to be eliminated. Grades were limited to 3%, while curves were limited to two degrees. Eventually, intersections and access to private property along existing sections of Middle Road were prohibited as part of the updated design standards.

The updated design standards and increased right-of-way width allowed for greater opportunities for landscape architecture. Toward this end, McQuesten hired landscape architects Carl Borgstrom and Humphrey Carver, who both founded the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects in 1934, to design and lay out a planting scheme for the center median and the buffer zones along the highway, making use of the existing native elm and maple trees, and supplementing them with new trees and shrubs. Special attention was also given to concrete overpasses, some of which employed elaborate designs, as well as to wooden lightpoles designed to blend into the park-like setting.

In his 1975 autobiography, Compassionate Landscaping, Carver wrote the following:

"The route of this new freeway was through an area that had already lost its original landscape character, and our planting was intended to restore the impression that here was one passing through orchard land, now through a strand of mixed wood lot, and there along the route of an old concession road with hedges and tall elms on the fenceline."

The reconstructed Middle Road was completed from Highway 27 in Etobicoke to Hamilton in 1937. A three-mile (five-kilometer) extension east to Toronto city limits - which now is part of the Gardiner Expressway - was completed two years later.

AN EXTENSION TO NIAGARA: Included in McQuesten's plan was an extension called "New Niagara Parkway" that was to continue the Middle Road highway to the Niagara region. The New Niagara Parkway incorporated a modified version McQuesten's original 1927 Niagara parkway plan to connect the Peace Bridge and Honeymoon Bridge; the updated proposal had the Peace Bridge as its southern terminus. Unlike the Middle Road alignment from Toronto to Hamilton, which was to be built in part through developed areas with limited right-of-way availability, the Niagara Parkway alignment from Hamilton to the Niagara region was to be built mostly through farmland, allowing for greater right-of-way availability.

The new freeway was to take local traffic of Highway 8, an east-west route within two miles (three kilometers) of the Lake Ontario shoreline, and Highway 20, a second east-route located about 5-10 miles (8-16 kilometers) inland from the shoreline. (Highway 8 east of Hamilton was downloaded from the province in 1970, while Highway 20 was downloaded outside of the Regional Municipality of Niagara in 1997-1998). It was to adhere to the same modern design principles developed during construction of the Middle Road improvement.

Two existing movable bridges were integrated into the new freeway, though the approach roads to these bridges were not up to freeway design standards. Both bridges - the Burlington Bay Canal Bridge in Hamilton (built in 1922) and the Welland Canal ("Homer") Bridge #4 in St. Catharines (built in 1932) - were bascule bridges carrying just one lane in each direction. Traffic volumes at the time did not justify construction of more modern high-level, four-lane fixed spans.

Local officials protested the route of the proposed freeway, which was to be built even closer to the Lake Ontario shoreline than Highway 8, as it cut through some of Ontario's most productive farmland. The Toronto Telegram, long sympathetic to Conservative causes, said in its May 17, 1937 edition:

"Just what is to be gained except the possibility of travelling from Niagara to Hamilton in 30 minutes less time than it takes at present is not set forth by the department (of Highways)."

The next day, the pro-Liberal Toronto Star allowed McQuesten to respond, and eventually, the promise of  "30 minutes less time" was reason enough to build the new freeway. The tourist trade also weighed heavily on the province's decision to build the freeway, as visitors from the United States were expected to spend C$125 million in Ontario in 1937.

LEFT: This 1940 shows the Queen Elizabeth Way under construction at  the Church Street (Royal Oak Road) overpass in Etobicoke. RIGHT: This 1941 photo shows the Queen Elizabeth Way at the "Lucky Lion" monument in Etobicoke. This statue once stood in the median of the QEW about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 mile) west of the Humber River. The statue was moved in the 1970s as part of a widening project. Today, this section of the QEW is part of the province-owned Gardiner Expressway. (Photos by Etobicoke Historical Society.)

A DEDICATION FIT FOR A QUEEN… As the combined Middle Road-Niagara Parkway neared substantial completion in 1939, it had neither a formal name nor a numerical designation. That changed in the spring of 1939, when King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (who eventually became the "Queen Mother" to Queen Elizabeth II) visited Canada. This marked the first time in history that a reigning monarch visited Canada.

On June 7, 1939, Queen Elizabeth and King George formally dedicated the new highway as "Queen Elizabeth Way," known colloquially as the "QEW." The new highway received special "King's Highway" shields painted in gold with blue letters spelling out "ER" (Elizabeth Regina, or Queen Elizabeth in Latin).

…BUT STILL WORK TO DO: Even after the royal dedication, only the section from Toronto west to Burlington had a continuous four-lane section; the rest of the Queen Elizabeth Way were in various stages of construction. The Ontario Department of Highways set forth a goal of completing the highway from Burlington to Niagara Falls by August 1940, in time for the opening of that year's Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. With World War II looming, the province saw the need to accelerate spending for the QEW before funds became unavailable. During the 1930s, construction of the QEW had accounted for 11% of the province's total highway budget; this percentage climbed to 20% for the 1939-1940 fiscal year and 41% for the 1940-1941 fiscal year.

On August 23, 1940, the day before the opening of the CNE, the QEW was completed between Burlington and Highway 20 (now Lundy's Lane) in Niagara Falls. It included construction of a four-span, open-spandrel concrete arch bridge at St. Catharines - called the Henley Bridge - that featured an Art Deco design with decorative monuments at both abutments. Two years later, a spur highway (Highway 420) to Niagara Falls was built to connect to the QEW; however, engineers decided upon a traffic circle rather than a trumpet design for the QEW-420 interchange.

Still missing was a direct highway connection to the Peace Bridge at Fort Erie, which had been long promised since the completion of the bridge in 1927 as part of the original Niagara Parkway plan. In 1939, the province built a large traffic circle, along with a five-acre park (Mather Park) and Memorial Gateway, that was designed to connect the Peace Bridge with the QEW.

Full completion of the last segment of the QEW would have to wait until the end of World War II, though the province hastily constructed a four-lane, gravel-surfaced road between Niagara Falls and Fort Erie in 1941. After the war, the province provided one paved traffic lane in each direction, but a fully-paved four-lane freeway would wait still another decade. Finally, the QEW was fully completed as a four-lane paved highway on October 14, 1956.

These photos from the early 1950s show the Queen Elizabeth Way near Grimsby, roughly halfway between Niagara Falls and Hamilton. The early dual-carriageway design is similar to the parkways built during this era in the eastern United States. (Photo credit: www.oldontarioseries.com.)

BREAKING THE BRIDGE BOTTLENECKS: Plans to resolve two key bottlenecks at the Burlington Canal in Hamilton and the Welland Canal in St. Catharines with new high-level spans dated back to the original construction of the QEW in the 1930s, but funding priorities limited by the Great Depression and World War II, the province prioritized completion of the QEW before allocating funds for new bridges.

Increasing traffic volumes after World War II prompted a renewed push for new bridges at the Burlington Canal and Welland Canal, but the catalyst for construction was the collision of the steamship W.E. Fitzgerald into the Burlington Bay Bridge, which displaced and severely damaged the north bascule span. Although a temporary span was put into place soon thereafter, the province dusted off its plan for a high-level span at the Burlington Canal. The proposed C$15 million span, which was designed by leading Canadian engineer Philip Louis Pratley, featured a main truss with 151 meters (495 feet) of horizontal clearance and 37 meters (120 feet) of vertical clearance; from abutment to abutment, the bridge measured 2,576 meters (8,450 feet) long. The new span was to carry four lanes of express traffic (two lanes in each direction) across the Burlington Bay Canal; opposing lanes were separated by a concrete barrier. An additional 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) of four-lane highway were built to bypass the existing two-lane approaches to the old Burlington Bay Canal Bridge. The new Burlington Bay Skyway - as it came to be called - was officially opened to traffic on October 30, 1958. Passenger cars were charged a toll of 15 cents to cross the new bridge.

With the success of the Burlington Bay Skyway, engineers next set their sights on the bottleneck at the Welland Canal. Work on the new C$17 million Garden City Skyway bridge - also called "Welland Canal Bridge #4A" and the "Homer Skyway" - began in January 1960. The name for the new bridge came about as St. Catharines was known as "Canada's Garden City." The 2.2-kilometer (1.4-mile) bridge, which accommodated six lanes of express traffic (three lanes in each direction), employed a 48-span steel girder-and-concrete pier design, the central span of which provided 40 meters (130 feet) of vertical clearance over the Welland Canal, which was part of the newly created St. Lawrence Seaway. By the time the Garden City Skyway was completed on October 18, 1963, the project cost had increased to C$20 million. Passenger cars were charged 10 cents to cross the skyway.

Tolls were removed at both the Burlington Bay and Garden City Skyways on July 1, 1973.

This 2022 drone photo shows the Burlington Bay Skyway section of the Queen Elizabeth Way looking northeast over the Burlington Bay Canal in Burlington. The original 1958 truss arch span now carries four lanes of Toronto-bound QEW traffic. A parallel concrete girder span -- shown in the foreground -- was opened in 1985 to carry four lanes of Niagara-bound traffic. In the background is the Burlington Bay Lift Span, which was built in 1962 to replace the old bascule drawbridge. (Photo by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

This 2021 photo shows the Garden City Skyway section of the Queen Elizabeth Way looking west from EXIT 38 (CR 89 / Glendale Avenue) in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Design work is underway to build a parallel span. (Photo by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

"The decision of the Department of Highways to close… intersections leading to the Queen Elizabeth Way… is a welcome one. When it was constructed, the Queen Elizabeth Way was considered the last word in highway design. But the tremendous increase in postwar motor traffic has disclosed glaring accident hazards. Not the least of these is the large number of side roads leading into this most heavily traveled thoroughfare." - from "For a Safer QE Way," The Toronto Star (1955)

CONVERSION TO A MODERN FREEWAY: Immediate after the end of World War II, the shortcomings of the Queen Elizabeth Way had become apparent. The combination of heavy truck traffic, a loose clay base, and poor drainage all undermined the pavement, while numerous intersections still lacked grade separation. Numerous driveways proved incompatible with high-speed traffic, and even the lighting - which was a breakthrough in Canada at the time (22 kilometers, or 14 miles from Etobicoke southwest to Oakville were continuous) - proved inadequate as it was often shut off. A 1945 Globe and Mail article called attention to the QEW's deficiencies.

The 1948 announcement of a C$57 million program to modernize the province's highways was to have provided a jump start, but a lack of cement in the immediate postwar years thwarted even a paving of the Niagara-Fort Erie section of the QEW. A more ambitious C$500 million plan announced in 1950 provided a more sustained catalyst for modernize the QEW, and well as start construction of Highways 400 and 401.

The first concrete steps toward modernizing the QEW were taken at the Dixie Road intersection in Mississauga. Originally, Dixie Road took a 450-foot (137-meter) jog along the QEW; that is, the north and south ends of Dixie Road were apart by a short distance, requiring through traffic on Dixie Road to mix with through traffic on the QEW. In 1951, the Department of Highways created service roads and traffic lights (acting like a "jughandle") that eliminated left turns as an interim measure. A more permanent solution came in 1953 with a realigned Dixie Road built as an overpass over the QEW, allowing full control of access via entrance and exit ramps to and from the QEW. The original service roads were extended through the area to serve local traffic.

The new Dixie Road interchange was part of the province's 1953 plan to replace 17 at-grade intersections on the QEW's Toronto-to-Hamilton section with overpasses, as well as a subsequent 1959 plan to replace 13 at-grade intersections along the Hamilton-to-Niagara section. At the same time, the province began to add service roads through developed areas, though the service roads were not continuous. The improvements along the QEW began to attract new commercial developments like the Dixie Plaza, industrial developments like the Ford Oakville plant, and multiple residential developments.

The province also provided connections for future freeways. In 1958, the province built the "Freeman Interchange," a high-speed Y-interchange built on new alignment (the so-called "Freeman Diversion") designed to replace a trumpet interchange for a future freeway connection (Highway 403, originally planned as the Chedoke Expressway) west towards Hamilton. The existing QEW was converted into Plains Road, while the new Highway 403 was extended to the west from the Freeman Interchange five years later. In 1963, the province built a partial interchange (EXIT 37) at Niagara-on-the-Lake with the new Highway 405, which provided a direct freeway connection to I-190 (Niagara Thruway) via the new Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

In 1960, the Toronto-to-Burlington section of the QEW finally became a full freeway when a grade-separated traffic circle was built at the current site of EXIT 126 (Erin Mills Parkway / Southdown Road) in Mississauga. (The traffic circle has since been replaced with a partial cloverleaf interchange.) The reconfigured QEW freeway was extended southwest to Hamilton in 1964 with the construction of a grade separated interchange at Brant Street (current EXIT 101) in Burlington.

This 2013 photo shows the Fort Erie-bound Queen Elizabeth Way approaching EXITS 117-116 (Dorval Drive-Kerr Street) in Oakville. Since 2022, the QEW has been dually signed with Highway 403 through Burlington and Oakville. A 16-kilometer (10-mile)-long HOV lane was built through Burlington and Oakville between 2007 and 2010. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

NEXT COMES THE WIDENING: In the decade after the initial 17 at-grade intersections were eliminated on the QEW's Toronto-to-Hamilton section, traffic had nearly doubled, reaching a peak of nearly 70,000 vehicles per day (AADT) at the Highway 27 (now Highway 427) interchange in Etobicoke. In 1961, the province embarked on a 14-year program to widen the Toronto-to-Hamilton section to six lanes (from four), and the elimination of all at-grade crossings (including traffic lights) along the entire length of the QEW.

By the end of 1966, the QEW was widened to six lanes from the Toronto city limits southwest to EXIT 123 (Ninth Line / Ford Drive) in Oakville, as well as a short distance from EXIT 100 (Highway 403) northeast to EXIT 101 (Brant Street) in Burlington. Despite the extensive widening and reconfiguration of the QEW, engineers preserved the open-spandrel design of the Credit River arch bridge in Mississauga as they provided an additional lane in each direction. The widening continued through Oakville in 1968, when a section from EXIT 123 southwest to EXIT 116 (Kerr Street) was completed. The six-lane widening between Toronto and Burlington was finished in 1972 with the widening between EXIT 101 in Burlington and EXIT 116 in Oakville.

Included in the Toronto-to-Hamilton widening program was a reconstruction of the QEW-Highway 27 interchange in Mississauga. In conjunction with this interchange, the QEW east of this interchange towards Toronto was widened to eight lanes, and in some locations, to 10 lanes (in a 2-3-3-2 lane configuration). North of this interchange, Highway 27 was being converted into a 10-lane Highway 427 with a 2-3-3-2 lane configuration. The rebuilt QEW-Highway 427 interchange was completed in 1969, though the Highway 427 conversion from the QEW north to Highway 401 was not completed until 1971.

Another key interchange improvement took place at Niagara Falls, where the province replaced the traffic circle at the Rainbow Bridge Approach with a complex four-level interchange. As part of the project, the existing interchange at Lundy's Lane (RR 20) was eliminated; the movements to Lundy's Lane were instead made via Montrose Road (RR 98). The rebuilt EXIT 30 was opened to traffic in 1972; in conjunction with this project, the Rainbow Bridge Approach was rebuilt as a short freeway and re-designated Highway 420.

By the early 1970s, the final obstacle in making the Queen Elizabeth Way a full-length freeway was the removal of the Stoney Creek traffic circle in Hamilton, where the QEW met former Highway 20 (now Centennial Parkway). A grade-separated Canadian National railroad right-of-way went through two arcs of the circle; the tracks were removed in the early stages of construction. Although the circle was mostly removed by the end of 1975, work continued on the new interchange with Centennial Parkway (now part of a larger interchange - EXITS 88-89 - with the Red Hill Valley Parkway) until 1978.

BUT WHAT WAS LOST? By the late 1970s, the Queen Elizabeth Way was now a full freeway from Toronto to the Peace Bridge at Fort Erie. Although safety and capacity both improved greatly from the prewar QEW, critics lamented that this came at the loss of the pastoral, parkway-like setting that characterized the early QEW, including the wooded buffer areas, landscaped medians, and wooden lightposts.

AND WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN? According to The Globe and Mail, Walter Macnee, an engineer with the Ontario Department of Highways, suggested the possibility that the QEW be double-decked between Toronto and Oakville, in anticipation that the QEW would be handling just under 200,000 vehicles per day on the average section by 1985. However, in its 1966 study, the Toronto Region Western Section Highway Planning Study, engineers dismissed the double-decking solution for the QEW within the 20-year time frame of the study, suggesting instead that the Toronto-Hamilton Expressway (now parts of Highways 403 and 407) handle the additional east-west traffic capacity.

This 2014 photo shows the Fort Erie-bound Queen Elizabeth Way approaching EXIT 100 (Highway 403 West) in Burlington. The "Freeman Interchange" was completely rebuilt between 1991 and 2001 to accommodate high-speed connections to Highway 403 and the then-new Highway 407 ETR. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

A TWIN FOR THE BURLINGTON SKYWAY: By the early 1980s, the four-lane Burlington Skyway had become the most significant bottleneck along the 139-kilometer (86-mile)-long Queen Elizabeth Way. In 1981, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) developed plans for a parallel four-lane span just west of the existing span. The new span would carry four lanes of Niagara-bound traffic, while after a period of reconstruction, the old span would carry four lanes of Toronto-bound traffic. Included in plans were the widening of the mainline QEW from EXIT 100 (Highway 403) in Burlington to EXIT 88 (RR 20 / Centennial Boulevard) in Hamilton, along with the construction of a new four-lane arterial road, Eastport Drive, which was designed to relieve congestion on Beach Boulevard. In a separate report, the Ministry of Environment stated that the case for a parallel span had not been made because the MTO did not include mass transit consideration, though added that it was not the final word on the project.

Nevertheless, the MTO proceeded with plans as construction of the C$85 million second Burlington Bay Skyway bridge began in 1983. After more than two years of construction, the new bridge opened on October 11, 1985. Immediately thereafter, repairs and lane reconfiguration began on the older bridge, which was reopened in 1987. The new bridges were to have been renamed in honor of James N. Allan, who as transportation minister in the 1950s pushed for construction of the original Burlington Bay Skyway, but area residents - who remembered Allan as the Treasurer who imposed the first provincial sales tax - disagreed with the name change. Allan's name is included in the official name of the skyway, but is given second billing to "Burlington Bay."

CHANGES FOR INTERCHANGES: The 1980s also featured construction of a key, long-delayed freeway-to-freeway connection. In 1984, the MTO opened a new trumpet interchange (EXIT 49) in St. Catharines for Highway 406 after three years of construction. Planned since the 1960s, Highway 406 provides a north-south link linking St. Catharines with industrial areas along the Welland Canal.

With the Burlington Bay bottleneck resolved in the late 1980s, attention soon shifted to the Freeman Interchange site five kilometers (three miles) to the north. Increased traffic demands on the QEW and Highway 403, as well as anticipated demand from a proposed Burlington-Mississauga freeway leading north from the interchange (now Highway 407), prompted the MTO into a significant redesign of the Freeman Interchange (now EXIT 100) from its dated 1950's "Y" design. The most significant part of the redesign was that through-traffic movements on the QEW stayed to the left, while traffic for Highways 403 (and for Highway 407 northbound) exited the QEW to the right, thus eliminating left exits. Construction of the redesigned interchange began in 1991, and two years later, the connections between the QEW and Hamilton-bound Highway 403 were opened to traffic. The full opening of the redesigned Freeman Interchange came in 2001 with the completion of the Highway 407 ETR.

This 2014 photo shows the Fort Erie-bound Queen Elizabeth Way at EXIT 49 (Highway 406) in St. Catharines. Opened in 1984, this interchange connected to an isolated section of Highway 406 built in the late 1960s. (Photo by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

ANOTHER ROUND OF WIDENING: In 1993, the MTO announced a C$343 million project to widen 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the Queen Elizabeth Way from EXIT 88 (RR 20 / Centennial Parkway) in Hamilton east to EXIT 49 (Highway 406) in St. Catharines. Contracts went out at the end of that year, with major construction beginning in 1994. The project was completed in 2000, two years ahead of schedule.

Beginning in 2004, the MTO began a C$83 million project to widen 15 kilometers (nine miles) of the Queen Elizabeth from EXIT 49 in St. Catherines southeast to EXIT 34 (RR 101 / Mountain Road) in Niagara Falls. Although the widening of this section did not include the Garden City Skyway, it did include the widening of the Henley Bridge in St. Catharines. Engineers preserved the open-spandrel design of the original arch bridge as they provided an additional lane in each direction; however, many of the other overpasses, some of which dated back to the original construction in the 1930s, were replaced. This widening was completed in sections between 2007 and 2011.

FROM HOV TO HOT: In 2007, the MTO began work on building a new HOV lane in the QEW median over a 16.5-kilometer (10.3-mile) stretch from EXIT 118 (RR 3 / Tragalar Road) in Oakville southwest to EXIT 105 (Walkers Lane) in Burlington. The HOV lanes are restricted to passenger cars with at least two passengers, buses, and motorcycles; the restrictions apply 24 hours a day. The $89 million HOV widening project was completed in 2011. Although the province contemplates a more extensive HOV lane network, there are no current plans to extend the QEW HOV lanes.

However, in 2016, the MTO implemented a high-occupancy toll (HOT) scheme in which permit holders could - for a C$180 fee charged every three months - use the QEW HOV lanes. Over 3,500 applicants vied for the right to purchase 500 available permits (later raised to 1,000 permits and again to 1,350 permits); the permits are issued in February, May, August, and November. The MTO also implemented the permit-based HOT lane program on Highways 403 and 410.

A TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP: On April 1, 1997, the MTO transferred jurisdiction of the section of the Queen Elizabeth Way from Highway 427 east to the Humber River Bridge to Metro ownership. Upon the transfer, this former QEW section through Etobicoke was redesignated as part of the Gardiner Expressway, and signs were changed to reflect the name change. This section includes collector/distributor (C/D) roads through EXIT 142 (Kipling Avenue / Islington Avenue).

On November 27, 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow agreed to a "new deal" in which Ontario would "upload" the Gardiner Expressway - including the former QEW section built by the province - from city to provincial control. In exchange for taking control of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, the province would take over the redevelopment of Ontario Place from the city. The "New Deal for Toronto" was designed to allow the financially-strapped city to focus on transit and housing.

QEW DOES DOUBLE DUTY: Since 2002, a 22.6-kilometer (14.1-mile)-long stretch of the QEW has been co-signed with Highway 403. The MTO's dual-signing decision stems from a change in plans dating back to 1995, when the province canceled plans for Highway 403 to be built along a dedicated right-of-way purchased in the 1960s (the MTO later leased this land for the western extension of the Highway 407 ETR), and instead made permanent the Highway 403 designation from Erin Mills (Mississauga) south to the QEW in Oakville. This created a discontinuity between the western and eastern sections of Highway 403; to close this gap, the MTO signed Highway 403 along the Burlington-Oakville stretch of the QEW.

TAKING IT TO THE LIMIT: In the fall of 2019, the MTO began a pilot program to evaluate a 110 km/h (68 MPH) speed limit along a 29-kilometer (18-mile)-long stretch of the QEW from near kilometer-post 56 in Lincoln to near kilometer-post 85 in Hamilton. After an evaluation period, the MTO made the 110 km/h speed limit permanent in 2022, making it among the first stretches of highway in the province with the new speed limit.

This 2019 photo shows the Fort Erie-bound Queen Elizabeth Way at EXIT 30A in Niagara Falls. A four-level interchange replaced a traffic circle at this location in the early 1970s. (Photo by Laura Siggia-Anderson.)

CHANGES FOR INTERCHANGES: In 2022, the MTO rebuilt EXIT 38 (RR 89 / Glendale Avenue) as a "diverging diamond" interchange. The diverging diamond design briefly shifts traffic along Glendale Avenue to the opposite sides of the QEW overpass to allow smooth, signal-controlled left turns onto and off the QEW ramps without crossing opposing traffic. Including design work, the C$54 million interchange makeover was completed over a two-year period. It was the first diverging diamond interchange built in Ontario and only the third one built in Canada at the time.

In 2025, the MTO substantially completed a five-year, C$314 million project to widen and rebuild a 2.6-kilometer (1.6-mile)-long stretch of the QEW between EXIT 130 (Mississauga Road) and EXIT 132 (Hurontario Street) in Mississauga. The most ambitious part of the project involved the twinning of the Credit River Bridge to provide four lanes of traffic (including shoulders) in each direction, from the three lanes (without shoulders) along the existing span. While the new span, which was built north of the existing bridge and carries Fort Erie-bound traffic, is of a more modern design, the existing Credit River Bridge was rehabilitated and reconfigured to carry four lanes of Toronto-bound traffic. The project also included the substantial reconstruction of the Mississauga Road interchange, including a new QEW overpass over Mississauga Road.

Longer-term plans also call for widening the QEW from EXIT 34 (RR 101 / Mountain Road) to EXIT 30A (Highway 420). The MTO first announced widening plans in 2008 for this section, which would bring the freeway from four to six lanes (three in each direction). Although the province has not moved on widening, a rebuilt overpass at EXIT 32 (RR 57 / Thorold Stone Road) can accommodate an additional travel lane in each direction.

TWINNING THE GARDEN CITY SKYWAY: In 2024, the MTO announced plans to build a twin 2.2-kilometer (1.3-mile)-long bridge and approaches for the Garden City Skyway north of the existing span. The province awarded design contracts in 2025, with construction likely to begin in late 2026 or early 2027. Upon completion of new span, which is likely to occur after 2030, the deck of the existing Garden City Skyway would be replaced, after which time both spans would carry four lanes of traffic (including full shoulders) in each direction.

QEW TRAFFIC COUNTS: From 1988 to 2021 (based on the latest data available), traffic counts approximately doubled on average on the QEW. By jurisdictions, the 2021 data are shown as follows alongside the 1988 data:

  • 180,000 Mississauga (vs 140,000 in 1988)
  • 215,000 Oakville (vs 115,000 in 1988)
  • 215,000 Burlington (vs 95,000 in 1988)
  • 160,000 Hamilton (vs 80,000 in 1988)
  • 95,000 Grimsby (vs 50,000 in 1988)
  • 120,000 St. Catharines (vs 50,000 in 1988)
  • 90,000 Niagara-on-the-Lake (vs 50,000 in 1988)
  • 70,000 Niagara Falls (vs 40,000 in 1988)
  • 25,000 Fort Erie (vs 15,000 in 1988)
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Two iconic open-spandrel concrete arch bridges were built along the Queen Elizabeth Way at St. Catharines (left photo, taken in 2011) and Port Credit (right photo, taken in 2014). The Port Credit bridge photo was taken several years before significant reconstruction took place at this location. (Photos by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

SOURCES: "Toronto-Hamilton Highway," The Toronto Star (9/28/1914); "Queen Honored As Road Named," The Globe and Mail (6/08/1939); "Middle Road 'Going to Pieces,' Government Will Spend $500,000" by Ralph Hyman, The Globe and Mail (9/07/1945); "$57 Million for Roads, but Cement Lack Halts Ontario Paving Program," The Globe and Mail (8/19/1948);  "Half-Billion for Roads Five-Year Plan, Pave Barrie 4-Lane in 1950," The Toronto Star (2/23/1950); "Squaring Off Dixie Road Is Welcomed by Residents, The Toronto Star (3/10/1951); "Hope To Cut Death Toll on Queen Elizabeth Way by Dixie Road Overpass" by Dennis Braithwaite, The Toronto Star (12/05/1952); "New Housing Developments Near Dixie Seen Making Queen Elizabeth Highway Traffic Heavier Than Ever," The Toronto Star (5/14/1953); "Oakville-Clarkson Promised $2,000,000 Road Improvement," The Toronto Star (9/30/1954); "For a Safer QE Way," The Toronto Star (10/26/1955); "Will Close 22 Roads While QEW Is Widened," The Toronto Star (9/19/1957); "Approve Bid To End QEW Intersections," The Globe and Mail (12/09/1959); "Expressway Seen Ready Next Fall," The Hamilton Spectator (1/08/1960); "Skyway Over Welland Canal To Cost $17 Million," The Globe and Mail (1/11/1960); "Award QEW Widening Contract," The Toronto Star (7/18/1961); "New York State Offers Much to the After-Labour Day Traveller," The Toronto Star (9/15/1962); "Four More Years of That QEW-27 Headache," The Toronto Star (9/17/1968); "$164.1 Million Slated for Highways in 1969," The Globe and Mail (4/03/1969); "QEW Circle Out by 1972," The Hamilton Spectator (5/25/1971);  "The End of a Circle," The Globe and Mail (4/30/1975); "The Quick and Easy Way? Forget It!" by Stewart Brown, The Hamilton Spectator (1/21/1978); "Proposal Studied for New Skyway To Ease QEW Jams," The Globe and Mail (12/12/1980); "Report Not Final Word on Bridge, Official Says," The Globe and Mail (5/28/1981); QEW: Canada's First Superhighway by Robert M. Stamp, The Boston Mills Press (1983);  "Bridge 'Christened' by Accident Minutes After Official Opening," The Toronto Star (10/12/1985); "403 Link, QEW Widening Will Mean 5,700 Jobs," The Hamilton Spectator (2/11/1993); "More Carpooling Lanes Coming to Golden Horseshoe," CBC News (5/24/2007); "QEW Next In Line For HOV Lanes," CITY-TV (8/14/2007); "QEW Widening Closer to Reality," Niagara This Week (1/23/2008); "QEW Toll Lanes Were Met With Strong Demand, but Will It Last?" by Oliver Moore, The Globe and Mail (8/26/2016); "Roads and Highways" by C.W. Gilchrist, The Canadian Encyclopedia (2021); "Ontario's First 'Diverging Diamond' Interchange Opens Today" by Kyle Hocking, CITY-TV (9/23/2022); "Toronto and Ontario Agree to New Deal, including DVP, Gardiner, and Ontario Place" by Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello, CIII-TV (11/27/2023); "Ontario Targets 2026 Start Date for Skyway Twinning Project in St. Catharines" by Don Mitchell, CIII-TV (4/05/2024); "$314M Highway Bridge Construction Project Continues in Mississauga" by Declan Finucane, Insauga.com; "NOTL Agrees to Details of Twinning Skyway" by Kris Dube, The Niagara-on-the-Lake Local (5/29/2025);  Infrastructure Ontario; The Miller Group; WT Partnership; Cameron Bevers; Scott Steeves; Jody Thornton.

  • QEW and ON 403 shields by Cameron Bevers.
  • Gardiner Expressway shield by James Alcock.
  • Speed limit sign from Wikipedia.
  • Lightpost photos by Steve Anderson.
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QUEEN ELIZABETH WAY LINKS:

QUEEN ELIZABETH WAY CURRENT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS:

QUEEN ELIZABETH WAY VIDEO LINKS:

THE EXITS OF GREATER TORONTO:

  • Queen Elizabeth Way exit list by Steve Anderson.

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