Long-closed ramp to Hwy. 401 drives drivers around bend
Ministry says it will reopen soon, but won’t give firm date
When, oh when, will the closure end, from southbound Kennedy Road to the westbound lanes of Hwy. 401?
It’s an oft-asked question by drivers who are fed up with having to go south past the 401 and then make an awkward U-turn to get straightened around and onto northbound Kennedy, where there’s a ramp to the westbound 401.
Anyone who drives the 401 through Scarborough is familiar with road work that reduced lanes from just west of McCowan Road to beyond Kennedy, which began more than two years ago and continued until a few months ago.
Aside from clogging the westbound 401 — particularly during the day, when traffic is heaviest — it caused the closure of the on-ramp from southbound Kennedy, forcing local traffic to find alternatives to access the 401.
The construction finally looks to be done, but the ramp from southbound Kennedy onto the 401 remains closed, which is testing the patience of drivers.
I’ve received emails about it, most recently from Seppo Peuhkerinen, who said “this ramp has now been closed for a number of years and we were promised that it would open in spring of 2023, and now signs say it will be open in spring of 2024.
“It is crazy how a busy ramp like this has been closed for so many years, sending people who live north of the 401 to McCowan (Road) or Warden (Avenue) to get on westbound 401.
“Many people also make illegal Uturns” south of the 401, he said, noting “the northbound Kennedy ramp to westbound 401 is open.”
I drove there and gave it a try, passing the blocked ramp, just before the 401 underpass, and continuing south until I got to the traffic signals at Kennedy and Antrim Crescent — an entrance to the Kennedy Commons mall — and turned into it. I had to go about a block into the mall before I was able to turn around and head back to northbound Kennedy and an open ramp to the west 401.
Status I asked the provincial Transportation Ministry when the ramp will reopen and why it has been closed so long, and got a reply from Tanya Blazina, who promptly replies to email, even after work:
“The Ministry is currently undertaking a multi-year major rehabilitation project of Hwy. 401 westbound express and collector lanes from Neilson Road to Warden Avenue, as part of the Ontario Highways Program.
“Work includes replacing the Kennedy Road and Canadian Pacific Railway bridge structures on Hwy. 401 (located just west of Kennedy Road) in multiple stages.
“During the 2022 and 2023 construction seasons, the Kennedy Road on-ramp was closed to accommodate traffic staging for the Hwy. 401 westbound express and collector Kennedy Road and CPR structure replacements. (Traffic staging includes realigned traffic lane configurations during various construction stages.)
“With lanes of traffic shifted toward the outside shoulders, the geometry of the ramp does not allow for safe access to Hwy. 401 and must remain closed until lanes are reinstated to their original condition.
“This work is ongoing and we are accelerating construction operations wherever possible, given the limitations from rail operations. The goal is to have the ramp open in the coming months, weather permitting.”
In other words, maybe soon. Or maybe not.
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