[drum118]

Jan 19
Noticed that a new style of barriers are been used for the centre of the QEW for the Dixie Interchange as well for shoulder protection. They are thinner and about 20' long compare to the old ones and it do nothing to stop from going from one direction into the opposite direction lanes. The centre one is most likely temporarily until they build the new one this year or in 2026.

All the guardrail for the centre has been removed from Etobicoke bridge to Cawthra Rd. The same thing is happening for the shoulder as some of the sound barrier wall is being relocated to allow for new on/off ramps for the new interchange as well for a new HOV lane.

Has this style been used elsewhere or something new?

 

[11th]

^ Judging by those orange flags, they are temporary.

 

[Dan416]

Even just the way they're sitting on the pavement, they look temporary. I thought I read somewhere that Ontario was moving to even taller barriers? Could totally be wrong though.

 

[nfitz]

Even just the way they're sitting on the pavement, they look temporary. I thought I read somewhere that Ontario was moving to even taller barriers? Could totally be wrong though.

Probably a difference in a highway built for a 110 km/hr speed limit than for a 90 speed limit.

 

[drum118]

Even just the way they're sitting on the pavement, they look temporary. I thought I read somewhere that Ontario was moving to even taller barriers? Could totally be wrong though.

They are temporary like I noted, but never seen them before and will they stand up in a crash compared to the current style??

Probably a difference in a highway built for a 110 km/hr speed limit than for a 90 speed limit.

That is a 100km zone plus and something I haven't seen to date. Leslie 401 bridge work doesn't have them nor does the Gardiner.

 

[lenaitch]

I've not seen that shape before and couldn't readily find an online reference to it. Traffic safety agencies and companies are experimenting all the time. It could be a proprietary product line being tried out. The lengths look too long to be part of a moveable system. I assume the base is raised to allow for drainage.

 

[innsertnamehere]

MTO has been using them for a little while now, I think. I have definitely seen them before. Pretty sure they are being used in Barrie for the 400 construction as well.

edit: yup:

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[ericmacm]

A tentative agreement is apparently now in place between Ontario and Shawanaga First Nation on the HWY 69/400 extension toward Sudbury. Negotiations continue on getting them additional reserve land to replace the lands that will be required for the highway project. Negotiations with the other two nations on the corridor (Henvey Inlet and Magnetawan First Nations) are reported to be continuing. The portion of the project that concerns the lands of the Shawanaga FN, the ~11km segment from Shebeshegong Road to Pointe au Baril, is not yet in design. Hopefully it will be following a formal agreement with the province. Only the ~12km segment going north from HWY 559 in Nobel (which ends just outside of Shawanaga FN lands) and the ~20km segment going south from Pickerel River Road to HWY 529 in Britt (through the Henvey Inlet FN lands) are currently in-design or are in design procurement, and both of which are slated for construction start in 2026-2027.

New development on this has emerged this week. The Henvey Inlet First Nation is due to ratify an agreement with the province in June, detailing a land swap. Approx 30 acres of land will be given to the province for the highway ROW, and approx 100 acres of land will be given to the FN in return. Negotiations apparently started in 2008. If I had to guess, it took that long because significant amounts of FN lands are located along either side of the HWY 69 corridor here, and the ROW would have to undergo formal design before determining just how much land would need to be exchanged.

Provided that finalizing the agreement is still going well with the Shawanaga FN, this leaves the Magnetawan FN remaining as only one without an agreement in place, at least that we know of so far. The same challenges face Magnetawan FN, given that HWY 69 cuts through close to the middle of the FN lands. They will likely not be able to come to an agreement here until detail design is completed on the corridor and the exact amount of land required is finalized.

 

[Mr.Tang]

Seems like having a highway run through your lands would be economically beneficial and not harmful - or is that a faulty assumption?

 

[nfitz]

Seems like 70 additional acres of land is a pretty small cost the Ministry. I'm surprised the ask wasn't much bigger. But perhaps that's because it is a benefit.

 

[ericmacm]

Seems like having a highway run through your lands would be economically beneficial and not harmful - or is that a faulty assumption?

The negotiation less about whether or not the highway runs through the lands, it’s about who ultimately owns the corridor. The province wants to/needs to own the corridor so long negotiation processes don’t need to take place every time potential maintenance or expansion comes up. Getting one large agreement in place may take longer up front, but it is ultimately better for long term planning.

 

[lenaitch]

Seems like having a highway run through your lands would be economically beneficial and not harmful - or is that a faulty assumption?

Given that the highway already cuts through all three FNTs in an limited-controlled corridor, any benefit of a new controlled access, grade separated corridor is probably a wash at best.

I suspect it is just a result of the complexities of dealing with land issues related to FNTs. The eight kilometer 'Wahta gap' (a remaining two-lane island bookended by 4-lane divided highway highway, took multiple years to negotiate back in the late 1990s.

 

[darth_freeman]

Jan 19
Noticed that a new style of barriers are been used for the centre of the QEW for the Dixie Interchange as well for shoulder protection. They are thinner and about 20' long compare to the old ones and it do nothing to stop from going from one direction into the opposite direction lanes. The centre one is most likely temporarily until they build the new one this year or in 2026.

All the guardrail for the centre has been removed from Etobicoke bridge to Cawthra Rd. The same thing is happening for the shoulder as some of the sound barrier wall is being relocated to allow for new on/off ramps for the new interchange as well for a new HOV lane.

Has this style been used elsewhere or something new?

For the temporary concrete barrier nerds out there, it is "ZoneBloc" on this page. https://www.pivotsafety.com/tcb

Each segment is unusually long, 12m, compared to 4m for standard temporary concrete barriers. This gives it reduced deflection distance and can serve as a median like on QEW.

MTO refers to it as "Type Z" barrier. You can search the details here https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Portal/tp/mtodViews.aspx?lang=en-US

 

[drum118]

For the temporary concrete barrier nerds out there, it is "ZoneBloc" on this page. https://www.pivotsafety.com/tcb

Each segment is unusually long, 12m, compared to 4m for standard temporary concrete barriers. This gives it reduced deflection distance and can serve as a median like on QEW.

MTO refers to it as "Type Z" barrier. You can search the details here https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Portal/tp/mtodViews.aspx?lang=en-US

That is not what been used for "ZoneBloc" on this page. https://www.pivotsafety.com/tcb . They are longer and thinner than anything I have seen in the past as well on current projects. I believe the "ZoneBloc" was used on the widening of the Etobicoke Creek bridge as well the the new centre barrier to the east of the bridge.

Not my field and leave it to others on what been used now.

 

[lenaitch]

This is what I think of when I see the term 'moveable concrete barrier' (AKA 'road zipper'). Not very common in Ontario.