April 26
I was attending events in Woodstock and Strathroy and took the opportunity to observe changes on the Hwy 401 over the past nine months, as I no longer need to visit London regularly anymore.
I can't recall the last time I saw the sunrise in my rearview mirror before 6am. Several speeding drivers passed me, but unlike Friday, there were no backups in the collector lanes. On Friday, the stretch from Hwy 410 to beyond Mavis Rd was a parking lot due to construction on the Hwy 410 ramp and the Hwy 401.
Work on the Grand River area is nearing completion, with paving underway for the eastbound lanes and the 8 ramp. The Grand River area is waiting to open.
During the trip from Woodstock to Strathroy, I was passed by dozens of cars doing 150 km/h or more, even though I was going with the flow of traffic at 130 km/h.
A new bridge is being constructed for the London Veterans Memorial Pkwy interchange, reducing traffic to two lanes. This is the second-to-last bridge to be widened to accommodate 10 lanes of traffic for London area. Just before the Wellington interchange, eastbound traffic is reduced to two lanes, and the westbound lanes are being used due to reconstruction of the existing lanes. It's unclear if the RR overpass bridge will be widened as well.
Traffic was chaotic on the return trip before Hwy 6 to Hwy 25. I can't wait for the 10-lane area to be completed. It was stop-and-go without any apparent cause.
Hwy 401 was a parking lot for the Eastbound Express lanes west of Hurontario St
Getting onto the Hwy 403 was a mess, with gridlock coming off 410 due to two accidents within about 1000m of each other, involving four fire trucks blocking traffic. One incident occurred where 401 westbound traffic connects to the 403, and the other was at the Eglinton Ramp area.
Good thing this is not a regular thing.
