| Allen Road | |
| W.R. Allen Road | |
| Formed: | 1960s - partially completed |
|---|---|
| Direction: | North/South |
| From: | Eglinton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario |
| To: | Sheppard Avenue, Toronto, Ontario |
| Major cities: | Toronto, Ontario |
William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway or simply The Allen is a short expressway/freeway in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from Kennard Avenue in the north, to Eglinton Avenue West in the south.
The portion south of Sheppard Avenue was originally the completed section of the Spadina Expressway. Allen Road is named after late Metro Toronto Chairman William R. Allen and maintained by the City of Toronto.
Attractions along the road include the Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Downsview Park (formerly CFB Downsview).
For the history and politics of the artery, see Spadina Expressway.
Contents |
Construction phase
- Lawrence to Yorkdale 1964
- Yorkdale to Clanton Park 1966
- Lawrence to Eglinton 1976
- Clanton Park to Kennard 1982
Source: Toronto Expressways - Transfer Points - February 2004 - pp8
Route description
A portion of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line from Sheppard Avenue in the north to Eglinton Avenue to the south runs along, within, or near to the highway. The portion from Wilson Avenue to Eglinton Avenue runs in the median of the highway.
South of Transit Road (a collector road just north of Highway 401), Allen Road is a four-lane urban freeway (with the Y-U-S subway line in the median, similar to the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line along the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago) with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph).
At the junction with Highway 401, the two freeways meet in an interchange which is a hybrid of the turbine and clover-stack. It is complex since some ramps are dedicated to serving the adjacent Yorkdale Mall rather than freeway to freeway traffic. The interchange, which was built when Highway 401 was expanded to its current collector-express configuration, is known for its poor sight lines, since not long after its completion, the speed limit on Ontario freeways was raised in 1968 from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 112 km/h (70 mph) (later reduced to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 1974, then 100 km/h (62 mph) with metric conversion in 1977). There are frequent complaints about the 401 westbound collectors exit to Allen Road, since it is located on the left-hand side instead of the conventional right. Most of the overpases were rehabilitated in 1995. From 2001-2004, retrofitting and improvements have widened the westbound collectors to four lanes, eliminating the forced exit lane. Due to the interchange's complexity and lower standard design, it is one of the few on Highway 401 that uses conventional light poles instead of high-mast lighting.
North of Transit Road, Allen Road is a four-lane at-grade expressway with a speed limit of 70 km/h (45 mph) until it reaches Sheppard Avenue West to become an arterial route, still maintaining the higher speed limit. The route is two lanes plus a bus lane until just beyond Finch Avenue, where the bus lane exits Westbound to the York University Busway.
The first installation of low pressure sodium lighting on existing cobra-neck poles in Toronto was on the Allen in 1969. This was later introduced on to the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway. In 1991, the Allen became the first municipal expressway in Toronto to have its lighting converted to high pressure sodium with shaded luminaires. This was done using the existing cobra-neck style of poles unlike the Don Valley and Gardiner where a combination of high mast and new conventional poles was introduced.
The section of the Allen north of Highway 401 was to be the next phase of the Spadina Expressway, which was to be extended northwards to Highway 7. South of Eglinton Avenue, the Spadina Expressway would have been extended to Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street, with a potential link to the Gardiner Expressway.
Interchanges from south to north
| Intersection | Exit number† | Intersecting Roads | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-grade intersection/Half-Diamond interchange | 0 | Eglinton Avenue West | Northbound, Southbound |
| Diamond interchange | 3 | Lawrence Avenue West | Northbound, Southbound |
| Diamond interchange | 5A | Yorkdale Road | Northbound, Southbound |
| Cloverstack | 5B |  Highway 401, MacDonald Cartier Freeway. |
Northbound, Southbound |
| Slip ramp | 7 | Wilson Heights Boulevard | Northbound |
| At-grade intersection | 8 | Transit Road | Northbound, Southbound |
| At-grade intersection | 9 | Downsview subway station parking entrance | Southbound |
| At-grade intersection | 10 | Sheppard Avenue West | Northbound, Southbound |
| At grade partial intersection | Kennard Avenue | Northbound, Southbound |
†Exit numbers are unsigned and are approximate kilometre points.
North of Kennard Avenue Allen Road becomes Dufferin Street. In fact Dufferin Street runs semi parallel with Allen Road from Kennard to Sheppard Avenue due east. This lost section of Dufferin is a residential street and ends in a cul-de-sac just south of Kennard.
See also
External links
- Map of Allen Road on Google Maps
- The Expressways of Toronto (built and unbuilt)
- Aerial view of the Highway 401 cloverstack
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
