Which is the busiest freeway [Archive]

DrJoe

January 17th, 2005, 01:55 AM

The 401 is the busiest in North America, not sure about the world.

From Wikipedia

"Today it is considered North America's busiest highway, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) over 425,000 in 2004, near the interchange with Highway 400. Due to its triple use as the main trade, commuting and recreational corridor in Ontario, many days spike well beyond the 500,000 level. The just-in-time inventory systems of the highly integrated auto industry in Michigan and Ontario have made the highway into the busiest truck route in North America. The 401 also includes the continent's busiest multi-structure bridge at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto (4 structures for the highway's 4 roadway beds)".

Nick in Atlanta

January 17th, 2005, 01:58 AM

Definitely I-35 in Atlanta. It's so fast you can't even see it.

Sexas

January 17th, 2005, 02:38 AM

Where is Houstan?

MSP

January 17th, 2005, 06:28 AM

I-35 isn't in Atlanta. I-75 is though...

HoustonTexas

January 17th, 2005, 06:29 AM

"Houstan" Gotta love it

Nick in Atlanta

January 17th, 2005, 06:40 PM

Yeah, those Kanaideeans! I-35 in Atlanta and "Houstan." :) :runaway:

Bartolo

January 17th, 2005, 10:09 PM

I meant I-75, what can i say i miss read a post on another site, and ya itz Houston

Nick in Atlanta

January 18th, 2005, 02:39 AM

I meant I-75, what can i say i miss read a post on another site, and ya itz Houston

I'm just kidding you! :)

centralized pandemonium

January 18th, 2005, 03:12 AM

401, no doubt.

benji45

January 18th, 2005, 03:17 AM

401.

Booyashako

January 19th, 2005, 06:37 AM

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the 401 (and it's only getting bigger/busier)...however, I think the Santa Monica Fwy is pretty busy.

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 07:30 AM

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 07:31 AM

^^ old numbers there, the 401 basically goes up every year.

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 07:36 AM

It's taken from the official website, and besides, the statistics for the Santa Monica Fwy are from 1993 so...

The number is much higher than 363,000 now ;)

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 07:38 AM

Or we could use wikipedia which has the 2004 stats and claims the 401 to be the busiest.

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 07:43 AM

Or we could use wikipedia which has the 2004 stats and claims the 401 to be the busiest.

Sure, but since when did Wikipedia know any better than the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario though? ;)

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 07:46 AM

Wikipedia actually updates the page, something im sure the ministry hasnt done for 5-10 years now

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 07:50 AM

Wikipedia actually updates the page, something im sure the ministry hasnt done for 5-10 years now

I doubt that's the case here.
We all know websites are not to be trusted when it comes to statistics, simply because there are hundreds of different answers.
Works the same way with statistics related to population within a city, different opinions and statistics. ;)

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 07:56 AM

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 08:12 AM

What do you mean you doubt thats the case???The ministry of Transportation could care less about updating that number. The 401 is bigger, longer, wider and more important to the GTA than the Santa Monica freeway is LA.

Do a bit of researching and you'll find that there are many figures, most of which (if not all) cannot be counted for as reliable.
Correct, I-401 is longer and wider but that has nothing to do with the average traffic flow since the Santa Monica Fwy is capable of handling even more.

However, the completion of I-210 did ease some of the pressure on I-10.
Too bad they went through with I-210, we wouldn't even be having this conversation if they didn't. :tongue3:

Anyway, I'm still certain that the Santa Monica Fwy is the busiest in terms of average traffic flow, and even if it's not, then it's pretty damn close.

benji45

January 19th, 2005, 08:14 AM

Your arhuing with cold hard facts Tictac.

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 08:19 AM

Your arhuing with cold hard facts Tictac.

Well I disagree Benji45.
I don't believe Wikipedia one bit, sorry...

It's just as unreliable as any other source out there.
And besides, since when is Wikipedia thought of as 'official' statistics?

benji45

January 19th, 2005, 08:20 AM

So? The 401 Is the bussiest freeway in North America, its fact. Just like New York is the largest City in the USA.

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 08:23 AM

So? The 401 Is the bussiest freeway in North America, its fact. Just like New York is the largest City in the USA.

Not gonna argue with you on NYC being the largest city in the US, we all know that.
What makes you so sure that I-401 is the busiest fwy in NA though, because it's stated on Wikipedia? come on now... ;)

I'm obviously the only one here finding encyclopedias unreliable.

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 08:29 AM

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 08:37 AM

from Texas Highway numbers from 2000

"Los Angeles has numerous freeways in the 330,000 vehicles/day range, including the San Diego and Santa Monica Freeways. However, the world's busiest freeway is the 401 freeway in Toronto, Canada, which has a volume of about 395,000 vehicles per day."

Interesting.
Lets make a comparison...

2000: 395,000 vehicles (source: Texas Highway)
2002: 350,000 vehicles (source: Ministry of Transportation)

So what you're saying here is that it went from 350,000 in 2002 to over 425,000 in 2004?

That's interesting ;)

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 08:40 AM

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 08:42 AM

Wow way to make a total guess with that 2002...that Texas Highway guy has basically devoted his time to make a website on highways in Texas, do honestly think he wouldnt know the numbers for highways around North America.

Total guess? No ;)
It was updated on November 29, 2002.

And I don't know about the guy in tx, not really questioning his intelligence, not too sure about the statistics he used though but who knows.

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 08:55 AM

_tictac_

January 19th, 2005, 09:02 AM

I dont want to argue about this anymore, Wikipedia has numbers from 2004 that claim the 401 to be the busiest, some highway nut in texas has it busier in 2000...and you're using numbers which are clearly old when you take the growth of the 401 into consideration over the past 10 years.

Over the past 10 years? Not quite so DrJoe (refer to the 2002 statistics), but whatever.
I just find the difference rather funny, you would think the Government of Canada would know but you're probably right, they don't ;)

Anyway, enough of this.
I-401 is clearly the busiest cause Wikipedia claims so, happy now? lol

smeghead

January 19th, 2005, 10:27 AM

When did I-407 open (I know its recent-ish) and would that have affected traffic on I-401?

DrJoe

January 19th, 2005, 06:08 PM

Over the past 10 years? Not quite so DrJoe (refer to the 2002 statistics), but whatever.
I just find the difference rather funny, you would think the Government of Canada would know but you're probably right, they don't

You're like talking to a wall, the numbers are old how many times to you have to be told that.

2000: 395,000...http://www.texasfreeway.com/Houston/photos/59sw/59sw.shtml
2001: 407,800... http://www.onthighways.com/highway_401_page_2.htm
2002: 414,100... http://www.thekingshighway.ca/TRAFFIC/Hwy401traffic.htm
2004: 425,000....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_401

Link provided by the Ontario Minsitry of Transportion from 2002
http://www.ronenhouse.com/__85256B7C0078E315.nsf/0/A23C4685976385C385256EF5007152CB/$FILE/2002%20AADT.pdf

Anywhere you look on the Santa Monica it has either leveled out or stayed the same in the past years.

AADT(2000) 330,000...http://www.texasfreeway.com/Houston/photos/59sw/59sw.shtml
AADT(2002) 329,000...http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-010.html

The 401 is the busiest , the end.

sonysnob

January 19th, 2005, 07:11 PM

Or we could use wikipedia which has the 2004 stats and claims the 401 to be the busiest.

The Wikipedia stats on the 401 are made up. They don't come from any AADT sources I am aware of, and it seems like a lot of facts displayed on it came from 'third party' sources, hence why very little highway information on the site referenced. User be aware. The 2002 Traffic counts from the MTO and Ronen House put the busiest section of Highway 401 at 414,100 from Highway 400 easterly to Weston Road.

Scott Steeves

B@dGuYoM

January 19th, 2005, 07:13 PM

i vote LA

sonysnob

January 19th, 2005, 07:25 PM

When did I-407 open (I know its recent-ish) and would that have affected traffic on I-401?

The first prtion of Highway 407 openend in June 1997 from the 410 in the west to the 404 in the east. Numerous extentiones have openend since then (the most recent openend in August 2001), and the Highway now stretches from the QEW/403 (Freeman) Interchenge in Burlington to Highway 7 east of Brougham in Pickering.

Because of the nature of the highway (privately run toll road) it has not had the desired affect of really reducing congestion off of the 401.

Scott Steeves

Booyashako

January 19th, 2005, 09:29 PM

Just a note to some forumers. Ontario is not part of the American interstate system. Therefore it's not "I-401" but simply the "401".

smeghead

January 20th, 2005, 08:03 AM

I just used the i Prefix because everyone else did. Do Canadian Hwy Route Numbers have prefixes? In Australia, on a federal level, we have NR (National Routes) and NH (National Highways).

benji45

January 20th, 2005, 08:15 AM

Sometimes the Canadian ones have prefixes, like S, meaning south and SW meaning Southwest:D

Bartolo

January 20th, 2005, 09:47 PM

canadian highways usually dont have prefixes, not in ontario atleast

Facial

January 21st, 2005, 11:25 AM

You forgot the I-5 between SD and LA.

aswnl

January 22nd, 2005, 09:45 PM

Interesting link:

http://members.a1.net/wabweb/frames/wf.htm

Hogtown

January 22nd, 2005, 11:03 PM

The 401 has the largest traffic volume largely because of its position in the region as a traderoute. It is also the highway that all other major Toronto highways empty out on, forming the backbone of the system. I would guess that LA's SM freeway has larger commuter traffiic volumes though, if only there was a way to actually measure that...

2Easy

January 28th, 2005, 07:57 AM

sonysnob

January 28th, 2005, 09:08 AM

According to the California DOT, the 10 Fwy isn't even the biggest in the LA area. The 405 in Seal Beach at the LA/Orange County border handles 390,000 vehicles per day.

The intersection of the 110 and 10 is 643,000 vehicles per day.

By the way, the LA area figures are averaged over the whole year including weekends and holidays. I wonder if the Canadian ones are as well.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/saferesr/trafdata/2003all.htm

The Ontario data is also averaged over the entire year.

As far as I am aware, the standard for traffic data is AADT.

AADT stands for Average Annual Traffic Data, and it is measured in vehicles per day.

I believe that the 110, 10 interchange is busier then anything in Toronto, tho the 404/401/DVP interchange would be relatively close.

Scott Steeves

pwright1

January 28th, 2005, 11:44 AM

I read that the Santa Monica Freeway is North America's busiest. Plus the Los Angeles area has more autos than any city in the world.

abrowser

February 4th, 2005, 01:31 AM

It's the I-10 Santa Monica Fwy. between the I-110 and I-405.
And the I-405 is hell to drive every day-that God I don't have to.

skyscraper17

February 4th, 2005, 09:00 PM

I dont care what everyone else says. Highway 401 is the busiest Highway in North America. Case Closed. Bye.

Stratosphere 2020

February 17th, 2005, 09:25 AM

http://www.ap.org/southwire/atlanta.jpg
Nevertherless Atlanta has some impressive traffic jam images

djm19

February 18th, 2005, 04:11 AM

If by impressive you mean nightmare-provoking.

hamhamfan

February 23rd, 2005, 03:29 AM

Plus the Los Angeles area has more autos than any city in the world.
LA is a very spread out and decentralized city with freeways criss-crossing the map. Depending on where one starts, it's possible to reach the same destination using different highways. Also, the I-10 services only a portion of LA (Santa Monica to downtown), so it's possible that many residents do not use it often. The 405 gets the vast majority of my time. On the other hand, other posters have suggested that the 401 plays a very central role in meeting Toronto's transportation needs.

Gordon Freeman

February 23rd, 2005, 03:46 AM

Yes the 401 is the Busiest highway in NA, funny Metro Toronto has about 6 million, while LA has about 16 million, must be alot of mass transit users, joggers, bikers or something, anyways Vancouver BC may not have the Busiest Highway but not only is the Highway system is the worst ive ever seen and driven on, mind u greater Vancouver has 2 million people, but it is the only city where ive stoped at a red light and seen it change 5 times before i got to go, no joke, people out here drive like theres no tommorow, they hate the traffic so much they drive like its the autobahn, im sure some of u know, and for those of u who dont, well its best u dont find out

djm19

February 23rd, 2005, 04:09 AM

LA has a lot of freeways though with no clear central freeway really, while the 401 is the main freeway of toronto. The more years that went by with LA freeways being congested the more people chose to use other freeways for their routes.

I mean, have you seen a map of LA freeways? You have the 210, the 405, the 10, the 110, the 105, the 101, the 118, the 2, the 187, the 605, the 60, the 134, the 19, the 91, the 213, the 27, the 72, the 5, the 107, and more down in orange county.

KGB

February 23rd, 2005, 04:49 AM

I agree...Toronto just has a major dominating freeway, while LA is littered with them. And the 401 plays a triple role of inter-metro commuting...inter-province travel and goods movement...as well as international travel and goods movement between Canada-USA.

KGB

SuperMan44

February 23rd, 2005, 04:53 AM

I have been on 401 on quite a few times and its getting more and more crowded day by day. everytime i have been around Missisauga and Toronto area of the 401, there was always a traffic jam so I will go with 401

Skybean

March 8th, 2005, 02:22 AM

401

The skyline is that of North York City Centre, a secondary skyline of Toronto.

(thank you muchswatch)
http://img231.exs.cx/img231/7569/img81131sw.jpg

http://img26.exs.cx/img26/6549/img85555cc.jpg

http://img26.exs.cx/img26/9572/img87138aj.jpg

Where is this in relation to the downtown core?
(thank you lucky24)
http://www.inclearimage.com/images/Toronto/february/Toronto.gif

Nick in Atlanta

March 8th, 2005, 02:52 AM

The skyline is that of North York City Centre, a secondary skyline of Toronto.

http://img231.exs.cx/img231/7569/img81131sw.jpg

http://www.inclearimage.com/images/Toronto/february/Toronto.gif

North York City Centre is halfway between Sheppard/Yonge and Finch/Yonge. It doesn't border the 401, but is about 2 miles north of it. I know because I remember when they added the North York Centre station to the Yonge Street subway line and it was right in the middle of the Sheppard and Finch stations.

Is all that development in the first pic on the north side of the 401? That's all new if it is. That area is really booming!

Skybean

March 8th, 2005, 04:32 AM

Is all that development in the first pic on the north side of the 401? That's all new if it is. That area is really booming!

Yes it is. The "NY towers" are edged up in those pics against the 401. (pics that I posted-- that highway is the 401) If you can see the blue box in the map made by lucky, you can see it touches the 401. This area has been building condos non-stop for many years.

Chibcha2k

March 8th, 2005, 04:46 AM

I90/94 in Chitown ?

Froster

March 8th, 2005, 11:59 AM

Definately the 401.

I am sure that the Santa Monica Freeways is damn close, but I have seen the 401 listed as the NA's busiest many times. I'm not saying that in any "mine's bigger" sense, in fact I think its a shame that toronto is like that. The reality is that it is only that bad because of piss-poor planning by Metro and the MTO that resulted in the construction of new highways in Toronto being virtually stopped. Now, the shit has hit the fan, and people are choosing to move, or change employers rather than having to fight traffic on the 401. If you look at the plans for the original Metro highway system developed in the 60s, Toronto would have been full of alternate routes other than the 401. It was a longstanding plan to have an Eglinton Expressway to aleviate the traffic trouble on the 401 between the 427 and 400, and also to complete the Gardiner parallel to the CN tracks and Kingston Rd. until it met up with the 401 again.

So I think the 401 is the busiest, but I'm not very happy that it is. I wish we could say it was LA's hands-down, but unfortunately Toronto highways are so poorly planned that we have a road busier than a city 10 million people bigger!

DrJoe

March 8th, 2005, 06:19 PM

^ Trust me more freeways is not the answer. Look at LA they have possibly the most extensive freeway system in the world and still have some of the worst traffic in the world. If anything we should be thankful Toronto doesnt have tons of highways running through/ruining the city. Traffic on the 401 can get bad but generally speaking it does pretty well.

Froster

March 8th, 2005, 11:16 PM

Dr Joe, I agree that highways arent everything, but there is a direct benefit for Toronto to have a more developed highway system. With the volume of commercial truck traffic that relies on the 401, the current gridlock is definately slowing trasport and costing the city business. For example, if a company wants to develop a just-in-time delivery system, they must currently locate their warehouse/factory in such a way that their trucks can avoid traffic on the DVP, 401, or whatever. In terms of commuter traffic, expanding the subway, and GO system could be beneficial, but nothing will replace the truck, and commuter traffic will not drop (regardless of public transit)- but its growth could slow. Eitherway, traffic jams cost the Toronto economy money, and the city and the province definately need to spend money on highways as well as transit if they hope to recapture some of this lost business opportunity.

Nick in Atlanta

March 9th, 2005, 12:53 AM

Froster

March 9th, 2005, 09:16 AM

Nick in Atlanta,

I dont know if forcing truck traffic on the 407 would be a good thing for the city, since the 407 runs outside of the city itself, through the suburbs. If truck traffic was forced onto it, it would emphasize economic development of the suburbs, and leave toronto without decent access to transportation. I know that you specified that trucks with deliveries in the city would be allowed on other highways, but if a company is looking to locate their business, they are going to choose to locate near that 407 truck bypass.

Further, the 407 is very much a commuter highway, so forcing truck traffic onto it would just move the existing problems with the 401 a couple kilometres north, and deprive toronto of economic opportunity.

I really think that building a highway system that provides alternatives is the best idea. Every highway doesnt need to dump onto the 401 as the major east-west corridor through the city. This reliance on the401 as the lynchpin of the system is what makes it so bad, and an unwillingness among politicians to consider the idea of construction of alternative routes is only going to make it worse.

March 10th, 2005, 05:00 PM

Definately the 401

Its pretty dangerous aswell! Trucks zoom in everytime, be it in the afternoons or evenings!

Nick in Atlanta

March 10th, 2005, 05:10 PM

I dont know if forcing truck traffic on the 407 would be a good thing for the city, since the 407 runs outside of the city itself, through the suburbs. If truck traffic was forced onto it, it would emphasize economic development of the suburbs, and leave toronto without decent access to transportation. I know that you specified that trucks with deliveries in the city would be allowed on other highways, but if a company is looking to locate their business, they are going to choose to locate near that 407 truck bypass.

Further, the 407 is very much a commuter highway, so forcing truck traffic onto it would just move the existing problems with the 401 a couple kilometres north, and deprive toronto of economic opportunity.

I really think that building a highway system that provides alternatives is the best idea. Every highway doesnt need to dump onto the 401 as the major east-west corridor through the city. This reliance on the401 as the lynchpin of the system is what makes it so bad, and an unwillingness among politicians to consider the idea of construction of alternative routes is only going to make it worse.

Well, if you don't like the 407 as an alternative to the 401, where and what do you think would be a good alternative east-west corridor through the city?

KGB

March 10th, 2005, 05:52 PM

"North York City Centre is halfway between Sheppard/Yonge and Finch/Yonge. It doesn't border the 401, but is about 2 miles north of it."

I think you are confusing the subway station with that name, with the whole downtownish area called "North York City Centre"...which does indeed run from the 401 to Finch. 2 miles?????? Finch isn't even 2 miles from the 401.

"I think the biggest problem is that all the traffic that's passing through the Toronto area should be forced to take the toll highway that runs north and parallel of the 401. "

Incorrect again...the 401's primary function is an inter-regional, inter-provincial, international connecting route....not a commuter highway for getting across town. It's the annoying commuters that are wrecking the purpose of the highway...not the other way around. But then again, coming from an area that knows nothing but suburban sprawl, I'm not surprised by your attitude.

KGB

sonysnob

March 10th, 2005, 06:04 PM

Incorrect again...the 401's primary function is an inter-regional, inter-provincial, international connecting route....not a commuter highway for getting across town. It's the annoying commuters that are wrecking the purpose of the highway...not the other way around. But then again, coming from an area that knows nothing but suburban sprawl, I'm not surprised by your attitude.

KGB
That isn't true. Though the 401 was origninally designed to be a freeway bypass of Toronto, its purpose changed greatly in the 1960s when the collector lanes (aka local lanes) were added. The thought was (and really still is) that local traffic should use the collectors, and through traffic should use the express. Highway 401 just has too much of both kinds of traffic, and of course this is because both Toronto's mass transit, and freeway networks are underbuilt.

Also, a common misconception, Highway 407 was designed as both a commuter freeway and a bypass, not one nor the other.

Cheers!
Scott

KGB

March 10th, 2005, 06:14 PM

Bullshit...the 401 was built to connect southern Ontario with the USA and Quebec...and the highly populated area between them...obviously including Toronto. The movement of goods and travelers between these areas are hampered by the profusion of commuters travelling within Toronto and it's immediate suburbs. Toronto's mass transit is not underbuilt...the suburbs are.

KGB

sonysnob

March 10th, 2005, 06:58 PM

There is no bullshit about it. The 401 as a whole is designed for distance traveling. However, it was also designed with a strong local component in mind, particularly in Toronto. In Toronto, the core-distributer setup IS designed to accomdate local traffic. Also this is why Highway 401 has an interchange with virually every major north-south arterial in Toronto, and why Highway 401 signage in Toronto doesn't use control cities.

As for Transit, I will agree that within the city limits, transit is better then the suburbs, however, there are some serious defficencies in transit in Toronto, particularly the subway network. Compare Toronto's network, to the smaller Montreal, and I would say its almost embarrasing.

Cheers!
Scott

KGB

March 10th, 2005, 07:18 PM

Of course the 401 interacts with the city of Toronto and it's suburbs...why wouldn't it...it's the largest urban area on the damned thing, and therefore the hub of activity for travelers and goods it was designed for. But do you think they would have put it where it is if they had imagined it would be used as a cross town commuter route as much as it is? It's a multi purpose route for sure, but it's the commuter usage that has exceeded it's capacity, and brought it's usefullness down.

"As for Transit, I will agree that within the city limits, transit is better then the suburbs"

Just a slight understatement eh? LOL

"Compare Toronto's network, to the smaller Montreal, and I would say its almost embarrasing."

I wouldn't knock Montreal's subways...but compared to Toronto, it simply lacks the direct nodal developments of Toronto's and isn't even in the same league in terms of multi-modal connectivity with the surface routes. On top of it, it's considerably less cost-efficient.

KGB

sonysnob

March 10th, 2005, 09:51 PM

Of course the 401 interacts with the city of Toronto and it's suburbs...why wouldn't it...it's the largest urban area on the damned thing, and therefore the hub of activity for travelers and goods it was designed for. But do you think they would have put it where it is if they had imagined it would be used as a cross town commuter route as much as it is? It's a multi purpose route for sure, but it's the commuter usage that has exceeded it's capacity, and brought it's usefullness down.

The 401 as well as the 427 were desgined as bypass roads across the top of the city. That is for certain, but bypass does not necessarily mean intercity traffic. The purpose of the freeways were to create routes for travelers (both local and distance travelers) away from the congested city routes in urban Toronto. If these freeways were intended as only for distance type traffic, then the hwys would have been constructed with far fewer interchanges.

Cheers!
Scott

LooselogInThePeg

April 10th, 2005, 10:44 AM

Compared to American cities, Toronto does not have an adequate freeway system. This would certainly explain how a city of 6 million can boast the busiest freeway in North America when there are many much larger centers seemingly more likely to claim the title.
KGB has a point when he says that it's not so much that the 401 is overbuilt but rather that the suburbs are underbuilt.
Don't forget that up until recently, the urban model has indeed been to build the highways to allow for residential development. Now, the focus is changing to the other way around. Let the density warrant the freeway instead of the "if you build it they will come" philosophy. In the new scheme, Toronto is still ripe for a couple more freeways but in areas that are already considered to be high-density. Better would be to extend the subway system but until sprawl slows drastically it's tough to justify the cost.

Anyway, if indeed the 401 is the busiest in N. America (as I've seen it listed countless times) I'm sure that there are plenty of US interstates that come close.

JARdan

April 10th, 2005, 08:10 PM

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/compass/systems/401main.htm
401: 350,000 vehicles on an average day.

http://www.cahighways.org/stats3.html#Busiest
I-10: 363,000

I voted for the Santa Monica Fwy ;)
As some pointed out, those numbers are old and the site was last modified in November 2002.

The highest AADT I have found so far for the 401, was near 410 000.

DrJoe

April 10th, 2005, 10:48 PM

Here are the official 401 numbers from 2002.

http://www.ronenhouse.com/__85256B7C0078E315.nsf/0/A23C4685976385C385256EF5007152CB/$FILE/2002%20AADT.pdf

SkyHigh529

April 10th, 2005, 11:13 PM

Definitely I-35 in Atlanta. It's so fast you can't even see it.
Yes, the I-35 in Atlanta... wow, it's so busy it's almost fictional....

SkyHigh529

April 10th, 2005, 11:21 PM

http://www.ap.org/southwire/atlanta.jpg
Nevertherless Atlanta has some impressive traffic jam images
Is that a picture of the I-35? lol

eddyk

April 10th, 2005, 11:21 PM

Acoording to this google site im looking on...

The busiest road in the USA is the San Diego Freeway...has a peak hour volume of 25500 vehicles!

But the busiest motorway in the world is the M25 in England...with 270,000 vehicles a day driving on it!

SkyHigh529

April 10th, 2005, 11:33 PM

I don't know about the bussiest, although I'm inclined to believe the statistics that have been posted on this website, but the 401 is definetly the coolest looking freeway in the world, IMO.

Generally speaking, I think that the US Interstate system is probably the busiest "motorway/freeway" system as a whole in the world. Although I have not stats to back up that claim. It is probably at least the most extensive. Even in rural areas it is busier than rural areas of other country's that I have been to with motorways/highways. I don't think Interstates are necissarily the root cause of bad development, and ignoring increasing demand for them may just be playing denial. I think that the addition of new Interstates/highways is a good thing, as long as the development around them changes to also allow for alternatives like busses, subways, commuter trains, etc... in other words denser development off the exits, as opposed to the spread out "sprawl" that we are used too. Interstates in and of themselves are not bad, though.

DrJoe

April 11th, 2005, 02:32 AM

Bartolo

April 11th, 2005, 03:51 AM

and weve gone over this before, i meant to put down I-75, it was a typo.

Could a mod fix that

dtx03

April 12th, 2005, 08:26 PM

I'll vouch that the 401 in Toronto has got to be the most travelled/busiest highway. Although L.A. by far has the busiest highway system.

Minato ku

August 12th, 2005, 01:07 AM

only 400 000 vehicule per day
but the paris boulevard peripherique freeway has 1.200 000 vehicule per day

sonysnob

August 12th, 2005, 06:16 AM

only 400 000 vehicule per day
but the paris boulevard peripherique freeway has 1.200 000 vehicule per day

I think the stats we are comparing are a little different. The 401 stats are for a single point. Ie. 400,000 vehicles per day on a certain section of highway. It sounds like the Parris Peripheral Highway carries 1.2 million vehicles per day for its entire lenght.

These are two very different statistics.

Cheers.

Minato ku

August 12th, 2005, 10:45 AM

I think the stats we are comparing are a little different. The 401 stats are for a single point. Ie. 400,000 vehicles per day on a certain section of highway. It sounds like the Parris Peripheral Highway carries 1.2 million vehicles per day for its entire lenght.
but paris peripherique freeway is only 35 km long.
peripherique freeway is a circular freeway.

sonysnob

August 12th, 2005, 03:29 PM

but paris peripherique freeway is only 35 km long.
peripherique freeway is a circular freeway.

Length doesn't matter, the statistics aren't the same, and therefore cannot be used for comparison purposes.

Having been on both the Paris Peripheral Freeway and the 401, I would be quite surprised if Paris' road were busier then Highway 401.

Cheers.

great prairie

August 12th, 2005, 11:29 PM

yeah 1.2 million vehicles at one point on a 6-8 lane highway is complete bullshit it would gridlock everything

TO_Joe

August 16th, 2005, 04:02 AM

What about the rest of the I-10 -- the San Bernardino part? I remember what was impressive about the I-10 coming in from Vegas and leaving town to Palm Springs is the endlessness of Los Angeles suburbs -- it is probably 100 miles on the I-10 from coming down the hills right to the ocean of endless suburbia with a bit of downtown!

It seems to be almost a tie between I-10 Santa Monica vs. 401. I think they are about even -- given statistical errors and the endless construction upgrades on both.

But I think that I-405 San Diego Freeway is a worse experience than 401. Quite a sight -- 5 to 6 lanes each carriageway all stopped while the 2 lane onramps and offramps are all jammed -- at every intersection across town (I-10, I-105, 91, 110...until I was past Newport Beach on a Thursday afternoon).

sonysnob

August 16th, 2005, 06:13 AM

It seems to be almost a tie between I-10 Santa Monica vs. 401. I think they are about even -- given statistical errors and the endless construction upgrades on both.

I doubt that there is a statistical error that large. You might be surprised at how accurate modern freeway traffic counters are. They can determine vehicle speed, as well as the type of vehicle. Ie. they can distinguish from cars from trucks as to not double or triple count axels.

Cheers.

eomer

August 16th, 2005, 06:33 AM

but paris peripherique freeway is only 35 km long.
peripherique freeway is a circular freeway.
Paris's periphérique is not a motorway (or freeway): it's only a "boulevard" with priority on the right.

TO_Joe

August 17th, 2005, 05:49 AM

I doubt that there is a statistical error that large. You might be surprised at how accurate modern freeway traffic counters are. They can determine vehicle speed, as well as the type of vehicle. Ie. they can distinguish from cars from trucks as to not double or triple count axels.

Cheers.

I don't doubt that we can actually count the vehicles accurately -- we definitely have the technology.

I was referring to the sources of information (I am seeing numbers from 330K to 430K) and the counting methods -- are the with the California Department of highways and Ontario Ministry of Transport the same (e.g., exactly how they sample, exactly how they average, how they factor seasonality, how do they deal with anomalies (e.g., snow / earthquakes / accidents)) to come up with a single number of AVERAGE traffic / day.

And there is construction and improvement on both highways. Sadly, I know the situation on the 401 too intimately. When new lanes open, like the 427 curve section increasing from 3 to 4 on the east bound carriageway, traffic flows changes. And this sort of continuous upgrade is happening -- it is never ending.

BlaZ

August 20th, 2005, 04:29 AM

Top 5 World

Canada - Toronto - Hwy-401 - Weston Rd.-Hwy-400 (Toronto-West)
407.800 (2003)

USA - Los Angeles, I-405 - Santa Ana, Seal Beach Boulevard
380.000 (2002)

USA - Los Angeles, I-5 - Lake Forest Drive
356.000 (2002)

USA - Los Angeles, CA-60 - Diamond Bar, Grand Avenue
353.000 (2002)

USA - Atlanta, I-75 - Fulton County
334.700 (2000)

7,8,9,11,12 busiest highways also in LA

http://members.a1.net/wabweb/frames/wf.htm < Full list
http://members.a1.net/wabweb/frames/euf.htm < Europe

BlaZ

August 20th, 2005, 04:32 AM

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/9783/verkehrsmengenkarte29zf.gif

Find a map like this from USA !

Shows amount of traffic per road in Germany

Bertez

August 20th, 2005, 04:35 AM

^^ Cool:D

sequoias

August 20th, 2005, 06:58 AM

US is so big, so it's hard to do a whole US traffic stats, but here's Puget Sound traffic cam and map in Seattle metro area

http://images.wsdot.wa.gov/nwflow/flowmaps/videomap_Seattle.gif

aatbloke

August 20th, 2005, 04:15 PM

yeah 1.2 million vehicles at one point on a 6-8 lane highway is complete bullshit it would gridlock everything

Bullshit? On these forums? ;)

Alejandro_MEX

August 23rd, 2005, 09:07 PM

I would say that the bussiest freeway of these is 401 Toronto Highway. But if we make a world ranking, I would say it´s Mexico City's Periferico Expressway. They had to make another second level above the original one in order to support the traffic.

Jaye101

August 24th, 2005, 12:37 AM

It still doesnt beat 401's 24 lanes in some sections, AND IT'S STILL CONGESTED!
http://usera.imagecave.com/Jaylen/pd280400.jpg

sonysnob

August 24th, 2005, 10:18 PM

It still doesnt beat 401's 24 lanes in some sections, AND IT'S STILL CONGESTED!

24 lanes, where??

I count 18 through lanes at its widest point. Sure there may be areas where there are merge lanes that haven't ended or exited, but I am not sure that should/would count for this type of survey.

Cheers!

CHANEL

August 24th, 2005, 10:32 PM

401 toronto

sbarn

August 24th, 2005, 10:34 PM

Worst Traffic pictures in this thread, TORONTO:

The 401 in Toronto has 22 lanes of congestion at some points.

It still doesnt beat 401's 24 lanes in some sections, AND IT'S STILL CONGESTED!

Haha! :lol: You realize that there are cities in the world that have worse traffic than Toronto?? Everytime you post you seem to exaggerate Toronto's traffic a little more. Pretty soon you are going to be saying there are 50 lanes of traffic in each direction all plugged with traffic!!

I know the 401 is very wide, and is very congested, but counting on/off ramps and merging lanes don't count in width.

great prairie

August 25th, 2005, 12:06 AM

In my opinion Mexico City has the worst traffic, it is the size of NYC or toyko with half the public tranist system

BlaZ

August 25th, 2005, 02:25 PM

In my opinion Mexico City has the worst traffic, it is the size of NYC or toyko with half the public tranist system

Well its not the question what city has the worst traffic. The question is which is the busiest highway.

A15/A16 2 carriageways with 8 lanes per direction it does
340.000 cars/day.

Its between Dordrecht and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

http://members.chello.nl/j.kleine-staarman/A15_A16.bmp

JARdan

August 25th, 2005, 07:55 PM

We all know the 401 has the highest traffic count. In Toronto, it reaches traffic counts of 425 000 cars per day.

I've also read that the 401 has the longest stretch of highway with 12 or more lanes of traffic. It's something like 40-50km...

PotatoGuy

August 25th, 2005, 08:23 PM

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/9783/verkehrsmengenkarte29zf.gif

Find a map like this from USA !

Shows amount of traffic per road in Germany

Dude! Sigalert.com (http://www.sigalert.com)

PotatoGuy

August 25th, 2005, 08:33 PM

It still doesnt beat 401's 24 lanes in some sections, AND IT'S STILL CONGESTED!
http://usera.imagecave.com/Jaylen/pd280400.jpg

why is it divided into two sections in each direction like that? i never understood that

Bertez

August 25th, 2005, 08:40 PM

^^ It is a Collector/Express system. The section on the outside is the collectors. When you want to enter or exit the 401, you have to go through the collectors. This usually seperates slower traffic (oncoming and incoming cars) from faster traffic.

PhilippeMtl

August 25th, 2005, 08:51 PM

Wow, what a stupid debate; my highway is bigger than your highway...

JARdan

August 25th, 2005, 09:32 PM

When you think about it... the collector system wastes a lot of land space. Those 3 concrete dividers could yield another 6-8 lanes.

sbarn

August 25th, 2005, 09:48 PM

Tosco

August 25th, 2005, 10:47 PM

401-Toronto is amazing!

Bertez

August 25th, 2005, 10:54 PM

When you think about it... the collector system wastes a lot of land space. Those 3 concrete dividers could yield another 6-8 lanes.

I agree that it is a waste of space, but it is for a saftey and conviennce issue. If there were to be an accident in the middle lanes, there would be a great chance of more cars joining in since there would be no barrier to stop the cars. Convience is gained since one section (Collectors or Express) can be diverted to the oppisite if there were to be a distruption.

If the government was rolling around in money when the collector system was built, they could have built a double decker highway, saving space without reducing capacity.

DrJoe

August 25th, 2005, 11:39 PM

^^I agree... the freeway in the foreground in this picture (below) is only 6 lanes in each direction, but it takes up enough room to at least of 8 lanes in each direction. It really seems like a waste of space.

http://usera.imagecave.com/Jaylen/pd280400.jpg

Its actually extremly efficient, complicated to explain how it works really. Another reason is it will grow to 8 and 10 lanes per direction and it isnt very feasible to have 10 undivided lanes.

Jaye101

September 16th, 2005, 05:30 AM

^^ old numbers there, the 401 basically goes up every year.

No1 sees the problem with a overcapacity 19 laned freeway? lol

Whatever man.

PotatoGuy

September 16th, 2005, 05:35 AM

Smelser

June 6th, 2006, 07:46 PM

Of the four highways mentioned, I don't know which is the busiest. But if the question is changed to "what freeway has the greatest relative congestion", that is, what freeway has the greatest volume relative to its number of lane-kilometres, I would expect that it's probably the Trans Canada Highway 1 in the vacinity of Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey in Greater Vancouver, including the Port Mann bridge.

That's because the highway in this area is so small. There is intense, well-financed political opposition from various powerful, well-connected real estate interests, cleverly camouflaged as environmental or transit advocacy groups, to increasing the capacity of the highway or the bridge.

I will try to get some traffic counts for the Port Mann bridge, originally a four lane structure that was widened to five lanes (3 east bound, of which one is HOV, and 2 west bound) about six years ago. The BC highway system is so primitive that trying to get general traffic counts along sections of road way other than a few key bridges would probably require a full Access to Information request, and even then it's questionable if they have any data to produce.

LordMandeep

June 8th, 2006, 02:15 AM

all major cities have busy highways. THe 401 is like the lifeline of Toronto. The city could not run properly without it. Its always busy even on saturday and even on sunday. I remember going at 11pm on Saturday and i was just wondering what are so many people travelling on this highway for? Everyone goes woh when they see the highway for the first time.

torke

June 10th, 2006, 08:14 PM

Madrid first round ring (M-30) of its 4 ones (M-30, M-40, M-45 and M-50) carries 330.000 car/day.

Accura4Matalan

June 10th, 2006, 08:20 PM

That looks pretty good :)

Magic Night

June 10th, 2006, 08:51 PM

Toronto has my vote

sojourner truth ™

June 10th, 2006, 09:09 PM

Adding more and more lanes to highways doesn't always make it increase in capacity, but the collector/distributor system increases the efficiency of a major highway by almost half compared to a road with the lanes from the C/D+normal highway onto one giant highway.

sojourner truth ™

June 10th, 2006, 09:12 PM

Paris's periphérique is not a motorway (or freeway): it's only a "boulevard" with priority on the right.

The only reason why it's not considered a motorway is because it doesn't match the turn angle specifications for motorways in the EU, but other than that it acts like a motorway because it is completely access-controlled.

Effer

June 10th, 2006, 09:17 PM

I'd have to go with the Santa Monica.

Castle_Bravo

June 10th, 2006, 09:18 PM

It's the 401 Freeway near (in) Toronto
Camera:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/compass/camera/camhome.htm

Skybean

June 10th, 2006, 09:35 PM

It's the 401 Freeway near (in) Toronto
Camera:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/compass/camera/camhome.htm

Nice find. Click on the cameras on the left hand side - "Hurontario" to "Burnhamthorpe" during rush hour, in two hours from now or ~5 PM EST during weekdays and there is guaranteed to be a traffic jam. Worst area of congestion. Even 8 lanes in both directions is not enough.

algonquin

June 10th, 2006, 11:29 PM

When you think about it... the collector system wastes a lot of land space. Those 3 concrete dividers could yield another 6-8 lanes.

Technically true, however having two seperated 'arteries' for one direction allows traffic to use one when there's an accident on the other. There are electronic signs that advise which is the best to use. Plus, it's nice to be in the express lanes if your passing through the city.

Smelser

June 12th, 2006, 11:17 PM

Webcams showing Toronto traffic, some GO Min of Transport (Hwy 401), some City of Toronto (Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway). Apparently, most of it is actually moving!

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/compass/camera/camhome.htm

http://www.toronto.ca/rescu/

torke

June 14th, 2006, 09:39 PM

Madrid first round ring (M-30) of its 4 ones (M-30, M-40, M-45 and M-50) carries 330.000 car/day.
M-30 is 30km long, the highest density of cars/day is in the east side and it was built in the late sixties.
Now a days M-30 is changing completely, is being rebuilt to improve those areas of Madrid near the freeway, especially the west side, close to the Manzanares river, the total costs of the works are 1.080.203.173 euros. Most of the highway will be a tunnel and its capacity will be extended. The east, north and south sides, will be completely in tunnel. When finished, by spring of 2007, 100.000 more cars/day will be able to use it.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7941/greatmadridsketchmapofhighways.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Sketch map of old M-30 and M-40:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7654/m13cf.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

M-30 east, looking north, cars into south close to exit number 5 (A-2), 14 lanes:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/8352/imaxe0086ra.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

M-30 east, looking south, cars into north close to exit number 5 (A-2), 14 lanes:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5649/imaxe0177ca.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

M-30 east, looking north, cars into north in the right and into south in the left, close to exit number 8 (close to A-3 exit), 19 lanes:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/307/imaxe030m15rb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Verso

June 15th, 2006, 10:53 PM

^^ Oh lol, you're here too? :D

It'll be a little harder here than in the Moscow battle :D but could compete with Toronto, at least by the NUMBER of freeways.

dwrecker

June 20th, 2006, 07:52 PM

....

dwrecker

June 20th, 2006, 07:56 PM

I-35 is in Texas, not Georgia..LOL smh

and US 59 in Houston doesnt even compare to the 401 in Toronto.

tritown

June 21st, 2006, 06:11 AM

Anyone have any NYC freeway pics? They're not the busiest, since they only have 3 lanes each way in almost every case, but for that same reason, they're congested like crazy.

sojourner truth ™

June 21st, 2006, 08:52 AM

I-35 stretches from Mexican border to almost-Canada/Minnesota

Minato ku

June 21st, 2006, 04:06 PM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qdqZBThcs2k&search=autoroute

In this advertissement
you can see the traffic on France highway in rural area at the end of the holidays.

boricuba

June 22nd, 2006, 05:39 PM

I think Southern California Car density pretty much puts them ahead of busiest highway!

I am also her to point out that Brazil Sao Paolo has one of the worlds biggest car congestions in the world! Including highways that have been describe as one of the busiest in the world.

San Juan Puerto rico is the 3rd country in the world with more cars per square mile in the world! Expresso de las americas register about 50,000 cars in a 4 mile strech!

Skybean

June 22nd, 2006, 06:03 PM

The 401 is widely considered to be North America's busiest highway, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of over 425,000 in 2004, between the Weston Road and Highway 400 interchanges in Toronto. This surpasses the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles, and several Interstate freeways in Houston, Texas. Due to its triple use as the main trade, commuting and recreational corridor in Ontario, 24-hour traffic volumes can exceed the 500,000 level on some days. The just-in-time inventory systems of the highly integrated auto industry in Michigan and Ontario have made the highway the busiest truck route in North America. Highway 401 also includes the continent's busiest multi-structure bridge at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto (four structures for the highway's four roadway beds).

The 401 is the most important highway in Canada, as it connects the populous Southern Ontario region with Quebec and Michigan, while also connecting to most other major highways in the province. The highway also serves as the principal connection to Montreal and points east, including New England, becoming Autoroute 20 at the Quebec border. The border crossing at Windsor and Detroit is the busiest trade crossing in the world, and although the 401 itself does not physically extend the last few kilometres into Detroit, it is the only route from Toronto to Windsor and on to Interstate 75. A future expansion of the Windsor-Detroit border crossing, which will include a freeway bypass of the existing Highway 3, may result in Highway 401 having a direct freeway link to the border. Some 40 % of Canada-US trade travels the highway, which is one-third of Canada's foreign trade, and 4 % of all US foreign trade.

Jaye101

July 2nd, 2006, 12:11 AM

Haha! :lol: You realize that there are cities in the world that have worse traffic than Toronto?? Everytime you post you seem to exaggerate Toronto's traffic a little more. Pretty soon you are going to be saying there are 50 lanes of traffic in each direction all plugged with traffic!!

I know the 401 is very wide, and is very congested, but counting on/off ramps and merging lanes don't count in width.

Ofcourse, almost every major city in the world has worst traffic in general--than Toronto. I'm just talking about one highway. My numbers weren't really going up either.

Fine, if on-off ramps don't count--I guess 19 lanes then.

http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_401_images/401_cl_346_east.jpg

sojourner truth ™

July 2nd, 2006, 06:33 AM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qdqZBThcs2k&search=autoroute

In this advertissement
you can see the traffic on France highway in rural area at the end of the holidays.

People are allowed to drive on the shoulders?

Nephasto

July 2nd, 2006, 06:51 PM

^No, obviously not!

Although you may get that impression from the film.

cjav

July 5th, 2006, 12:08 AM

In holland it is allowed in some area's during rush hour, but the netherlands has some serious congestion issue's

Minato ku

July 5th, 2006, 10:59 AM

In Paris too in A86 highway.

TXLove

July 5th, 2006, 06:06 PM

not on topic but I-35 in Austin is pretty congested....the stretch between Austin and San Antonio is the deadliest stretch of the entire hwy and this hwy runs from Canada to Mexico

torke

July 7th, 2006, 09:51 PM

MADRID'S INNER ROUND RING FREEWAY (M-30) VIDEOS:

http://www.munimadrid.es/Principal/EnlacesHome/Calle30/Pres1/calle30.htm

Mr.KOngo

July 8th, 2006, 06:23 AM

Ive always known L.A to have the heaviest traffic so SANTA MONICA it is

Verso

July 8th, 2006, 03:06 PM

Can someone tell me, where HOUSTAN is? :|

samsonyuen

July 9th, 2006, 07:05 PM

The 401 (Canada) is quite congested, as is the I-5, 405 in California, amongst ones I've driven on.

kashyap3

July 13th, 2006, 04:53 AM

401/Autoroute 20 for sure in North America
any busier highway anywhere else in the world?

DrJoe

July 13th, 2006, 05:50 AM

^ Why Autoroute 20? I know it connects with the 401 but the 401 is at its busiest in the GTA.

TheCat

July 13th, 2006, 06:33 AM

@Torke, wow that Madrid highway looks very big too. Btw I noticed something
there in the pics you posted, that there are essentially two separate sets
of lanes into each direction. This reminds me of what the 401 in Toronto has.
We call these the "collector" which has all the exits, and the "express" which
is like a highway inside a highway and skips exits. Basically you need to first
exit from the express to the collector to be able to exit the freeway. I wonder
if you have a similar system. And yeah the 401 today is definitely the busiest,
and it is very wide (in the 20-lane range), that is not an exaggeration. The
problem is Toronto doesn't have many freeways. So instead, existing ones are
expanded, the 401 in particular.

Sinjin P.

July 13th, 2006, 06:48 AM

Any photos?

TheCat

July 13th, 2006, 06:55 AM

Israel's Ayalon Highway (Highway 20), that runs through the Tel Aviv area, has,
according to several sources (don't know whether they are accurate, but they
are official), about 750,000 cars travelling on it each day :) More than the 401
or the Santa Monica. That is due to the fact that it is the main highway in the
city. I think it totals a max of 12 lanes in its widest locations.

Some pics:
http://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/2000/165/jpeg/37.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/8/83/Netivey_Ayalon.JPG

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d18/goodmood10/tel-avivuniversity.jpg

TheCat

July 13th, 2006, 07:00 AM

Any photos?
Are you asking about the 401? If yes, Jaye101 posted a great pic that
demonstrates the division in the following pic. The inner (left) sets of lanes
are the express lanes. The outer ones are the collector lanes.

http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_401_images/401_cl_346_east.jpg

sonysnob

July 13th, 2006, 03:29 PM

Israel's Ayalon Highway (Highway 20), that runs through the Tel Aviv area, has,
according to several sources (don't know whether they are accurate, but they
are official), about 750,000 cars travelling on it each day :) More than the 401
or the Santa Monica. That is due to the fact that it is the main highway in the
city. I think it totals a max of 12 lanes in its widest locations.

That stat sounds like the entire length of the freeway has 750,000 vehicles on it per day, while the stats that have been quoted here for other freeways, are single point stats, and not cumulative traffic data.

Cheers.

Verso

July 13th, 2006, 05:19 PM

^ Yes, 750,000 sounds impossible for a single point on 12 lanes.

TheCat

July 13th, 2006, 08:43 PM

^ You are probably right. It is very busy though.

LordMandeep

July 16th, 2006, 02:58 AM

the reason why the 401 is so busy because of the lack of highways in the city iytself. It was a great idea banning any new highways running through the city.

I doubt that Tel Aviv number is right because there are only 2 million people in that city.

greek_eagle

September 2nd, 2006, 12:44 AM

The busiest road in the world is Interstate 405 (the San Diego Freeway) which runs through Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California. It has a peak-hour volume of 25500 vehicles or daily volume of 612,000 ! This freeway also has one of the two busiest interchanges in the world. The San Diego/Santa Monica [I 405 & 10] . The other interchange is the East LA which is the convergence of the Hollywood, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, San Bernardino, Golden State and Pomona Freeways. This is usually first..but very close behind is the former. The peak volume is in the area of the Garden Grove Freeway and Seal Beach Boulevard. I needed to take this road when I lived in Orange County and commuted to Los Angeles/Long Beach. When the 105 was finished I was relieved...even though it seemed that I used to go "around" ...it was great. I cut my commute by a lot! And since I used the diamond lanes I used to ride those very "high" overpasses at the Harbor Fwy[I-110] interchange.

For trivia sake...here are some more facts:
The longest traffic jam in the world on record extended 176 km (109 miles) from Lyon towards Paris, France on 16 February 1980.
The world's shortest street is Elgin Street in Bacup, Lancs, UK, which is only 5.2 m (17ft) in length. Trianglen, a designated road with buildings on only one side, at Store Heddinge, Denmark, is only 1.85m (6ft 1in) long. It forms one side of a road junction.
James Cloninger adds: I think perhaps you should add one more reference to your designation of ``shortest street'': that of McKinley Street, in Belfontaine, Ohio in the US, which is 31 feet, but unlike Elgin St, is drivable. It has one building (a hardware store) on the north side, bordered by a railway on the south side, and two roads (Garfield Ave and ColumbusAve) on the other two sides which eventually merge about 100 feet on the other side of the rails.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohlogan/ppc/bestmk.html

greek_eagle

September 2nd, 2006, 12:51 AM

That stat sounds like the entire length of the freeway has 750,000 vehicles on it per day, while the stats that have been quoted here for other freeways, are single point stats, and not cumulative traffic data.

Cheers.

Basically I agree with our friend here...Israel has 1.57 million vehicles in the entire country. Now, with 750,000 on this freeway that means one out of every two vehicles is on this road. It might be the total in another period of time...or length.

kcpimp4

September 2nd, 2006, 01:57 AM

Probably I70 on the western fringes of KC,in like the newer neighbourhoods.

10ROT

September 3rd, 2006, 07:46 AM

^^ :lol:

The busiest highway that I have ever been on was the 401 near the Airport...pure hell..

Jimmy81

February 17th, 2007, 09:29 AM

I don't really want to sound pestimistic about Toronto's traffic, but why would anyone living in Toronto wants to be "proud" of having the highest volume of traffic on the 401??? Driving that highway is such a headache...always stopping and going...always traffic jams...express and collectors nowadays don't even really matter anymore. Both express and collectors are always jammed during rush hours...and the rush hours seem to be extending!!! Also, the widest on the 401 is 19 lanes in Mississauga...but all those 19 lanes isn't through traffic on the 401...Once you hit under the 427 interchange, the lanes decreases to 8 lanes creating a headache bottleneck traffic. Even going West on the 401 in Mississauga, the 19 massive lanes goes down to 8 and then 6 lanes past the 403!!! More headaches. I think it would be more nice to decrease the number of lanes gradually from 19 to maybe 12 to maybe 10 and so on until you are out in the suburbs. That's all I have to say...

By the way, I think Ontario has the best signange and advanced arrows signs in North America on their highway system.

CrazyAboutCities

February 17th, 2007, 09:55 AM

101 Freeway in Ventura/Los Angeles county is known as the world's busiest freeway with more than 600,000 vehicles a day. I-405 freeway in Los Angeles is second businest freeway in the world with more than 500,000 vehicles. I read it on Ventura County Star when I lived in Ventura back in 2002.

ChrisZwolle

February 17th, 2007, 02:46 PM

101 Freeway in Ventura/Los Angeles county is known as the world's busiest freeway with more than 600,000 vehicles a day. I-405 freeway in Los Angeles is second busines freeway in the world with more than 500,000 vehicles. I read it on Ventura County Star when I lived in Ventura back in 2002.

Are you sure? I have a recent document from the California Transportation Officials which shows the AADT of roads in California.

Peaks:

US 101 Encino, Havenhurst Avenue: 333.000
I-405 Seal Beach, Junction I-605: 398.000

These numbers are BACK AADT. I'm not sure what they mean, should i add the AHEAD AADT to them?

That would make the US 101 647.000 and the I-405 almost 800.000
That sounds kind of unlikely to me. You need about 50 lanes to process so much traffic.

CrazyAboutCities

February 17th, 2007, 09:22 PM

Are you sure? I have a recent document from the California Transportation Officials which shows the AADT of roads in California.

Peaks:

US 101 Encino, Havenhurst Avenue: 333.000
I-405 Seal Beach, Junction I-605: 398.000

These numbers are BACK AADT. I'm not sure what they mean, should i add the AHEAD AADT to them?

That would make the US 101 647.000 and the I-405 almost 800.000
That sounds kind of unlikely to me. You need about 50 lanes to process so much traffic.

Yes I read that back in 2002 when Ventura County was planning to wide 101 Freeway from 6 lanes to 12 lanes to handle the traffics and rebuild Santa Clara River Bridge between Ventura and Oxnard. It said so on Ventura County Star newspaper. I looked it up to show the reference but it is not there because it is old news. I am not sure if it is still busist by now but last time I went there to see my old friends and traffics got much worse than did in 2002. I believe it is still busiest by now.

isaidso

May 13th, 2007, 05:26 PM

The 401 is the busiest according to many different sources, and by quite a large margin. The expansion to 23 lanes of that large highway in Atlanta, USA might rival Toronto's 401 in the future. They've been interested in widening the 401, but have run out of room to do so. It is currently 18 lanes not including ramps.

Adding 6 lanes in each direction would probably solve the 401's congestion issues for the next 30 years, but this would entail demolishing large sections of suburb to widen the highway. This is not likely to happen.

ChrisZwolle

May 13th, 2007, 07:11 PM

How many vehicles DO travel on the 401?

phattonez

May 14th, 2007, 03:41 PM

For its length, I think the 405 portion of the San Diego Freeway is the busiest. It's getting a carpool lane on it, so expect those numbers to increase drastically.

ChrisZwolle

May 14th, 2007, 03:45 PM

the 405 is the busiest in the US.

CrazyAboutCities

May 14th, 2007, 10:26 PM

Funny thing... Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle have I-405 freeways too. Which one? :lol:

ChrisZwolle

May 14th, 2007, 10:34 PM

The Los Angeles 405 ofcourse ;)

jess19

May 15th, 2007, 05:48 AM

aerial of the 401's sheer size

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/241325999_6d230b2255_o.jpg

phattonez

May 15th, 2007, 05:54 AM

^^And I'm sure that it stays that wide for the entire distance. :ohno:

CrazyAboutCities

May 15th, 2007, 05:55 AM

^^ Why double freeways?

pwalker

May 15th, 2007, 06:06 AM

Crazy, I don't know Toronto, but that shot looks like two highways converging. Or perhaps they are local and express separations.

Don't forget, Seattle's I-5 is a double (sort of) highway as well with the express lanes. Seattle's I-5 express lanes are among the biggest and widest in the US. Some good forsight planning there, not common in Seattle!

Tuscani01

May 15th, 2007, 06:06 AM

^^ Why double freeways?

Its not double freeways... One side is for the express lanes, the other side is for collectors.

If you want to drive through the city, the express lanes have no exits or on ramps. If you want to get off at a certain street, the collector lanes are the ones with access to the off ramps. They also take traffic from the on ramps.

There are points along the highway where you can transfer from express to collector or vice versa... the picture above shows one of the transfers.

CrazyAboutCities

May 15th, 2007, 06:07 AM

Crazy, I don't know Toronto, but that shot looks like two highways converging.

Don't forget, Seattle's I-5 is a double (sort of) highway as well with the express lanes. Seattle's I-5 express lanes are among the biggest and widest in the US. Some good forsight planning there, not common in Seattle!

Okay I got it now. Thanks! :)

CrazyAboutCities

May 15th, 2007, 06:09 AM

Its not double freeways... One side is for the express lanes, the other side is for collectors.

If you want to drive through the city, the express lanes have no exits or on ramps. If you want to get off at a certain street, the collector lanes are the ones with access to the off ramps. They also take traffic from the on ramps.

There are points along the highway where you can transfer from express to collector or vice versa... the picture above shows one of the transfers.

Okay I get it now. Just like Pwalker just used local Seattle's I-5 freeway as example for this "double" freeways. I undertand completely now. Thanks! :)

Booyashako

May 15th, 2007, 03:37 PM

^^And I'm sure that it stays that wide for the entire distance. :ohno:

you'd be surprised...;)

ChrisZwolle

May 15th, 2007, 05:52 PM

aerial of the 401's sheer size

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/241325999_6d230b2255_o.jpg

The mother of all freeways :banana: :lol:

CrazyAboutCities

May 15th, 2007, 06:34 PM

That picture of 401 freeway is seen like it haven't caused suburbs to boom just like almost every city in USA, Canada, Austrailia, and New Zealand yet... What's up with that?

Tom 958

May 16th, 2007, 01:03 AM

Arguably OT:

isaidso wrote:

" The expansion to 23 lanes of that large highway in Atlanta, USA ..."

How did you hear about that? And do you remember which highway it was? I-20, maybe, or some other road?

TheCat

May 16th, 2007, 01:46 AM

^^And I'm sure that it stays that wide for the entire distance. :ohno:
It is not always THIS big, but it is huge in most of its length through Toronto. However, the 401 is a pretty long highway (over 800 km), and is a 4- (sometimes 6-) lane highway in most of its rural length. However, the part that goes through Toronto (not a small part, for sure) is very large.

SSC

May 20th, 2007, 02:53 AM

401 all the way m))

Gaeus

May 20th, 2007, 05:16 AM

Its really a good thing that Greater LA got vast complex of Interstate Highways and Behemoth Interchanges or else the Santa Monica Freeway will surpass the Toronto 401 as the busiest interchange very easily. But who cares, LA freeways are still more advanced than other freeways of the world even though its almost 40 year old.

jess19

May 20th, 2007, 08:04 PM

ChrisZwolle

May 20th, 2007, 08:35 PM

I-35 in Atlanta? :nuts: (poll)

Bartolo

May 21st, 2007, 02:53 AM

like I said when i started it 2 years ago, i made a typo

mgk920

May 21st, 2007, 07:22 AM

ACT7

May 21st, 2007, 07:45 AM

For a while, the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) south of I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) in Chicago was considered to be the World's busiest road. A big chunk is 14 lanes (3-4-4-3 local-express lane arrangement).

I think that ON 401 is #1 now.

Mike
The AADT on the 401 in Toronto is something like 500,000 cars. It well exceeds any other freeway in the world. It's also the longest stretch of 10 plus lanes in the world. There's really not much arguement about these facts, but I will say that a good chunk of the reason for the ungodly traffic on the 401 is because it is part of the busiest trade corrider on the continent and therefore the busiest truck route. So even though Atlanta may be building a wider highway, it's unlikely that the volume will surpass the 401's.

mgk920

May 21st, 2007, 08:14 AM

The AADT on the 401 in Toronto is something like 500,000 cars. It well exceeds any other freeway in the world. It's also the longest stretch of 10 plus lanes in the world. There's really not much arguement about these facts, but I will say that a good chunk of the reason for the ungodly traffic on the 401 is because it is part of the busiest trade corrider on the continent and therefore the busiest truck route. So even though Atlanta may be building a wider highway, it's unlikely that the volume will surpass the 401's.
I have thought and commented in other forvms that the reason why ON 401 is so unbelievably busy is that the freeway that was proposed to be built in the Eglinton Av corridor wasn't built where it was planned. BUT, yes, it was built - straddling the original ON 401.

Mike

ChrisZwolle

May 21st, 2007, 11:38 AM

500.000 AADT needs for like 23 lanes in total.

KIWIKAAS

May 21st, 2007, 02:50 PM

^^
Why?
An 8 lane freeway (4-4) can handle 200000 vpd . Why would you need 23 lanes for 2½ times that? You're probably basing it on the ideal ''rule of thumb'' for the number of vehicles per lane per day.

ChrisZwolle

May 21st, 2007, 04:01 PM

It can handle it, but not without heavy traffic jams. For a good freeflow, you need such a number of lanes.

I see you're from NL, look at the A2 it has 160.000 - 180.000 vehicles a day between Utrecht and Amsterdam and it's being widened to 2x5 lanes.

Gaeus

May 23rd, 2007, 01:34 PM

This is about the busiest freeway, not the busiest interchange. And what are you basing LA's "advanced" freeway system on?

Oh Yes! I know I would get this typical reply. I would answer to your question if thats what you want.

Greater LA Freeway, when it was built in 1950s, was the most advance freeway system in the world. It is unique for its class because nowhere in America or in the world can build something like it back then. In 1960s, it dominated again by expanding it more and by creating more advance freeways linking each other to create vast networks of arteries to accommodate the rising numbers of vehicles in the area and the growing LA Port, which is even now the biggest in US and one of the biggest in the world. The growing numbers of vehicles cost major traffics in the 1970s and that resulted to construction of the biggest freeway intersections in the entire world. However, the growing number of vehicles in the 1980s and 1990s can't stop the heaviest traffic in US (besides New York) and CalTran realized that Infrastructure project alone can't minimize it. So they found a way to combat those traffics by using a an Intelligent Computerized Network Traffic Flow System that would monitor the traffic and distribute the ease the flow of traffic of the main roads, main highway systems and interstate highway systems of Greater LA. Again, the first of its kind in the world.

Again, to those people who are bashing LA or United States for the inadequate road system, please focus again on what we have done and what we improvised to be one of the pioneers of the Road Freeway System besides Germany's Autobahn. Our Interstate Highway System were so successful in the 1950s that other countries followed it and highway engineers around the world used it as their model. However, you can't allow to ease the minds of American Haters out there.

ChrisZwolle

May 23rd, 2007, 04:23 PM

The Southern California highway system rocks. But it is sad that in a rush hour, there are a 1000km of traffic jam in one metropolitan area.

LAist

May 27th, 2007, 02:59 AM

The Southern California highway system rocks. But it is sad that in a rush hour, there are a 1000km of traffic jam in one metropolitan area.

But it works very well at night. Usually no CHP so people blast through at 80 mph+ on the left lanes.

Nephasto

May 27th, 2007, 03:39 AM

^^Works very well at night?! LoL! :colgate:

That's also true for most motorway systems all over the world! Not something to be proud about. ;)

Alex Von Königsberg

May 28th, 2007, 03:52 AM

The only memories I have about the Southern Caliufornia freeway network are huge traffic jams :) Once I spent 3 hours in a stau on I-10 near Pasadena... in an HOV lane :eek: That was yet the longest traffic jam I have ever been at. The closest one would probably be when I was stuck for 2.5 hours on A8 near München because of an accident.

ChrisZwolle

May 28th, 2007, 11:48 AM

The longest jam is was in since i got my license, was last year, when i spend 1 hour with my engine off on the Dutch A2.

But German summer traffic jams can be much longer. One time, they had a 180km traffic jam on the French A4.

2 years ago, when it was snowing we had a traffic jam all the way from Amsterdam to the German border. That was some 120km, but the jam extended into Germany.

ChrisZwolle

May 28th, 2007, 11:50 AM

Once I spent 3 hours in a stau on I-10 near Pasadena... in an HOV lane Don't you mean the I-110? As far as i know the I-10 goes further south than Pasadena.

mgk920

May 28th, 2007, 07:19 PM

Don't you mean the I-110? As far as i know the I-10 goes further south than Pasadena.
I-210 (Foothill Freeway) goes through Pasadena, so it could have been that. The Pasadena Freeway (DT Pasadena to DT Los Angeles) is CA 110, but becomes I-110 a bit further south at I-10.

Mike

Alex Von Königsberg

May 29th, 2007, 12:07 AM

Right, I-210 indeed. Not being familiar with the LA area, we decided to take I-15 from San Diego and then I-210 in order to go around LA and join I-5 to continue northward. I still don't know if it would have been faster to stay on I-5 all they way from San Diego to Sacramento.

ChrisZwolle

May 29th, 2007, 12:54 AM

Yeah or you can take the 405 freeway.

Alex Von Königsberg

May 29th, 2007, 01:30 AM

Well, I have driven to Southern California only 3 times, and I have no desire to do it again. I better start getting an acquaintance with Seattle motorway network :)

jess19

May 29th, 2007, 01:59 AM

Oh Yes! I know I would get this typical reply. I would answer to your question if thats what you want.

Greater LA Freeway, when it was built in 1950s, was the most advance freeway system in the world. It is unique for its class because nowhere in America or in the world can build something like it back then. In 1960s, it dominated again by expanding it more and by creating more advance freeways linking each other to create vast networks of arteries to accommodate the rising numbers of vehicles in the area and the growing LA Port, which is even now the biggest in US and one of the biggest in the world. The growing numbers of vehicles cost major traffics in the 1970s and that resulted to construction of the biggest freeway intersections in the entire world. However, the growing number of vehicles in the 1980s and 1990s can't stop the heaviest traffic in US (besides New York) and CalTran realized that Infrastructure project alone can't minimize it. So they found a way to combat those traffics by using a an Intelligent Computerized Network Traffic Flow System that would monitor the traffic and distribute the ease the flow of traffic of the main roads, main highway systems and interstate highway systems of Greater LA. Again, the first of its kind in the world.

Again, to those people who are bashing LA or United States for the inadequate road system, please focus again on what we have done and what we improvised to be one of the pioneers of the Road Freeway System besides Germany's Autobahn. Our Interstate Highway System were so successful in the 1950s that other countries followed it and highway engineers around the world used it as their model. However, you can't allow to ease the minds of American Haters out there.

Yeah .. it "was" the most advanced. I'm pretty sure other major metropolises around the world have networks and systems that are equivalent to, or surpass LA's.

ChrisZwolle

May 29th, 2007, 01:53 PM

Yeah .. it "was" the most advanced. I'm pretty sure other major metropolises around the world have networks and systems that are equivalent to, or surpass LA's.

Name one. Even the Chicago/New York networks aren't that extensive as LA's.

LtBk

May 29th, 2007, 02:54 PM

Name one. Even the Chicago/New York networks aren't that extensive as LA's.

Madrid.

sbarn

May 29th, 2007, 05:58 PM

^^ Madrid has an extensive network, but still doesn't match LA.

Madrid:
http://www.luxurytravel.com/cityguides/madrid/images/map.gif

Los Angeles:
http://www.inetours.com/Los_Angeles/Images/maps/LA-Arpts-FreWa.gif

ChrisZwolle

May 29th, 2007, 06:03 PM

That Madrid map is outdated. There is an M50 for a while.

It is still unclear which European road is the busiest; the Madrid M30 or the Moskovian MKAD. The London M25 would end high too, so is the Rotterdam A16.

http://i17.tinypic.com/5xnoivl.png

jess19

May 30th, 2007, 02:20 PM

Name one. Even the Chicago/New York networks aren't that extensive as LA's.

The Quebec City / Windsor Corridor network; serves about 15.6 million people with an area about 1,550 kilometres in length. Comprises the 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 416, 417, 420, 427, as well as the gigantic autoroute system.

sbarn

May 30th, 2007, 04:45 PM

sbarn

May 30th, 2007, 04:55 PM

Is this the 401 in Toronto?

http://urban-photos.com/webgraphics/nyc_9833.jpg

Nope, its the New Jersey Turnpike...

jess19

May 30th, 2007, 06:35 PM

Nephasto

May 31st, 2007, 01:22 AM

^^ This comprises several cities... you're comparing a regional highway network with that of a single metropolitan area. If you want to compare California's interstate network which serves 35 million people, with the Quebec City/ Windsor corridor, go ahead.

http://i17.tinypic.com/5xnoivl.png

^^ Madrid certainly has an impressive highway network... it seems quite compact however. What are the capacity of these highways? Are they mostly 8+ lane freeways like LA's network?

No... Except for the innermost ring (M-30), where you have stretches with 12+ lanes, most of those freeways are 6 lanes (3+3), some 4 lanes (2+2) and some 8 lanes (4+4).

Madrid system, although being impressive, even more impressive for a city of it's size, can't be compared to LA's system.
You've got to rembember that Madrid's metropolitan area is home to some 5 Million people, while LA's metro has some 13 million people.
They're not in the same league.

ChrisZwolle

May 31st, 2007, 06:35 AM

Gaeus

May 31st, 2007, 07:49 AM

I think we need to go back to the topic :lol: . I believe those freeways the OP mentioned are currently the busiest in the world. However, China and India has the fastest growth of vehicle population. Currently, their freeways are fun to drive because there are only few vehicles but both governments are expecting heavy growth of vehicles on the next 5 - 10 years so they are now expanding those highways to accommodate such traffic. With the overwhelming population of both countries and the growing economy, I believe in 10 years, China and India may beat the freeways the OP mentioned IMHO.

ChrisZwolle

May 31st, 2007, 11:51 AM

Most China Expressways between cities are generally only 2 lanes per direction. I think the Chinese government has the lack of anticipation here, if you see the congestion in European countries like Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain or Belgium, you will see that in the future in China too, but much worse, since there are a hell lot more of people in China who can own a car in the nearby future.

carfentanyl

May 31st, 2007, 12:04 PM

Comparing Madrid's network to LA's network is almost ridiculous. 2 totally different cities.

Madrid is very dense, L.A. is not at all. Madrid has a great public transport system, L.A. has not. Madrid serves 5 million, L.A. serves 13 million people. And most important, driving your car is big culture in L.A.,while in Madrid it's eating excellent food and drinking sangria and tinto's. No driving allowed then! :)

So ofcourse L.A.'s freeway network is way more extensive....

LtBk

May 31st, 2007, 04:54 PM

TheCat

May 31st, 2007, 06:33 PM

Is this the 401 in Toronto?

http://urban-photos.com/webgraphics/nyc_9833.jpg

Nope, its the New Jersey Turnpike...

Heh that's impressive, but I wondered why this "401" is so empty :)

ChrisZwolle

May 31st, 2007, 08:53 PM

That's a tolled road, right?

TheCat

May 31st, 2007, 10:09 PM

That's a tolled road, right?

The website for the NJ Turnpike has information about the E-ZPass, so I guess it is.

elkram

May 31st, 2007, 10:28 PM

forming the backbone of the system
I find there to be a problem with this perception of the interplay of Hwy 401 with the T'o area there: this 401 Hwy is virtually the lone bone to the region's whole friggin' expressway 'network' there.

Ultimately, 401 needn't be a part of this poll.

ChrisZwolle

May 31st, 2007, 11:53 PM

That Jersey TPK looks great, has even normal markings, unlike their LA counterparts.

Patrick

June 1st, 2007, 12:24 AM

yeah the turnpike is in a pretty good condition as I remember

go_leafs_go02

June 1st, 2007, 12:44 AM

I agree. The 401 basically is our whole highway network with some highways such as the 400, QEW and 403 intertwined to link up to the 401.

Nephasto

June 1st, 2007, 12:47 AM

DrJoe

June 1st, 2007, 04:38 AM

I agree. The 401 basically is our whole highway network with some highways such as the 400, QEW and 403 intertwined to link up to the 401.

Without these "some highways" the whole system would fail completely, 401 or not.

rick1016

June 1st, 2007, 08:32 AM

I'm sure you all know this but the 401 has an express-collector set up.

Patrick

June 1st, 2007, 11:50 AM

But Madrid has definatly Europe's best system. Compare that to the London Motorway system, which has only one orbital road and some connectors, or Paris with all the gaps in the motorways, or Berlin, which isn't that impressive too.

that's true, Berlin's is nothing
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9318/aaaaaberlinit2.jpg

also not compared to the Rhein-Ruhr-Area (but which sitll can't match Madrid's) ;)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7105/aaaaarheinruhrrv7.jpg

isaidso

June 1st, 2007, 12:11 PM

How many vehicles DO travel on the 401?

Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) on Toronto's 401 was in excess of 500,000 in 2006. Record traffic flow on the 401 is much higher. The 2nd busiest highway in the world, the Santa Monica Freeway, handles between 300,000 and 400,000. The 401 is up to 50% busier.

The 401 is, by far, #1.

ChrisZwolle

June 1st, 2007, 01:44 PM

In thought the second one was the 405 freeway near Long Beach.

but 500.000 is sick man. Maybe because of the lack of alternatives?

mgk920

June 1st, 2007, 06:31 PM

that's true, Berlin's is nothing
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9318/aaaaaberlinit2.jpg
It looks to me, from studying recent high-resolution air photos, that Berlin's autobahn network was once planned to be far more extensive than it is now, with those plans possibly going back to the Nazi era. Do you have any idea what those old/unbuilt plans were? Also, how different would that map look today had the 'Wall' not been there for much of the second half of the 20th Century?

Also, are there any current plans to tie together all of those loose fragments of the A-44 in the Rhine-Ruhr area?

:nuts:

Mike

ChrisZwolle

June 1st, 2007, 07:34 PM

Also, are there any current plans to tie together all of those loose fragments of the A-44 in the Rhine-Ruhr area?

There are plans enough, but it is unlikely that all parts will be connected. So far the gap between Ratingen and Velbert has the highest priority i heard.

The part south of Mönchengladbach has been demolished because of mining activities in the area.

Minato ku

June 1st, 2007, 07:43 PM

I agree Madrid network is wonderfull.
The problem with Paris, it is the full of motorway death motorway, the delay for the construction of new motorway (10 years for built a tunnel :ohno: )
That's why Paris freeway system is the most congestioned in western Europe.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8353/parisautoroutele3.jpg

Patrick

June 1st, 2007, 07:45 PM

The only map I have found that includes former planned autobahn-stretches (so everything that is not red or violet is not a current autobahn)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6883/berlinnnnr8.jpg
http://www.autobahnatlas-online.de/Karte.htm
if there wouldn't have been the wall, the inner circle probably would be complete. after you said that i realized now that the inner circle strechtes in west-berlin end near the former wall

concerning A44: the missing part in Dortmund is not in the current plannings;
the same goes for the part between Velbert and Bochum;
in Bochum itself there are only plans to connect it directly to the A40, but it's not finally approved;
the part between Ratingen and Velbert is planned and approved, but I don't know when they'll begin;
no plans are for the part east of Mönchengladbach;
the part west of Grevenbroich has been demolished in 2005 because of the open cast mining of brown coal in that area

EDIT: Chris was faster ;)

EDIT 2:
In thought the second one was the 405 freeway near Long Beach.

but 500.000 is sick man. Maybe because of the lack of alternatives?

maybe someone from there can offer us a map showing the public mass transport system in toronto and los angeles?

EDIT 3:
the maps i have posted do not clearly include autobahn-like developped Bundes- and Landstraßen (I guess comparable to US and State Routes)