Автомагистраль Китченер – Ватерлоо: История и описание

Freeway in Ontario
The Conestoga Parkway is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), which officially refers to it as the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway. The speed limit on the parkway is throughout its length.

At the Kitchener city limits at Trussler Road the concurrency of Highway7/8 continues west as a four lane freeway towards Stratford. Initially, it is sandwiched between the suburban residential neighbourhoods of Forest Heights and Laurentian West neighbourhoods, to the north and south respectively, as it travels east to Regional Road58 (Fischer–Hallman Road). There the median switches from grass to a concrete barrier, and the parkway widens to six lanes. It passes north of the Sunrise Shopping Centre before once again bisecting residential neighbourhoods, namely Forest Hill and Meinzinger Park to the north and Laurentian Hills to the south. with the neighbourhoods of Auditorium and Central Frederick to the west, and Rosemount to the east. It briefly swerves northwards, passing under Frederick Street, Victoria Street and the Kitchener GO line in quick succession. An interchange serves both Frederick Street and Victoria Street, via the parallel roads of Regional Road62 (Edna Street) and Regional Road61 (Bruce Street); an interchange with Wellington Street follows soon thereafter. Due to the close proximately of these two interchanges, the Conestoga Parkway utilizes a brief local–express system for approximately Both the parkway and Highway85 end approximately north of King Street North, after which the four lane freeway narrows and is known as Waterloo Regional Road85. actual consideration was not given to it until it was recommended by a 1961 traffic study. By then, the opening of Highway 401 was attracting business away from the rapidly growing twin cities. Land was gradually purchased over the intervening years and picked up considerably when plans for the expressway system were first raised in late 1962. The Department of Highways had already begun construction in the fall of 1961 on the Freeport Diversion, providing a new divided crossing of the Grand River along Highway 8. The diversion, connecting with King Street south of the Grand River and at Fergus Street, was completed in 1963. The provincial government reached a funding arrangement with Kitchener and Waterloo to cover 75% of the expected C$22 million ($ in dollars). cost, and officially announced the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway on May21, 1964. The province eventually took over authority for the entire project in August 1965. Construction began in February 1966 with the awarding of a C$3 million ($ in dollars). contract to rebuild of King Street into a four lane divided highway from Fairway Road (renamed from Block Line Road in 1965) to Doon Road,
including the half cloverleaf interchange that would serve the western and northern legs of the expressway system. A ground breaking ceremony was held in the fall of that year, with dignitaries taking turns driving a bulldozer. The reconstruction of King Street was completed and opened in November 1967. The Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway was unofficially renamed the Conestoga Parkway in January 1967 by a joint committee of the two cities. A shortlist of 12 publicly submitted names was prepared, and included Mackenzie King, John Patrick, Eby Erb (early Mennonite settlers), Dan Detweiller (a founder of the Ontario hydroelectric system), Frederick Banting, Centennial, Pioneer, Grand Valley, Golden Triangle, The Kingsway, and Conestoga. The name, a reference to the Mennonite conestoga wagon used by early settlers, was chosen unanimously by the committee. On the northern leg of the parkway, early works construction along Edna Street, including the removal of several dozen homes, began in 1966, and tenders were called for construction of the route from King Street to Frederick Street in September. Full construction on the C$1.9million ($ in dollars). contract began in April 1967. It was completed and opened to traffic on September19, 1968. Another contract, to build the parkway from Frederick Street and Bridgeport Road, was awarded that month for C$5.1million ($ in dollars)., with construction beginning in October. On the western leg of the parkway, construction began in October 1967 on a C$3.6 million ($ in dollars). contract to build a segment of the parkway from King Street to west of Homer Watson Boulevard. This section, which was built along the alignment of Henry Strum Boulevard, was opened to traffic between Courtland Avenue and King Street on November25, 1968. Work continued on the Conestoga Parkway into the early 1970s. On the northern leg, the segment under construction between Frederick Street and Bridgeport Road was completed and opened on October5 or 6, 1970. Just over a month later, on November13, the first portion of the expressway within Waterloo was opened ceremoniously by Minister of Highways George Gomme. Construction of this section, through undeveloped farmland between Bridgeport Road and the southern interchange with King Street North, took place beginning in 1969. On the western leg, a section between Courtland Avenue and Fischer Hallman Drive opened on September1, 1971, completing the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway project. By this time, construction was underway on a new two lane alignment of Highway7/8, first announced in 1963, to connect the New Hamburg Diversion with the Conestoga Parkway at Fischer Hallman Drive. It opened on August13, 1973, bypassing the community of Baden. To the north, construction of a two lane alignment of Highway 85 to connect the Conestoga Parkway, at the southern intersection of King Street North, with the St. Jacobs Bypass began in 1974. The extension, which featured an at grade intersection with Northfield Road and a grade separation with the northern King Street North, was opened in late August, 1977.

Long term plans have called for the construction of a freeway link between Kitchener and Guelph, linking the Conestoga Parkway with the Hanlon Expressway (Highway 6). Although proposed in the 1980s, construction did not begin until 2015. Opposition arose due to the new alignment of this Highway7 freeway passing through environmentally sensitive lands. In particular, the $25 million cost of the interchange between the new freeway and the Conestoga Parkway; the high cost is partly due to land acquisition to accommodate the proposed flyover ramps. This represents a quarter of the projected C$100million budget for the total Highway7 project. The Victoria Street overpass was demolished overnight on February23–24, 2018, and was replaced with a new structure that reopened to traffic on October28; the new bridge is longer and has a higher elevation to accommodate the future ramps between Highway7 and the Conestoga Parkway.