Province Increasing Speed Limit on 10 Sections of Highways

Wednesday, 24 April 2024 09:55

Ten areas will have their speed limit increased to 110 kilometres per hour, including Highway 403 from Woodstock to Brantford.

ONTARIO - The speed limit on Highway 403 from Woodstock to Brantford is about to go up.

The Ontario Government is increasing the speed limit for 10 sections of provincial highways from 100 kilometres per hour to 110 kilometres per hour.

You can find a list of the affected areas below:

- Highway 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
- Highway 401 from Hwy 35/115 to Cobourg (approx 35 km)
- Highway 401 from Colborne to Belleville (approx 44 km)
- Highway 401 from Belleville to Kingston (approx 66 km)
- Highway 401 from Highway 16 to Quebec boundary (approx 107 km)
- Highway 403 from Woodstock to Brantford (approx 26 km)
- Highway 403 from Brantford to Hamilton (approx 14.5 km)
- Highway 406 from Thorold to Welland (approx 13 km)
- Highway 416 from Highway 401 to Ottawa (approx 70 km)
- Highway 69 from Sudbury to French River (approx 60 km)

The increase will happen before the end of the year, with most of those areas seeing it on July 12th, 2024.

This all started out as a pilot project back in 2019, when the province increased the speed limit in the following three areas:

- Highway 402 from London to Sarnia (90 km)
- The QEW from Hamilton to St. Catharines (32 km)
- Highway 417 from Ottawa to the Ontario/Quebec border (102 km)

The Ford Government decided to permanently allow the speed limit increase in those areas in 2022, plus add three more:

- Highway 401 from Windsor to Tilbury (approx 40 km)
- Highway 404 from Newmarket to Woodbine (approx 16 km)
- Highway 417 from Kanata to Arnprior (approx 37 km)

Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria explains the reasoning behind this.

"Most of Ontario’s highways were originally designed to safely accommodate speed limits of 110 kilometres per hour and the data from our changes in 2022 shows they do just that. These evidence-based increases are a common-sense change to make life more convenient for Ontario drivers while bringing our highway speed limits in line with other Canadian provinces."

Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan all have a maximum speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour on their highways. British Columbia on the other hand, has a maximum speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour.