bridge expansion – vivaNext

meet the NEW multi-use path on Highway 7 West

If you’re walking, strolling, jogging or cycling Highway 7 West in Woodbridge, there is a new multi-use path in the centre of the road to get you across the bridge over Highway 400. Watch our new video for a bird’s-eye view and a peek at what it’s like when you’re in it.

This protected path for pedestrians and cyclists has signalized intersections at each end to enable safe crossings back to the sides of Highway 7.

Separated from traffic and transit vehicles by concrete barrier walls on either side, the multi-use path is wide enough for two-way travel. By bringing travellers away from the outside of the bridge, as well as the busy ramps of Highway 400, the new multi-use path improves regular traffic flow, and crucially for pedestrians and cyclists offers an effective, convenient solution as people make connections to and from the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and throughout Vaughan and York Region.

While centre-road travel for cyclists and pedestrians is a new concept here in York Region, they’ve been built in the U.S. and were originally inspired by the Sands Street Bikeway in Brooklyn, NY.

Integrated with the City of Vaughan’s bike lane program and York Region’s network of bike lanes, the multi-use path connects with raised bike lanes and wider pedestrian sidewalks west of Highway 400, from Famous Avenue to Bruce Street [raised bike lanes opening in 2020], and with bike lanes already constructed on Highway 7 from Edgeley Boulevard/Interchange Way to Bowes Road/ Baldwin Avenue, as well as up Millway Avenue to the subway and the newly opened SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

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a look back at the CN MacMillan Bridge expansion

As work starts up on the Highway 7 bridge over Highway 400, which is being widened to accommodate rapidway lanes and a multi-use path, let’s take a look at a completed bridge expansion project: the CN MacMillan Bridge.

The Highway 7 bridge passes over the CN MacMillan Rail Yard, the second-biggest rail yard in Canada.

The expansion project, which was part of the Highway7 West-VMC rapidway project, involved widening the bridge by 8.5 metres to accommodate the two lanes of rapidway that opened in February 2017.

Crews poured 4,000 tonnes of concrete to build abutment walls, piers, foundation and piles, sidewalks and decks; embedded 300 tonnes of reinforcing steel; and built a new pedestrian sidewalk and hand-rail and bike lanes!

All of the work expanding the bridge had to be done – and was accomplished – without stopping the trains or impacting the 10 sets of tracks. For safety purposes, before construction even began, crews had to rehearse set-ups and take-downs with numerous safety drills so it would proceed like clockwork.

During construction, crews worked very closely with CN to coordinate work around train schedules. An additional challenge was the fact that the rail yard, which handles one-million-plus cars per year, also operates 24/7.

Mega feats of engineering and construction like the CN Bridge project are beginning again with the expansion of the Highway 7 west bridge over Highway 400. Next month, we’ll take a look at the different components of work involved for this project.

For information on ongoing vivaNext projects be sure to sign up for email updates, and follow us on Twitter. Questions or comments? Comment below or email us at contactus@vivanext.com.