Drivers in Ontario will soon be able to drive a little faster in more parts of the province.
The provincial government announced on Wednesday that the speed limit on 10 sections of 400-series highways will increase from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, including seven kilometres on Highway 401 across Tilbury and 26 kilometres of Highway 403 from Woodstock to Brantford.
According to the province, the change builds on the "safe and successful" increase to six sections of provincial highways in 2022 and aligns with posted speed limits in other jurisdictions across Canada.
“Most of Ontario’s highways were originally designed to safely accommodate speed limits of 110 km/h and the data from our changes in 2022 shows they do just that,” said Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria. “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.”
The increased speed limits start July 12, 2024 on most of the following provincial highways, with the remainder coming before the end of the year:
Hwy 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
Hwy 401 from Hwy 35/115 to Cobourg (approximately 35 km)
Hwy 401 from Colborne to Belleville (approximately 44 km)
Hwy 401 from Belleville to Kingston (approximately 66 km)
Hwy 401 from Hwy 16 to Quebec boundary (approximately 107 km)
Hwy 403 from Woodstock to Brantford (approximately 26 km)
Hwy 403 from Brantford to Hamilton (approximately 14.5 km)
Hwy 406 from Thorold to Welland (approximately 13 km)
Hwy 416 from Hwy 401 to Ottawa (approximately 70 km)
Hwy 69 from Sudbury to French River (approximately 60 km)
The province said all highway sections were selected based on their ability to safely accommodate higher speed limits.
Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan have a maximum speed limit of 110 km/hr, while in British Columbia, the maximum speed limit is 120 km/hr.