 Highway 405 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Brock Parkway | ||||
 Highway 405 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMinistry of Transportation of Ontario | ||||
| Length | 8.7 km[1] (5.4 mi) | |||
| Existed | September 11, 1963[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  Queen Elizabeth Way inSt. Catharines | |||
| East end |  I-190 inLewiston, NY | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Ontario | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
King's Highway 405, also known asHighway 405 and theGeneral Brock Parkway, is a400-Series Highway in theCanadian province ofOntario connecting theQueen Elizabeth Way (QEW) nearSt. Catharines with theLewiston–Queenston Bridge in the village ofQueenston. It then crosses theNiagara River, where it encounters theinternational border with theUnited States through theLewiston–Queenston Bridge and continues intoNew York asInterstate 190 (I-190).
Designated and under construction by 1960, the shortfreeway was opened to traffic on September 11, 1963. On August 13, 2006, Highway 405 was dedicated theGeneral Brock Parkway. The entire length of Highway 405 is patrolled by theOntario Provincial Police (OPP).
Highway 405 serves to connect the northern end of I-190 inNew York at the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge with the QEW, and therefore it follows a somewhat direct path between the two.[3][4]Throughout its length, the highway gently climbs theNiagara Escarpment, reaching the top east of Stanley Avenue before crossing theNiagara Gorge. The highway is surrounded by forest to either side for most of its length, and the only settlement near it is the village of Queenston.[5] As Highway 405 entirely lies within the Province of Ontario and is not subject to federal administration, its entire length is patrolled by the OPP.[6]
Highway 405 begins by diverging from the QEW atSt. Catharines. It continues north-east for 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi), then gently curves south-easterly. The opposing lanes, initially separated by a wide gap, converge towards each other to form a 15-metre (49 ft) grass median.[5][7]The highway dips into a shallow gully, widens to five lanes (three eastbound, two westbound), and then curves northeast to pass north of a hydroelectric reservoir for theSir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations.[5] The opposing lanes converge, with anOntario Tall Wall separating them, and pass beneath Niagara Regional Road 102 (Stanley Avenue). The freeway's lone interchange is with Stanley Avenue, and traffic continuing east must cross the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge into the United States. The additional eastbound lane provided along this section is for the queueing of trucks.[8]After passing the reservoir, the highway reaches the Canada Border Services plaza. It then passes over theNiagara Parkway and heads onto the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge over the Niagara River.[5] The Highway 405 designation ends at the border with theUnited States, where it continues as I-190 towardsBuffalo, New York.[4][8]
Highway 405 was part of a network ofdivided highways envisioned byThomas McQuesten in the mid-1930s to connect New York with Ontario.[3] Though the Queen Elizabeth Way would cross theNiagara River by 1942 inNiagara Falls, Highway 405 and the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge would form the first direct freeway link between the neighbouring countries. Planning for both was underway by 1958, and construction began in 1960.[9][10]The bridge was built at the same time as the freeway, though it opened several months earlier on November 1, 1962.[11]Highway 405 was completed in August 1963[12]and officially opened to the public on September 11, 1963.[2] In 1969, an interchange with Stanley Avenue was built and opened to traffic.[13]
In 2004, the eastern end of the freeway was modified to permit the queueing of trucks at the border, with the addition of one lane to the eastboundcarriageway beginning at Stanley Avenue. The reconstruction of the toll plaza resulted in the gradual removal of the interchange with the Niagara Parkway, with the westbound off-ramp to the Parkway remaining open to traffic until December 4, 2006, thereafter westbound motorists have to head west to the Stanley Avenue exit and take Portage Road in order to reach the Parkway.[14][15]
The highway was named the General Brock Parkway on October 13, 2006 in honour of theWar of 1812 hero, Major General SirIsaac Brock, who died at theBattle of Queenston Heights.[16][17]
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 405, as noted by theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] The entire route is located in theRegional Municipality of Niagara. All exits are unnumbered.
| Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara-on-the-Lake | 0.0 | 0.0 | Queen Elizabeth Way –St. Catharines,Toronto | Highway 405 western terminus; Fort Erie-bound exit and Toronto-bound entrance; QEW exit 37 | |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake–Niagara Falls boundary | 5.5 | 3.4 |  Regional Road 102 (Stanley Avenue) –Niagara Falls,Niagara-on-the-Lake | ToRegional Road 61 (Townline Road); last exit in Ontario; speed limit reduced from 100 km/h to 60 km/h approaching the end of highway | |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake | 8.7 | 5.4 | Niagara Parkway | Ramps closed December 4, 2006[15] | |
| Lewiston–Queenston Border Crossing | |||||
| Lewiston–Queenston Bridge[18] | |||||
 I-190 south –Buffalo | Continuation intoNew York (state) | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Like a state patrol in the U.S., the OPP is responsible for patrolling provincial highways.
