The proposed route of the Bradford Bypass would have it start at a stacked interchange with Highway 400 midway between 8th Line and 9th Line of Bradford West Gwillimbury. From there the four lane rural highway would proceed east, crossing the 10th Sideroad and interchanging with Yonge Street immediately north of the town of Bradford. It would then curve southeast to cross the West Holland River into the municipality of East Gwillimbury in the Regional Municipality of York, after which it would interchange with Bathurst Street and straighten out towards the east. The highway would cross the East Holland River and pass immediately south of the Silver Lakes Golf and Country Club. It would cross the original Yonge Street then cut through farmland, parallel with Queensville Sideroad. At Leslie Street, immediately north of the community of Queensville, a partial interchange would provide westward access onto the Bradford Bypass. It would end shortly thereafter at Highway 404.
History
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation conducted an environmental assessment of the project, which considered the highway to be needed for forecast traffic needs of 2025. York Region included the highway in its official plans. Construction was expected to begin by the end of the 2000s, but this changed with the change in provincial government from Ernie Eves to Dalton McGuinty. The McGuinty government developed the "Smart Growth" plan for the Golden Horseshoe Region and did not include the Bradford Bypass in its plans for future highways. In 2016, renewed efforts by the Municipalities reaffirmed the need and request for this highway connection. On May 18, 2017, the Province indicated that this link is back on the updated growth plan. Continued delays in the construction of the Bradford Bypass meant that the approximately 50,000 cars per day transiting between the two highways used Davis Drive, the former northern end of the 404. This caused massive traffic problems in downtown Newmarket. A bypass was possible by driving a short distance west of the 404 to Leslie Avenue, then north to Green Lane, which connected westward to Yonge Street. However, Green Lane was a two-lane dirt road and spanned the East Holland River using a single-lane bridge built in the 1910s. Several upgrades were carried out to improve this route, including an extension of the 404 to Green Lane, and the widening of Green Lane to a four-lane route across Yonge to Bathurst Street. This route is currently known as the Newmarket Bypass, and opened to Bathurst in 2004. On 15 August 2019 MPP Caroline Mulroney announced that planning for the bypass will resume.
Proposed exit list
The following table lists the proposed locations for interchanges along the Bradford Bypass contained within the MTO review.
