Highway 418 is a four-lane tollway extending from Highway 401 to Highway 407E. The entire length of the route lies between Hancock Road and Rundle Road, east of Courtice. At the southern end, the route begins at a three-level stack interchange with Highway 401, from which it proceeds north. It then interchanges with former Highway 2. North of former Highway 2, the route swerves eastward and crosses Solina Road. Just before a partial interchange with Taunton Road, the highway again swerves slightly eastward to the former alignment of Rundle Road. Immediately north of Taunton Road, the route ends at a three-level stack interchange with Highway 407E, which is also a toll route thus no ETC cameras are present there.
History
Highway 418 is the second of two freeways connecting the eastern extension of Highway 407 with Highway 401; the other is Highway 412, located to the west in Whitby. The two routes, known then as the East Durham Link and West Durham Link, first appeared as part of the June 2007 "Technically Recommended Route", which was submitted as part of the environmental assessment for the extension, but had been announced earlier that year on March 7 by the Government of Canada as part of an investment in Greater Toronto Area infrastructure. The EA report was released on August 17, 2009, and included detailed plans for the configuration of the interchanges along the new freeway. The report also sought approval for the 6 lanes anticipated to be required by 2031. On February 6, 2015, it was announced by the MTO that the East Durham Link would be designated Highway 418. On March 23, 2015, a C$1.2 billion contract was awarded for the second phase of the Highway 407 east project, which included construction of Highway 418. It was split into 2 phases, 2A and 2B. Phase 2A, which included the portion of the highway north of Taunton Road, was finished by December 2017 and opened on January 2, 2018. The portion that opened would be temporarily signed as part of Highway 407. The section of Highway 407 east of Enfield Road was temporarily closed on September 9, 2019 to reconfigure the ramps at the Taunton Road interchange in preparation for the opening of the remainder of the highway. The highway fully opened on December 9, 2019.
Tolling
Highway 418 uses the same electronic tolling system as Highways 407 and 412 and is part of the same provincially tolled section of highway as Highways 412 and 407 East. The toll rate that applies to a specific trip is determined by the time at which a vehicle enters the highway and as of 2019 ranges from for vehicles that weigh less than 5 tonnes. Heavy vehicles are split into two categories: Heavy single units, which are tolled approximately two times the light vehicle rate, and heavy multi-units, which are tolled approximately three times the light vehicle rate. People using the highway may use the 407 ETR transponders, which are used throughout Highways 407, 412, and 418, and light vehicles must pay an additional video toll if they don't use a transponder. Heavy vehicles are legally required to have a transponder and may be charged under the Highway Traffic Act if they do not. There is also a flat toll, which is $1 during off-peak and $2 during peak periods for light vehicles.
