Route Description
A portion of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line from Sheppard Avenue in the north to Eglinton Avenue to the south runs along, within, or near to the highway. The portion from Wilson Avenue to Eglinton Avenue runs in the median of the highway.
South of Transit Road (a collector road just north of Highway 401), Allen Road is a four-lane urban freeway (with the Y-U-S subway line in the median, similar to the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line along the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago) with varying speed limits throughout its length.
At the junction with Highway 401, the two freeways meet in an interchange which is a hybrid of the turbine and clover-stack. It is complex since some ramps are dedicated to serving the adjacent Yorkdale Mall rather than freeway to freeway traffic. The interchange, which was built when Highway 401 was expanded to its current collector-express configuration, is known for its poor sight lines, since not long after its completion, the speed limit on Ontario freeways was raised in 1968 from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 112 km/h (70 mph) (later reduced to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 1974, then 100 km/h (62 mph) with metric conversion in 1977). There are frequent complaints about the 401 westbound collectors exit to Allen Road, since it is located on the left-hand side instead of the conventional right. Most of the overpasses were rehabilitated in 1995. From 2001 to 2004, retrofitting and improvements have widened the westbound collectors to four lanes, eliminating the forced exit lane. Due to the interchange's complexity and lower standard design, it is one of the few on Highway 401 that uses conventional light poles instead of high-mast lighting.
North of Transit Road, Allen Road is a four-lane at-grade expressway with a speed limit of 70 km/h (45 mph) until it reaches Sheppard Avenue West to become an arterial route, still maintaining the higher speed limit. The route is two lanes plus a bus lane until just beyond Finch Avenue, where the bus lane exits Westbound to the York University Busway.
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