History
Highway 405 was part of a network of divided highways envisioned by Thomas McQuesten in the mid-1930s to connect New York with Ontario. Though the Queen Elizabeth Way would cross the Niagara River by 1942 in Niagara 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. The bridge was built at the same time as the freeway, though it opened several months earlier on November 1, 1962. Highway 405 was completed in August 1963 and officially opened to the public on September 11, 1963.
During the 1969 construction season, an interchange with Stanley Avenue was built and opened to traffic. In 2004, the eastern end of the freeway was modified to permit the queueing of trucks at the border. This included the addition of one lane to the eastbound carriageway beginning at Stanley Avenue, as well as the gradual removal of the interchange with the Niagara Parkway; the westbound on-ramp from the Parkway remained open to traffic until December 4, 2006. The highway was named the General Brock Parkway on 13 October 2006 in honour of the War of 1812 hero, Major General Sir Isaac Brock, who died at the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Highway 405
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