Highway 407, Canada’s first privately owned fully electronic toll highway located in southern Ontario intersects with the Province’s 400 Series Highways in a number of locations. Respective roles and responsibilities between the Province and the Concessionaire, 407ETR Concession Company Limited, are outlined in the Highway 407 Concession and Ground Lease Agreement (CGLA). Managing the individual interests of the Province and 407ETR, while ensuring compliance with the CGLA, requires both parties to be fully committed to the relationship in order to realize the mutual benefits of the public-private partnership. This paper examines the issues the province dealt with during the problem identification, design development and construction implementation phases with its partner 407ETR. This paper focuses on one particular operational issue that was affecting the flow of traffic on both the Provincial Highway 401 and the privately owned Highway 407. The problem area centered on the interchange ramp carrying Highway 407 westbound traffic onto Highway 401 westbound. The volume of traffic on the identified ramp was forming significant queues on both highways during peak afternoon hours. A high level of co-operation was required between the government and 407ETR before a detailed examination of the existing geometric issues that were the root cause of the queues could begin. In the spirit of co-operation, both parties acknowledged the shared responsibility for finding a solution, and the shared responsibility for the implementation of the possible geometric improvements. This paper contains a brief outline of the innovative traffic modeling that was jointly undertaken to resolve the geometric deficiencies. Also discussed will be the role of the Independent Auditor, as specified in the Highway 407 sale agreement, to ensure that the focus on safety standards was upheld throughout the design and construction phases. Following the various perspectives, the paper includes some of the lessons learned at various operational phases of the Highway 407 project, and offers insight to improve future management of similar privatization relationships.
