Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway | |
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Route information | |
Maintained by City of Hamilton | |
Length | 12.5 km (7.8 mi) |
History | Planned 1963 Constructed 1991–97 Opened October 15, 1997 |
Major junctions | |
West end |
Highway 403 (continues as Mohawk Road) |
East end | Dartnall Road (continues as the Red Hill Valley Parkway) |
Location | |
Major cities | Hamilton |
Highway system | |
Roads in Ontario |
The Lincoln Alexander Parkway, nicknamed The Linc, is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario, which connects Highway 403 with the Red Hill Valley Parkway, which continues north to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW). Collectively, the two expressways form a southern and eastern bypass of Hamilton. Located on the Hamilton mountain, atop the Niagara Escarpment, the freeway was named after the former Progressive Conservative MP and first black Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lincoln Alexander in July 1997, despite him never holding a driver's license.
Although planning for the Red Hill Creek Expressway began in 1963, construction did not begin until 1991, by which point the project had become a contentious issue. The province agreed to split the cost for the east–west portion of the planned expressway, but opposed the north–south link. Nevertheless, construction continued throughout the mid-1990s, and the expressway opened on October 15, 1997, just over a decade before the controversial Red Hill Valley Parkway, which opened on November 17, 2007. The speed limit along the parkway is 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph).
The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway begins in the west end of Hamilton at a large turbine interchange with Highway 403, which also provides access to Mohawk Road from Westbound Highway 403 and The Linc. Travelling southeast, the expressway descends into a ditch, which it travels along throughout most of its length. It passes north of the Meadowlands Centre mall and the interchanges with Mohawk Road / Golf Links Road. The route then becomes sandwiched between residential subdivisions at Upper Horning Road, which was bisected by construction of the route. The route continues, passing beneath a pedestrian overpass and Upper Paradise Road before interchanging with Garth Street.