Highway 407

Highway 407 is a pay-per-use freeway located in south-central Ontario's Greater Toronto Area. It begins at the junction of the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 403 in Burlington (just outside Hamilton) and travels 108km across the surrounding cities of Toronto to end at Highway 7 and Brock Road (Durham Regional Road 1) in Pickering. Plans are currently underway to extend the highway further east through Durham Region, eventually ending at the junction of Highways 115 and 35 in Orono. Highway 407 is seen as a bypass of Highway 401, the main trunk route though Southern Ontario and the world's busiest highway with well over 400,000 average daily trips on a section between Highway 427 and Highway 400.

Major freeway junctions are located at (from West to East) the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 403, Highway 401, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 400 and Highway 404. Other major street junctions include Bronte Road (Halton Regional Road 25), Hurontario Street, Highway 27, Yonge Street and Markham Road (Highway 48). Overall there are 40 different junctions on Highway 407 connecting the toll road with the main transportation network in the Greater Toronto Area.

The 407 uses a system of special cameras and devices called transponders to toll people automatically. A radio antenna detects when a car with a transponder has entered and left the highway, calculating the toll rate. Customers who don't have a transponder have a picture of their license plate taken instead, which is then used to identify the driver. There are no toll boths. Tolls are collected by billing statements sent out to customers each month. Tolls are paid just like any other utility bill is paid. The name Express Toll Route (ETR) has been applied to the highway due to the fact there is no need to stop at toll booths.

This is the worlds first highway to feature this system throughout the highway.

The 407 is not a government-controlled highway. The highway was sold by the provincial government to 407/ETR International Incorporated for approximately 3 Billion Canadian Dollars. Highway 407 is widely believed to be the first financially successful privately-owned toll road in North America.

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