Highway 401 in the context of "Ontario Highway 407"

King's Highway 407, commonly referred to as Highway 407 and colloquially as the "four-oh-seven", is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Comprising a tolled privately leased segment and a publicly owned segment, the route spans the entire Greater Toronto Area (GTA) around the city of Toronto, travelling through the suburbs of Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Pickering, Whitby, and Oshawa before ending in Clarington, north of Orono and Newcastle. At 151.4 kilometres (94.1 mi) long, it is the fourth-longest expressway in Ontario's 400-series network, after Highways 417, 400, and 401. The tolled segment between Burlington and Brougham in Pickering is leased to and operated by the 407 ETR Concession Company Limited and is officially known as the 407 Express Toll Route (407 ETR). It begins at the Freeman Interchange between the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Highway 403 in Burlington; the highway travels 108.0 km (67.1 mi) across the urban GTA to Brock Road in Pickering. East of Brock Road, the freeway continues east as Highway 407 (referred to as Highway 407 East during development to distinguish it from 407 ETR), a route operated by the provincial government and formerly tolled, for 43.4 km (27.0 mi) to Highway 35/115 in Clarington. The route interchanges with nine freeways in Ontario: the QEW, Highway 403, Highway 401, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 400, Highway 404, Highway 412, and Highway 418. 407 ETR is an electronically operated toll highway; there are no toll booths along the route. Distances are calculated automatically using transponders or automatic number-plate recognition, which are scanned at entrance and exit portals.

Highway 407 was planned in the late 1950s as a freeway bypassing Toronto's segment of Highway 401, the busiest highway in North America. However, construction did not begin until 1987. During the early 1990s, the provincial government proposed tolling the highway to alleviate a revenue shortfall. The central sections of Highway 407 opened in 1997, and the remaining sections were built quickly over the following four years, with the final segment opening in mid-2001. Despite being included in the 400-series network, the Highway 407 ETR section is not considered part of the provincial highway network as it is now privately operated. The segment is operated privately under a 99-year lease agreement signed with the Conservative provincial government, which was sold in 1999 for about C$3.1 billion to a consortium of Canadian and Spanish investors operating under the name 407 International Inc. The privatization of the Highway 407 ETR section has been the source of significant criticism, especially regarding increases in tolls, plate denial, and false charges. In addition, the safety of segments built after the sale of the freeway has been called into question.