page_title: Red Hill Valley Parkway
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: Red Hill Valley Parkway / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway near the Red Hill Valley Parkway interchange
context_page_description: The Red Hill Valley Parkway is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario. The route connects the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, Hamilton's second municipal expressway, to the Queen Elizabeth Way near Hamilton Harbour. It is named after Red Hill Valley, through which it descends the Niagara Escarpment. It is a 7-kilometre four-lane freeway with a speed limit varying between 80 kilometres per hour to 90 kilometres per hour.
  The C$245 million freeway was built through the Red Hill Valley by the City of Hamilton after a decades-long battle with opponents. The freeway was first proposed as the Red Creek Expressway in the 1950s and was cancelled and resurrected several times. Last-ditch efforts by opponents, including occupying the valley, lawsuits and blocking construction access, failed and the expressway was finally constructed in the 2000s, opening to traffic in 2007. The cost to the city included $100 million in construction costs, plus legal costs fighting to get the expressway constructed. The city fought the provincial government once and the federal government twice to build the project.
context_section_description: The expressway begins at the Queen Elizabeth Way with a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). Proceeding southbound, the Creek and a stormwater pond can be seen on the right. From the QEW interchange to Barton Street, the expressway crosses over the Creek several times with industrial lands to the south (left) and industrial lands on the right as far as the CNR rail lines. This area's trees were removed from this area as part of the project; there some remaining trees on both sides of the expressway at Barton Street.
  This section, which is not far above the water level of Lake Ontario, is prone to flooding. On July 26, 2009,  sections of the expressway at the QEW were closed due to flooding of the Red Hill Creek after a thunderstorm.
  On July 7, 2010, sections of the expressway at Barton Street were closed due to flooding of the Red Hill Creek after a thunderstorm.
  From Barton Street, the expressway travels along the Creek, which is visible on the right. Both sides of the highway are residential lands, and the slopes of the valley have some forestation as far south as Queenston, where the valley sides were cleared of trees and landscaped for the interchange, with sound barriers on the top of the slopes. South of Queenston Road, the expressway passes through a forested part of the valley, and the road cut through the trees is narrower, as far south as King Street, where the valley was cleared and landscaped for the interchange, King Street and Mount Albion Streets.
  South of King Street, the Creek is visible on the west side, as far south as the rail lines. Past the CPR rail lines, the Creek diverges west into Rosedale Park, while the expressway hugs the east side of the valley. On the east side of the valley at this point is Red Hill and the Red Hill residential area is isolated from the expressway by a noise barrier.
  Greenhill Avenue, from the east, was extended to the expressway. The area of the Greenhill interchange was a forested part of the valley, and is now a grassy area around the expressway and interchange. South of Greenhill, the speed limit increases to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) while the expressway enters King's Forest park. The expressway stays along the east side of the valley, while on the west side is the King's Forest Golf Course. The expressway ascends the Niagara Escarpment along a viaduct, through a rock cut, to where it intersects and continues as the Lincoln Alexander to the west.
  From the QEW to Greenhill Avenue, the highway is two lanes in either direction. From Greenhill to the Lincoln Alexander, the highway is three lanes southbound (uphill) and two lanes northbound (downhill). The northbound and southbound lanes are separated by guard-rails and a grass median.
caption: The Red Hill Valley Parkway near the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway interchange.
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