Hanlon Expressway

Hanlon Expressway
Hanlon Parkway
Hanlon Expressway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length	15.4 km[3] (9.6 mi)
History	Proposed 1967 Opened June 28, 1972[1] – November 7, 1975[2]
Major junctions
South end	Highway 401 – London, Toronto
Major intersections	Highway 7 east – Brampton
North end	Highway 6 / Highway 7 – Waterloo, Owen Sound
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Counties	Wellington
Major cities	Guelph
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways Current Former 400-series

The Hanlon Expressway or Hanlon Parkway is a limited controlled-access expressway connecting Highway 401 with the city of Guelph in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 17 km (11 mi) route travels in a generally north–south direction on the city's west side. It is signed as Highway 6 for its entire length; from Wellington Street to Woodlawn Road it is concurrent with Highway 7. The speed limit alternates between 70 and 80 km/h (45 and 50 mph).

Between Highway 401 and Guelph, the Hanlon Expressway took over the Highway 6 routing from Brock Road (now Wellington Road 46). After years of planning and engineering, the route was built between 1972 and 1975. Originally designed to be a freeway, it was instead completed largely as a super-4 expressway with at-grade intersections since budget limitations precluded the construction of interchanges and overpasses, apart from an interchange at its southern terminus with Highway 401. Since then two additional interchanges have been built; Wellington Street West (Highway 7 and former Highway 24) which was completed in 2001, and Laird Road which opened in 2013, and another interchange is under construction for Wellington County Road 34 as of 2023. There are also two railway crossings near the northern terminus, though both are for spur lines.

The Government of Ontario has announced plans to build a new Highway 7 freeway bypass joining the current northern terminus of the Hanlon Expressway to the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener. In line with this project, the Hanlon Expressway will be fully upgraded to 400-series freeway standards. Long-term plans call for Highway 6 to be rerouted along a potential extension of the Hanlon south of Highway 401 to meet the four lane segment of Highway 6 south of Freelton. This would bypass the congested two lane section of Highway 6 (also known as Brock Road) in Wellington County from Puslinch to Morriston which runs through several small towns where it lacks sufficient right-of-way for widening.