All those commuters who sit in morning and evening rush-hour traffic have only one thing to say to the Province about widening the 401 from Ajax to Whitby: Bring it on!

The Province's plan to upgrade and widen the highway from Salem Road in Ajax to Brock Street in Whitby can't come fast enough for long-suffering motorists.

It won't benefit only those people who drive to work and home each weekday. A wider 401 -- it will include collector lanes all the way to Brock Street in future -- will help unclog the highway for truckers who need to move products through the Greater Toronto Area.

And at the same time this massive project is ongoing, work will be progressing on the extension of Hwy. 407 from Brock Road in Pickering to Hwy. 115 in Clarington. And don't forget there are also plans to widen Hwy. 7 from Pickering to Whitby too, a project that has been on the books for nearly half-a-century!

It all sounds almost too good to be true, and in truth, motorists will have to be patient. These projects will cost, collectively, many billions of dollars. They will require considerable planning, budgeting, and all the other paperwork and deliberation governments are famous for.

All this roadwork is of the long-term variety meaning it will be many years before all three are ready for drivers.

Still, it's encouraging to see the Province at least get the ball rolling on a plan to widen Hwy. 401. It will mean the replacement of the Lakeridge Road, Henry Street and Brock Street bridges on the highway. It will also involve an entrance and exit ramp on Lakeridge Road. But, once completed, it will significantly reduce the amount of traffic buildup between Whitby and Ajax each morning and evening as motorists will have 12 lanes to work with, instead of the current six.

Combine that with the Hwy. 407 extension and traffic congestion in Durham should be radically reduced each morning and evening as commuters will have a variety of routes to choose from.

It's nice to see, after so many years of neglect, Queen's Park finally paying attention to Durham's transit needs. Now, all we need to have is the follow through from a provincial government that often forgets there is life east of Brock Road.