South was completed by 2000. This section of the route was constructed through a process known as twinning in which a second carriageway is built parallel to an existing road. In addition, existing intersections were rebuilt as grade-separated interchanges. With the right-of-way along Highway 16 New already purchased, construction was able to proceed without disruption to local properties or traffic. The project was constructed through five contracts. The first was awarded to Tarmac Canada on June 10, 1996, calling for twinning of from Century Road south to Roger Stevens Drive. Another contract was awarded one month later to Bot Construction, on August 19. This contract involved the section from Roger Stevens Drive south to what was then Highway 43, a distance of . On June 12, 1997, the first section opened, connecting with the Ottawa Bypass at Century Road. On July 10, the third contract was awarded to Armbro Construction to construct the section from Highway 43 south to Grenville County Road 20 (Oxford Station Road). Another contract followed on October 21 for the south to Grenville County Road 20 (Shanly Road) which was awarded to Bot Construction. The fifth and final contract was awarded to Armbro Construction on April 8, 1998, calling for the construction of the southern and the two flyover ramps at Highway 401. The section between Roger Stevens Drive and what had now become Leeds and Grenville County Road 43, including a second crossing of the Rideau River, opened to traffic on June 26, 1998. This was followed two months later by the section between Highway 43 and Oxford Station Road, which opened on August 24. On the fifty-fourth anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1998, then Transportation Minister Tony Clement unveiled two signs in Ottawa and formally declared the entire length of Highway 416 as the Veterans Memorial Highway, despite earlier reluctance from previous minister Al Palladini. Six additional signs were also installed along the length of the route. At the time, the Veterans Memorial Parkway in London already existed. Since then, two additional veterans highways have been named: on October 20, 2002, the Veterans Highway was designated in Halton Region along Regional Road 25; on September 23, 2010, the Niagara Veterans Memorial Highway was designated in Niagara Falls along Regional Road 420. A ceremony was held in Johnstown on September 23, 1999 to open the final section of Highway 416 that would complete the link