and his expertise requested. He arrived on October 2, 1945 and began working almost immediately. The Greber Plan was released in 1950 and presented to the House of Commons on May 22, 1951. The plan called for the complete reorganization of Ottawa's road and rail network, and included amongst the numerous parkways was an east to west expressway along what was then a Canadian National Railway line. With the rail lines removed, construction of the new expressway got underway in 1957 when Queen Elizabeth visited Ottawa to open the first session of the 23rd Parliament. On October 15, the Queen detonated dynamite charges from the Hurdman Bridge, which now overlooks the highway as it crosses the Rideau River, and formally dedicated the new project as the Queensway. At the ceremony, premier Leslie Frost indicated that the entire project would cost C$31 million and emphasized the importance of the link to the Trans-Canada Highway. The Queensway was constructed in four phases, each opening independently. The section from Alta Vista Drive (now Riverside Drive) east to the split between Highway17 (Montreal Road) and Highway17 Alt was the first phase, and was opened to traffic on November25, 1960, extending west to the Rideau River. Construction of a new freeway between Ottawa and Montreal, entirely bypassing the route of Highway17, began in the late 1960s. Contracts to construct the route were opened to bidding on November15, 1968; construction began in May 1969 starting at Base Line Road (now Ramsayville Road) and proceeding easterly. The segment of this new freeway that linked to the Queensway at The Split was the final one to open, on December2, 1975. The portion of the Queensway west of the new interchange became part of Highway417 by 1980, while the portion to the east remained part of Highway17. Extension of four-laning The portion of Highway17 immediately east of Montreal Road quickly became known for routine fatal accidents. During the course of a 27-month study conducted between 1966 and 1969, 56deaths occurred on what had by then become known as the "killer strip". However, the provincial government was reluctant to upgrade the highway due to the construction of Highway417 between Ottawa and the Quebec boundary, which it expected would handle the majority of traffic. However, despite the completion of Highway417 at the end of 1975, crashes continued to occur on the stretch Highway17 west of Champlain Street, including 132 in 1978,