construction. On May 15, 1964, the majority of the third phase was ceremonially opened, completing the Carling Avenue interchange and extending the freeway as far as Bronson Avenue. Several months later, on September 17 the short but complicated section east to O'Connor Street was opened. This left only phase four, the central section of the Queensway, which was opened in three segments. On November 26, 1965, the structures over the Rideau Canal were opened to traffic. At the same time, the westbound lanes of the Queensway were extended to Concord Street, located west of the Nicholas Street interchange. The interchange opened on January 1, 1966, allowing travel in both directions over the canal. The final segment, linking the two section of the Queensway, was placed into service on October 28, 1966. Following this, the Highway 17 designation was applied along the Queensway and the old routing renumbered as Highway 17B. New freeway Planning was underway on a new freeway, Highway 417, that would run east of Ottawa from the Queensway, connecting with A-40 to provide a high-speed route to Montreal. Highway 17, closely following the shore of the Ottawa River as it meanders towards Pointe-Fortune, was dangerous, narrow, and accident prone, earning it the nickname of "the killer strip". The awarding of the 1976 Summer Olympics to Montreal on May 12, 1970 resulted in an accelerated construction schedule due to the anticipated high volume of traffic that would be travelling the corridor between Ottawa and Montreal during the games. Contracts to construct the new route were opened to bidding on November 15, 1968; construction began in May 1969 starting at Base Line Road (now Ramsayville Road) and proceeding easterly. The new freeway was built under a continuous construction program over the following 6 years, opening progressively as each segment of roadway was completed. The first segment, from Ramsayville Road to Rockdale Road, near Vars, opened on September 21, 1972. By the end of that month, the easternmost of Highway 17 had been converted into a divided freeway, and construction was progressing on the remainder of the route. On October 1, 1973, a section of freeway opened between Vars and Limoges. On July 15, 1974, Minister of Transportation and Communications John Rhodes ceremonially opened the next section of Highway 417, between Limoges Road and Highland Road. The section between Highland Road and Highway 17 opened on November 8, 1974, connecting with