inadequate, and protests grew more vocal over the following week. Several petitions were presented to Deputy Highway Minister H. Howden on August26, and the ceremonies were cancelled. Over the following week, Minister of Highways George Gomme met with residents and reached a compromise whereby a 24-hour patrol was established to watch for children until a proper fence could be constructed. The route was opened on September3, without any ceremony. This completed the Hamilton section of Highway403. Mississauga Planning for the segment of Highway403 through Mississauga dates to the late 1950s when the Hamilton Expressway appeared on the Metropolitan Toronto's regional transportation plan. It was to be a continuation of the Richview Expressway, which was ultimately never built, continuing from Toronto to Hamilton. The plan featured the expressway's eastern terminus at the Highway401 and Highway427 interchange. As Toronto's anti-expressway movement gained momentum, provincial plans shifted the Hamilton Expressway to the west near Etobicoke Creek. In 1962, the right-of-way alongside the hydro corridor between Burlington and Etobicoke Creek was protected after traffic studies indicated the need for a future freeway. On May25, 1965, the Department of Highways unveiled the Toronto Region Western Section Highway Planning Study. The plan designated Highway403 north from Burlington and then parallel with the QEW to Highway401 near Highway27. By the time construction was actually underway, plans had been completely modified to connect the overburdened QEW at Oakville with Highway401 at the new Highway410 interchange. This interchange was a better connection point for Highway403, but would also require the widening of Highway401 from six lanes to twelve. Plans were submitted and approved in December 1977 by Mississauga city council, and construction began. The new freeway opened in sections during the early 1980s. The first section between Cawthra Road and Highway401 was opened August18, 1980. This was followed by a short section from Highway 5 (Dundas Street) south to the QEW at Ford Drive, which opened in mid-1981, with a further extension to Erin Mills Parkway opening on November17th of that year. The final section to be opened took the longest to complete, involving construction of two bridges over the Credit River valley; it opened on December2, 1982. The cost of the entire Mississauga segment was $87 million. Around the same period, the Ministry of Transportation began to study upgrading Highway401 to a collector–express system between Renforth Drive and Highway403, and along Highway403 between Highway401 and Highway10 (Hurontario Street).