Editing Hanlon Expressway (section)

== Route description ==
[[File:Hanlon Parkway interchange.png|thumb|left|Wellington Street interchange facing east. [[Ontario Highway 7|Highway&nbsp;7]] and former [[Ontario Highway 24|Highway&nbsp;24]] travel into the distance; [[Ontario Highway 6|Highway&nbsp;6]] travels south ''(right)''; former Highway&nbsp;24 travels west ''(down)''; and Highway&nbsp;6 and 7 travel north ''(left)''.]]
[[File:Highway 6 from above.jpg|thumb|right|The Hanlon Expressway features at-grade intersections, with the exception of the Wellington Street and Laird Road interchanges, .]]
The Hanlon Expressway begins at a [[trumpet interchange]] with Highway&nbsp;401 (from Highway&nbsp;401 the on-ramps sign the Hanlon as "Highway&nbsp;6 North", whereas the other section of Highway&nbsp;6 along Brock Road is signed as "Highway&nbsp;6 South"). The Hanlon Expressway cuts through several farms northward before curving slightly westward to follow along the west side of the [[right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] of Hanlon Road. The Hanlon is graded and landscaped similarly to a rural freeway, with broad flat shoulders and an open median.

It enters Guelph at Maltby Road, skirting the outskirts of urban development. At the Laird Road interchange, opened in late 2013, the expressway encounters the Hanlon Creek Business Park.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Interchange Now Open
 |author       = Staff
 |publisher    = Guelph Economic Development – City of Guelph
 |date         = December 12, 2013
 |url          = http://guelph.ca/hanloncreek/?p=834
 |access-date   = December 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20131214044102/http://guelph.ca/hanloncreek/?p=834
 |archive-date = December 14, 2013
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Laird">{{cite web
 |title        = City and MTO Officially Open Hanlon Expressway/Laird Road Provincial Interchange
 |first1       = Peter
 |last1        = Cartwright
 |first2       = Rajan
 |last2        = Philips
 |publisher    = City of Guelph
 |date         = November 29, 2013
 |url          = http://guelph.ca/2013/11/city-mto-officially-open-hanlon-expresswaylaird-road-provincial-interchange/
 |access-date   = December 14, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20131206151146/http://guelph.ca/2013/11/city-mto-officially-open-hanlon-expresswaylaird-road-provincial-interchange/
 |archive-date = December 6, 2013
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>
As it progresses into residential subdivisions, the Hanlon Expressway encounters an at-grade intersection, with Downey Road travelling to the west and Kortright Road West to the east. Continuing north, the route crosses to the east side of the Hanlon Road right-of-way as it intersects Stone Road West to the west of the [[Stone Road Mall]]. Before crossing the [[Speed River (Ontario)|Speed River]], the expressway meets College Avenue West, an at-grade intersection at the southwest corner of [[Centennial Park Arena]].<ref name="gmaps">{{Google maps

 | title      = Hanlon Expressway – Length and route
 | url        = https://www.google.com/maps?q=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title%3DTemplate:Attached_KML/Hanlon_Expressway%26action%3Draw&t=h&z=12
 | access-date = December 14, 2013}}</ref>

The Hanlon Expressway crosses the Speed River as it swerves to the west and meets Wellington Street,<ref name="gmaps" /> the only other interchange along the route.<ref name="Laird" /> To the east, Wellington Road is Highway&nbsp;7, which follows the Hanlon Expressway north from the interchange; to the west it was formerly [[Ontario Highway 24|Highway&nbsp;24]]. North of the Wellington Road the expressway was built slightly west of what is now Silvercreek Parkway. It passes beneath the a line of the [[Goderich–Exeter Railway]], a sideline of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], before encountering three at-grade intersections: Paisley Road, Willow Road and Speedvale Avenue West. This section also features two at-grade rail crossings. Shortly thereafter, it ends at Woodlawn Road West; Highway&nbsp;6 travels east from this point while Highway&nbsp;7 travels west.<ref name="gmaps" />

The road, like with nearby [[Hanlon Creek]], is named after Felix Hanlon, one of the men who cut the first tree in Guelph along with [[John Galt (novelist)|John Galt]]. He was one of the original settlers in the area, and his family eventually deeded their land to the city.<ref name="hanlon" />