A direct freeway connection between Highway 401 and the Conestoga was made possible when a new bypass (designated as Highway 7187, but signed with Highway 8 and Highway 401 trailblazers, and later made part of Highway 8) was opened in 1987; it featured a Y-junction with Highway 401 to serve traffic east of that junction. The cloverleaf interchange with the existing Highway 8 had several ramps realigned, and it continues to serve traffic from eastbound Highway 401. However there remains no direct freeway connection to Highway 8 from Highway 401 westbound. Drivers wishing to travel from Kitchener-Waterloo onto Highway 401 Westbound (London) are required to divert onto "old Highway 8", through several sets of traffic lights, causing considerable traffic congestion. To accommodate the increased traffic to/from Highway 7178, the widening of Highway 401 from six to twelve lanes from Highway/Regional Road 8 to Highway/Regional Road 24 was completed in Summer 2019. The second phase of this project is to add direct connections from Highway 401 west of the modified cloverleaf to Highway 7178 via new high-speed flyover ramps crossing a reconfigured Highway 401 and Highway 8 junction (which will also require reconfiguration of Regional Road 38 (Sportsworld Drive) parclo interchange), providing a fully-controlled access route from the Conestoga Parkway to both directions of Highway 401.