Northern Ontario Highways - Proposals

[ShonTron]

The TCH was a federal funding scheme for provincial projects along a prescribed corridor(s). Most importantly, a high-quality road was completed through the Rockies for the first time, but it also funded the completion of Highway 17 between Nipigon and Sault Ste. Marie (Highway 11 was completed first), the construction of several bypasses along Highways 7, 11 and 17 through northern, central, and eastern Ontario, the completion of Highway 69 south of MacTier (originally Highway 103), and in Quebec, the money went towards upgrading its highways and some of the pre-autoroute divided highways.

The only truly original parts of the TCH were in Newfoundland, Alberta, and BC, the rest were upgrades, bypasses, re-routings, or the federal-backed acceleration of existing highway projects.

 

[Kitsune]

I've never quite been certain what the "original goal" of the TCH was. Nation building? A guise to move some federal money to provinces? Other than probably some connecting links, I'm not sure if any highway was actually constructed; it followed existing provincial routes. I don't know about the other provinces but the new routing through New Brunswick was only possible through a big pile of federal money. That's the same reason the final stretch through Quebec has been so long coming. Successive governments have argued it benefits the ROC more than Quebecers so the feds should pay for most of it. In Ontario, it doesn't even pass through Toronto although I'm sure that matters.

I will argue that the "fastest" route to the Maritimes was through the US; certainly since the 1960s when Quebec 20 was built. We used to visit relatives near Shelburne NS and I have been down east several times on vacation - both ways. A US route might be shorter, they are certainly not faster.

.. Highway 17 in Ontario was laregly constructed (I know the Nipigon to SSM portion was atleast) due to the federal money from the TCH. Highway 1 and 16 in BC was also a TCH Route (before that Highway 3 / the Crowsnest Highway was the main route between Alberta and BC) and is why the Coquihalla did not inherit the TCH designation when it was constructed - it was entire provincial money and a required a toll. I'm sure there are other examples.