News   Mar 28, 2024
 657     0 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 458     1 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 780     0 

Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Yep, I have that site bookmarked for whenever I feel nostalgic. :) Wonderful scenic photographs are there, to boot. And he's constantly updating.
 
^That's a part of Canada where there's only one paved road connection between east and west, a fact that has always amazed me. One accident, one road closure and the country is literally cut in half.
 
^That's a part of Canada where there's only one paved road connection between east and west, a fact that has always amazed me. One accident, one road closure and the country is literally cut in half.

Which is why I think this four-laning, where 11 and 17 are multi-plexed between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, makes a lot of sense. The other part that should be a top priority is between Highway 71 near Kenora to the Manitoba border (where 17 becomes 1 and immediately widens to a dual carriageway). At least with a dual carriageway, if there is a calamity, most of the time one side could host traffic in both directions.

I also think Highway 102 should similarly be upgraded and twinned as far as its western terminus and continuing to the 11/17 split west of Thunder Bay, and that become part of the official TCH route.

Interestingly, long-distance truckers doing the all-Canadian route are more likely to take Highway 11 instead of Highway 17. Highway 11, built decades before 17 was completed between Sault Ste. Marie and Nipigon, is a longer drive, but it is flatter and straighter.
 
Last edited:
^That's a part of Canada where there's only one paved road connection between east and west, a fact that has always amazed me. One accident, one road closure and the country is literally cut in half.

For us in southern Ontario, its far faster to travel through the US and go below the Great Lakes to reach western Canada than go above them. The US routes are straight freeways too.
 
For us in southern Ontario, its far faster to travel through the US and go below the Great Lakes to reach western Canada than go above them. The US routes are straight freeways too.
True enough, even though the route through the States is longer, it's still faster. If the Trans-Canada through Northern Ontario is ever fully twinned that won't be the case anymore.

Which is why I think this four-laning, where 11 and 17 are multi-plexed between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, makes a lot of sense. The other part that should be a top priority is between Highway 71 near Kenora to the Manitoba border (where 17 becomes 1 and immediately widens to a dual carriageway). At least with a dual carriageway, if there is a calamity, most of the time one side could host traffic in both directions.

I also think Highway 102 should similarly be upgraded and twinned as far as its western terminus and continuing to the 11/17 split west of Thunder Bay, and that become part of the official TCH route.

Interestingly, long-distance truckers doing the all-Canadian route are more likely to take Highway 11 instead of Highway 17. Highway 11, built decades before 17 was completed between Sault Ste. Marie and Nipigon, is a longer drive, but it is flatter and straighter.
I agree that those stretches should be a priority, but it still seems shortsighted to not have an alternate route. Even a divided highway can be shut down in both directions, like what happened with the 404 a month or two ago.
 
For us in southern Ontario, its far faster to travel through the US and go below the Great Lakes to reach western Canada than go above them. The US routes are straight freeways too.

This is why they need to extend Highway 417 to the Manitoba border (and continue building 400 to Sudbury). There should be viable route for people to drive across Canada.
 
The question is though... where do you put an alternate route. The terrain up there is rough and there is nothing that really sticks out where an alternate route would / could go. And its only a matter of time before the entire thing is twinned, as the government has put in a mandate in 2004 that trans-canada highways should be 4 lane divided highways. Its why highway 1 in BC is getting upgraded. If they can four-lane that.. Northern Ontario is a piece of cake.
 
This is why they need to extend Highway 417 to the Manitoba border (and continue building 400 to Sudbury). There should be viable route for people to drive across Canada.

IIRC there are already plans in the works to twin 17 between Mattawa and North Bay. If that happens, the only gap in Eastern Ontario will be between Arnprior and Renfrew. I've driven from Ottawa to North Bay a few times now, and the stretch between Arnprior and Renfrew is very busy.

Twinning of 17 between Ottawa and North Bay could also be billed as a strategic advantage, because of CFB Petawawa located roughly midway. Having a well connected military base is never a bad thing to have, even if it is for something like a response to a natural disaster.

But yes, Ontario is now the weak link in the Trans-Canada 4-lane system, now that the gap between Autoroute 20 and the QC-NB border has been filled in (which includes a bypass of my favourite town in Canada: St-Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!).
 
IIRC there are already plans in the works to twin 17 between Mattawa and North Bay. If that happens, the only gap in Eastern Ontario will be between Arnprior and Renfrew. I've driven from Ottawa to North Bay a few times now, and the stretch between Arnprior and Renfrew is very busy.

Twinning of 17 between Ottawa and North Bay could also be billed as a strategic advantage, because of CFB Petawawa located roughly midway. Having a well connected military base is never a bad thing to have, even if it is for something like a response to a natural disaster.

But yes, Ontario is now the weak link in the Trans-Canada 4-lane system, now that the gap between Autoroute 20 and the QC-NB border has been filled in (which includes a bypass of my favourite town in Canada: St-Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!).

Autoroute 85 has been completed?

Deep River to North Bay isn't a priority. Just because it isn't part of the TCH, Highway 401 and 400 are dual carriageways and will connect Montreal/Ottawa with Sudbury. I'm okay with completing the twinning of 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury and improving 17 from Sudbury to North Bay, but I don't think twinning 17 between North Bay and Deep River is prudent. Nor twinning 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Nipigon.
 
Autoroute 85 has been completed?

2 small sections still under construction, but by and large the Autoroute 20 to NB border section has been filled in. If it hasn't already been finished, completion is imminent within the next year or two.

Deep River to North Bay isn't a priority. Just because it isn't part of the TCH, Highway 401 and 400 are dual carriageways and will connect Montreal/Ottawa with Sudbury. I'm okay with completing the twinning of 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury and improving 17 from Sudbury to North Bay, but I don't think twinning 17 between North Bay and Deep River is prudent. Nor twinning 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Nipigon.

It seems that the Province is taking a different approach, because Mattawa to North Bay is being planned right now. From Mattawa down to Petawawa, construction will be much more difficult, because of the terrain (very hilly).

I would mainly like to see from Arnprior to Renfew first though, and for that matter, Highway 7 from Carleton Place to Perth (the current 7 alignment is very inefficient, and quite busy).
 
I looked at the Highway 17 twinning near Sault Ste-Marie on Google Streetview, it looks great. If they continue to twin Highway 17 from North Bay to Ottawa, and from Manitoba to Nipigion, it will make a huge difference. That's a huge gap reduced a lot.

I don't think that people from Sudbury should be expected to drive through Toronto to get to Ottawa. Sudbury, Toronto, and Ottawa are all roughly the same distance from each other, almost like an equilateral triangle, so that would be doubling the driving distance. Plus GTA highways have enough cars as is. So just think of the Highway 17 as a Toronto bypass.
 
But yes, Ontario is now the weak link in the Trans-Canada 4-lane system, now that the gap between Autoroute 20 and the QC-NB border has been filled in (which includes a bypass of my favourite town in Canada: St-Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!).

Ontario's highway system is a paradox. Ontario is the most populous province with the most freeways by far, yet it has the longest quite stretch of two-lane highway on the TCH almost all the way across it.
 
Ontario's highway system is a paradox. Ontario is the most populous province with the most freeways by far, yet it has the longest quite stretch of two-lane highway on the TCH almost all the way across it.

In some ways, the Quebec system is more impressive - the unique Interstate-style numbering and shields, the fact that there's two freeways between Montreal and Quebec City, the number of urban and suburban spur and loop freeways (which isn't a good thing, just interesting). With the completion of Autoroute 85 to New Brunswick and (later) Autoroute 35 to Interstate 89 in Vermont, pretty much everything will be covered. The completion of the four-lane Route 175 to Chicoutimi is their equivalent to Highway 11 to North Bay.

I've also liked the Nova Scotia 100-series highway system. It covers the whole province, 4-lane freeway when necessary, but not necessarily four-lane freeway, but high-quality, limited access roads everywhere. BC's system might be the worst - low quality freeways, unfinished links and missing connections.
 

Back
Top