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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

ericmacm said:
Stumbled across a major project currently in planning for HWY 61 in Thunder Bay. Based on the history on the MTO project site, the first PIC for this project was slated to happen in 2017, but was put on ice until around 2021. The second PIC just occurred just over a week ago on October 5, 2023 and shows that MTO is planning for an upgrade of HWY 61 to a freeway standard from Thunder Bay International Airport (Princess Street) to Chippewa Street. This follows another MTO study that was concluded in 2017 for a full grade separation of the Thunder Bay Expressway. The website is gone now but fortunately for us, there are still documents available in the Wayback Machine that I was able to find again. Combined, these projects result in approximately 17km of continuous new freeway planned in Thunder Bay.

I am suspecting that the HWY 61 project got started back up again due to the Critical Minerals/EV push in Northern Ontario. The Thunder Bay Expressway study did finish up and a full TESR report was produced, so in theory, there wouldn’t be many obstacles to starting that portion of the project in the near future, aside from political priorities and funding.

HWY 61 Documents:
View attachment 513217View attachment 513218View attachment 513219View attachment 513220View attachment 513221View attachment 513222View attachment 513223View attachment 513224


Thunder Bay Expressway Documents:

View attachment 513240
View attachment 513241
View attachment 513242
View attachment 513243
View attachment 513244
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how much recent mineral exploration activity plays into this but you could be right. The Hwy 61 approach into the city has always been a bit convoluted, and the "Expressway" has always struck me as a very much non-express expressway. Kinda like the Hwy 17 Sudbury bypass(es). The one element that is sorely needed is an improved interchange at Hwy 102 which carries much of the E-W transport traffic.
 
.. an interchange period... or alternatively a new road that bypasses the all the urban dev of highway 102.. and a interchange where highway 102 meets 17/11 too. I'm always surprised Highway 102 is just not resigned 17/11. Atleast the Highway 17 bypass in Sudbury has multiple interchanges, while Thunder Bay ... has one I believe. Further .. likely what there doing is a simple exercise to protect the corridors and start property purchases with zero plans to actually build it in the near to medium term future. Similar thing has been done with 17 from the 417 to Sault Ste Marie in the early 2010s.
 
Kitsune said:
.. an interchange period... or alternatively a new road that bypasses the all the urban dev of highway 102.. and a interchange where highway 102 meets 17/11 too. I'm always surprised Highway 102 is just not resigned 17/11. Atleast the Highway 17 bypass in Sudbury has multiple interchanges, while Thunder Bay ... has one I believe. Further .. likely what there doing is a simple exercise to protect the corridors and start property purchases with zero plans to actually build it in the near to medium term future. Similar thing has been done with 17 from the 417 to Sault Ste Marie in the early 2010s.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of the Sudbury by-pass section between Mikkola and Nickle Centre (s/e and s/w bypass).

Can you point to any actual planning docs for 17 between 417 and the Soo. I'd be interested in seeing that. Getting around North Bay alone would be a big project.
 
lenaitch said:
I was thinking of the Sudbury by-pass section between Mikkola and Nickle Centre (s/e and s/w bypass).

Can you point to any actual planning docs for 17 between 417 and the Soo. I'd be interested in seeing that. Getting around North Bay alone would be a big project.
Click to expand...
The plan is that 11 will be upgraded to a freeway through NB, so no bypass needed.
 
Square_Clock said:
The green space kinda disappears does anyone know the full route through northbay
Click to expand...
It bypasses east of the existing 11 before connecting back to the existing alignment around O’Brien street. West of there the plan is to use the existing alignment through the city, much like the Thunder Bay Expressway upgrade.

In terms of when it happens - who knows. MTO does these studies sometimes decades before they intend to build the project (some times longer) to protect the land for it. MTO has land for projects they haven’t built that they purchased in the 1930’s in some cases.. so some times it can sit a longggg time without happening. North Bay isn’t growing particularly quickly either so I doubt the freeway upgrade is a particular priority.
 
... the issue with North Bay is that section between the two Highway 11 / 17 mergers can get quite busy with the mixing of long distance and local traffic, also local council has been asking for years to grade separate the ontario northland crossing. I suspect the new build section is going to be done years/decades in advance of the other half.
 

MTO's permit control area mapping works well to show future highway corridors that MTO is protecting for.

You can sort of see the alignment of 11/17 through North Bay:

MTO 11.png


You can also see where 17 will eventually travel east of North Bay once it's (at some point) upgraded to a full freeway:

1697568926028.png


How the 417 once extended to Petawawa will go around the east side of Muskrat Lake:

1697568968044.png




The eventual realignment of Hwy 3 around Dunnville:

1697569023115.png


The eventual extension of the Hwy 6 freeway to the Caledonia Bypass south of Hamilton:

1697569132522.png


Etc. A bunch more on there if you look. Also a few missing from it that I know MTO has completed studies on, like the 7/8 upgrade from Hamburg to Stratford.
 
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innsertnamehere said:

MTO's permit control area mapping works well to show future highway corridors that MTO is protecting for.

You can sort of see the alignment of 11/17 through North Bay:

View attachment 513718

You can also see where 17 will eventually travel east of North Bay once it's (at some point) upgraded to a full freeway:

View attachment 513719

How the 417 once extended to Petawawa will go around the east side of Muskrat Lake:

View attachment 513720



The eventual realignment of Hwy 3 around Dunnville:

View attachment 513721

The eventual extension of the Hwy 6 freeway to the Caledonia Bypass south of Hamilton:

View attachment 513723

Etc. A bunch more on there if you look. Also a few missing from it that I know MTO has completed studies on, like the 7/8 upgrade from Hamburg to Stratford.
Click to expand...
Very interesting link. Thank you!
 
innsertnamehere said:

MTO's permit control area mapping works well to show future highway corridors that MTO is protecting for.

You can sort of see the alignment of 11/17 through North Bay:

View attachment 513718

You can also see where 17 will eventually travel east of North Bay once it's (at some point) upgraded to a full freeway:

View attachment 513719

How the 417 once extended to Petawawa will go around the east side of Muskrat Lake:

View attachment 513720



The eventual realignment of Hwy 3 around Dunnville:

View attachment 513721

The eventual extension of the Hwy 6 freeway to the Caledonia Bypass south of Hamilton:

View attachment 513723

Etc. A bunch more on there if you look. Also a few missing from it that I know MTO has completed studies on, like the 7/8 upgrade from Hamburg to Stratford.
Click to expand...

... that is great resource. There is also some things that have been abandoned that are still shown (such as the 1970s era iirc highway 69 connection to the highway 17 bypass in Sudbury through what is now a provincial park). Also .. woah .. there is a highway 17 bypass protected around Dryden (and one for 594 too) 🤯

1697653387091.png
 
Anyone know what's going on with the 427 overpass over the CP Galt sub (Near Sherway Gardens). There's a pile driver and other equipment set up.
 
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