If cost of twinning 17 all the way is much much greater than twinning 17 from Manitoba to Nipigon and from SSM to McNab Braeside and 11 from Nipigon to North Bay, then I suppose I would have gone with the latter option too. (Or, at the very least, extend the 417 to NW of Espanola, because truck traffic from there to Sudbury is heavy even on a Saturday evening.) Regardless, though, we are talking about an upward of $20B here.
In order to keep the price tag low, people must not delay the work or play politics.
I do admit that 11 only has 317 km through the rocks (164 km from Nipigon to Beardmore or Geraldton, I don't remember which one, and 153 km from North Bay to New Liskeard) while 17 has 587 km (from Nipigon to SSM).
Furthermore, roads going to James Bay and Ring of Fire will start at the 11. Most importantly, though, people living in the real north will be happy to see a decrease in food price.
(Oh, did I mention that the surrounding of 11 is not as environmentally sensitive as that of 17? I'm always scared of that one leak from a truck along Lake Superior Shore that will wreck the whole lake, especially given the quality of certain Ontario truck drivers. The last thing I want is them wreaking havoc on the future trans-canada freeway yo.)
If Queens Park's ever serious about linking Canada with a freeway, deciding which route will definitely spark a fierce debate.
Ps: What a dream/joke right lol? I really wonder what kind of government it will take to make that happen. In addition, this will require both the power that be, and the opposition, to be unanimous.