Quote:
Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue
If trucks are from Southern Ontario, and if they aren’t going through the states, won’t 69 (400) and 17 (future 417) be shorter in distance? 
I do realize that 17 along Lake Superior Shore has steep grades though. OPP tweets about trucks getting stuck on the highway during winter every now and then. I cruised at 108 kph, and my speedometer read 116 kph down the slope. |
I'm not sure if you have any experience in large rigs, but they have to limit their speed down a grade lest they lose control. They're not 3,000 lb cars with lots of braking capacity.
Other issues:
- Average speed is much lower on grades. Every minute spent chugging up a grade at 30-40 km/h absolutely destroys average travel speed
- Fuel costs and wear and tear. Running up and down leads to heavy fuel consumption and brake usage.
- Weather. Highway 17 runs close to Lake Superior which has all sorts of fun weather come off it, especially in winter. Highway 11 is more inland, which mitigates that problem.
- Distance is irrelevant. The 60 extra kilometers required by using Highway 11 is a tiny price to pay for the much better driving conditions.
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