Ontario Highways

[jammer139]

Province looking to move ahead for 4 laning the final stretch of Hwy 69.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/article/ford-vows-to-4-lane-final-stretch-of-hwy-69/

[BorealLynx]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Province looking to move ahead for 4 laning the final stretch of Hwy 69.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/article/ford-vows-to-4-lane-final-stretch-of-hwy-69/

I wonder if they'll approach this as a "400"-style freeway and do full interchanges all the way along this span, or if they will stage it and start with just the twinning, with at-grade intersections for the near future? It would make a lot of sense from a National Highways perspective to have the 400 free-flowing all the way from Toronto to Sudbury.

[Dengler Avenue]

MTO’s big on design consistency, so the twinned portion of 69 will be grade-separated right from the get-go.

[Innsertnamehere]

The intent is for Hwy 400 to extend to Sudbury once it's all completed and the Hwy 69 designation dropped entirely, so it will be built to a 400-series standard.

[SteelTown]

Ford government studied, shelved Hwy. 401 tunnel research in 2021
Ontario conducted an unreleased feasibility study, internal documents show

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-highway-401-tunnel-1.7598601

The Ford government studied tunneling under Highway 401 to relieve congestion but quietly shelved the unreleased work in 2021, years before Premier Doug Ford announced his controversial plan for the mega-project in 2024.

Those findings are in documents obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request. The briefing notes for senior government officials, dated Feb. 19, 2025, lay out the history of work on the controversial proposal that Ford first floated publicly last year.

"The project was paused in late 2021 based on government direction," civil servants wrote in the briefing note.

"The planning study was not advertised, and no additional work has occurred on the project."

Ford's plan would see the tunnel built from Mississauga in the west to Scarborough in the east. In April, the government began the process of finding a firm to complete a new feasibility study into tunneling or building an elevated expressway above the current highway. That study isn't expected to be completed until 2027.

[haljackey]

I am heading from London to Nipigon later this month. 4 routes to possibly take, but can only choose 1 way there, one back.

I have never gone this far north before. What routes do you think are the best and what's worth stopping at on the way?

1- Trumpistan/Mackinac Bridge
2- Manitoulin Island Ferry
3- Hwy 400/69
4- Hwy 11 (end of civilization)

[haljackey]

Somehow double posted by mistake. Mods please delete this message

[Dengler Avenue]

Nipigon? That’s it? Not T Bay??
Maybe take the U.S. route and let us know if it’s easy to cross the border like that with a Canadian passport.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Nipigon? That’s it? Not T Bay??
Maybe take the U.S. route and let us know if it’s easy to cross the border like that with a Canadian passport.

Visiting a buddy in Nipigon. We will do a day trip to Thunder Bay for sure- want to check out the Terry Fox statue on the way.

Going through 'Murica is the fastest but with all the Anti-US stuff as of late, feeling a little bad if I go this way. If I do it would be no commerce- just use their freeways with a quick meal/gas stop somewhere. That's it.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Visiting a buddy in Nipigon. We will do a day trip to Thunder Bay for sure- want to check out the Terry Fox statue on the way.

Going through 'Murica is the fastest but with all the Anti-US stuff as of late, feeling a little bad if I go this way. If I do it would be no commerce- just use their freeways with a quick meal/gas stop somewhere. That's it.

Be sure to take pictures of the current twinning work between Nipigon and T Bay and share with us.
If you gas up at Sarnia, is it possible to not get gas again until you get back into SSM, Ontario?
For food, I’m sure that London has lots of options for snacks that you can bring on your trip.

[Innsertnamehere]

Do Mackinac one way and take 6 across Manitoulin and the Chi-Cheemaun ferry the other. If you are going to do the scenic route, do the scenic route.

Going through Michigan is not only a lot faster but better scenery, and besides, you are only driving through and not really spending money there. I don't see a big deal with it.

I've long wanted to do the loop of up I-75 and down the Canadian side, but have never gotten around to it. It should be nice!

[ScreamingViking]

I-75 through Michigan's lower peninsula is very unremarkable and boring. The upper peninsula is much more scenic. I think the Ontario routes are far more beautiful, even striking in places... for any road trips I'd prioritize them for prime daylight travel (and while it's nice to do a circular route, personally I don't mind seeing the same things twice from two directions, so I'd not be reticent taking Hwy 17 there and back).

I am curious about doing a circle around Lake Superior some day though, through upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

[jammer139]

Cost of new Highway 7 soars past $1B, replacement of Kitchener bridge won’t happen until at least 2026

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...ffd8a76-35b5-52b2-ae14-58a1f090f2a0.html

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Visiting a buddy in Nipigon. We will do a day trip to Thunder Bay for sure- want to check out the Terry Fox statue on the way.

Going through 'Murica is the fastest but with all the Anti-US stuff as of late, feeling a little bad if I go this way. If I do it would be no commerce- just use their freeways with a quick meal/gas stop somewhere. That's it.

I've been on all of the highways in both Ontario and Michigan. Normally faster to go through Michigan up to the Sault but I myself wouldn't do it these days.

I'm not sure if you're looking for scenery or simply the fastest way. Lake Superior is simply amazing so you can't miss any part along it. Hwy 11 is the route most transport trucks take so I'm not a big fan but I still love the flat stretch of wilderness between Hearst and Longlac. You could do Hwy 129 one way as it's a fun drive and the King's highway that is more like a secondary one.

BTW, make sure you learn how to pronounce "Nipigon" properly! Hint: the ending doesn't sound like "gone."

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Loco101

You could do Hwy 129 one way as it's a fun drive and the King's highway that is more like a secondary one.

129 is a gorgeous drive. I've only experienced the southern portion as far as Aubrey Falls, and that was a long time ago, but it's quite beautiful.

My family used to have a cottage on Tunnel Lake. Grandparents drove up from Windsor through Michigan, but for us in Hamilton we took 400/69/17 and it was faster to take the secondary highways from Iron Bridge towards Hwy 129 (546/554) but as a kid I think I memorized every turn and hill of 129; Thessalon was our main spot for groceries and a laundromat.

What's the highway between Chapleau (Devon actually) and 17 like? (101 to Wawa)

[Djeffery]

I wouldn't hesitate to take the US route for that. Hours difference, sorry Ontario. I would also have no worries about being Canadian in the US. I crossed the border 3 times in the last 2 weeks on my Alaska cruise, no issues at the border any time (Pearson pre-clearance, Klondike Highway in Skagway Alaska and Port of San Francisco). Pearson was the only time they even looked at our passports. Every American we ran into while I had my Toronto Blue Jays shirt on were friendly as ever, and since Porter airlines lost half my luggage, that shirt got a lot of extra wear lol.

I got a bit of grief from a couple friends for having the gall to go to the US during these "boycott times" but I don't care. Trump has taken enough headspace over the years, this was a dream trip my wife and I planned for 30 years and tomorrow is never a guarantee. So, I would give no thought whatsoever for using the US as a transit point for getting from A-B.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Be sure to take pictures of the current twinning work between Nipigon and T Bay and share with us.
If you gas up at Sarnia, is it possible to not get gas again until you get back into SSM, Ontario?
For food, I’m sure that London has lots of options for snacks that you can bring on your trip.

For a real-time update on the twinning between TB and Nipigon, check out this trucker's You Tube channel. The driver is taking a load from Vancouver to Toronto and today's (August 23rd) drive was from Thunder Bay to Parry Sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys4lvQsHO5Y

The first 70 minutes of the video is the drive from TB to Nipigon.

[sonysnob]

View of the 400 looking south from the King Road overpass near King City:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_400_images/400_cl_43_south_Aug25_42x28.jpg

[Innsertnamehere]

So odd seeing the 400 actually widened, even if it's only for a small section. Now if MTO could get funding for more of it.. Preferably through Barrie next.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Be sure to take pictures of the current twinning work between Nipigon and T Bay and share with us.

I only took a few- here's one as a passenger in the car- bud from Nipigon drove it.

It was my first time driving in Ontario north of Sault St. Marie. Us 'southerners' really don't understand just how rugged it is 'up' here. It's almost mountainous in areas. I can see why there's a push to split Ontario up into two provinces as geographically speaking there's a much larger contrast than I thought.


Full size- https://i.imgur.com/NN71CZo.jpeg

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I-75 through Michigan's lower peninsula is very unremarkable and boring. The upper peninsula is much more scenic. I think the Ontario routes are far more beautiful, even striking in places... for any road trips I'd prioritize them for prime daylight travel (and while it's nice to do a circular route, personally I don't mind seeing the same things twice from two directions, so I'd not be reticent taking Hwy 17 there and back).

I am curious about doing a circle around Lake Superior some day though, through upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

So I beg to differ. I-75 was fine in the lower pen but past the Mighty Mac I-75 is very boring. Also when driving up the temp and traffic dropped considerably after leaving the exits for Mackinac Island.

I did the majority of the Lake Superior Circle Tour during my visit as we went to visit Minneapolis together. So did I-75, Hwy 17, then Hwy 61 (both Ontario and Minnesota) and I-35 once hitting Duluth. Hwy 61 in Minnesota features a couple tunnels to get around the more difficult terrain around the lake vs the rock blasting we do in Ontario. Those were pretty cool, but the lack of passing lanes in Minnesota made it a frustrating drive especially on the way back with more Labour Day traffic. I think there were only a couple short stretches before the highway twinned approaching Duluth. Really appreciate that we have a good amount of passing sections on the Ontario side.