Highways in Canada

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by SOSS

I think it's funny how these concept videos always show such low vehicle counts and transport truck counts yet high pedestrian counts.

So what portion of this project is being funded locally, provincially and federally?

It's a Federal bridge, there will be a toll on the new bridge.

[craner]

Very cool bridge.
Why is it a federal only project?

[Metro-One]

This debate is going to hurt, but I wish the feds owned the massey tunnel in Vancouver

It will have a toll though, so not really that big of a problem.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by craner

Very cool bridge.
Why is it a federal only project?

The St Lawrence Seaway Authority is a federal crown corporation.

The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (The Corporation) is a crown corporation reporting to Infrastructure Canada.

it's the busiest bridge in Canada, with more than 200,000 vehicles per day.

[middeljohn]

It was a beautiful 12C and sunny today in Munich.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

It was a beautiful 12C and sunny today in Munich.

Wrong thread maybe?

[sonysnob]

Some new photos of the recently twinned portion of Hwy 11/17 east of Thunder Bay:









http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_11_images/Hwy11_p5b_images.htm

[FrAnKs]

Very nice !

Remind me of Route 175

[1overcosc]

Where exactly is that twinning?

I've heard there's funding from the MTO to twin the entire 11/17 interline section from Thunder Bay to Nipigon, that true?

[SOSS]

Very similar topography to the Calgary-Lake Louise corridor.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Where exactly is that twinning?

I've heard there's funding from the MTO to twin the entire 11/17 interline section from Thunder Bay to Nipigon, that true?

So far about 30 km are twinned from the Hodder Avenue interchange in Thunder Bay, easterly.

In addition to the cable-stayed Nipigon River Bridge that is under construction right now, some twinning work is ongoing at the Nipigon end as well.

The current government has committed to twinning the entire portion of Hwy 11/17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, but like the work underway between Parry Sound and Sudbury along Highway 69, it will be a decades long project.

[Innsertnamehere]

^69 you mean?

Any word on 69 work anyway? It seems to be progressing much, much slower than originally planned. They should be issuing additional contracts for that soon, right?

[FrAnKs]

A20 east

• Video Link

[sonysnob]

^ There are still two contracts that a chugging along. ~15km of new four lane will open in 2015, and another ~10km will open in 2016. I expect a contract for another ~10km to be called either late in 2015 or early in 2016 to continue the four lane southerly across the French River. Certainly though the highway will not be completed by 2017 as had been previously stated. A completion date in the early 2020's is more likely.

I am not certain what the hold up is at the Nobel end of the project, but I think the province may have run into some roadblocks negotiating with first nations for the land required for the new highway.

[1overcosc]

From what I gather most of the annoying/dangerous/slow sections of Highway 69 have already been twinned, and the areas that are still 2 lane are the ones that function well at 2 lanes, which gives a lot less urgency to completing the freeway.

[eternallyme]

I believe disputes with First Nations are slowing down 69.

As for the newly twinned sections near Thunder Bay, I think the speed limit needs to be increased to 100 km/h from Balsam Street to the eastern end of the twinning.

[vid]

Northern Ontario isn't allowed to have speed limits above 90km/h. They're letting us build roundabouts now though!

In addition to the highway twinning from Thunder Bay to Nipigon, the Thunder Bay Expressway is in the planning stages of being turned into a grade separated freeway for its entire length (connecting our airport to the twinned portion) which will begin work in 2018, and the highway west of Thunder Bay from the Thunder Bay Expressway to the place where 11 and 17 split back up, is also in a study phase for twinning to take place once the stretch east of the city is completed.

So by 2050, or thereabouts, Highway 11/17 from Nipigon to Shabaqua will be twinned, with a grade-separated spur connecting that to our airport, and potentially an additional freeway spur connecting to the city's largest shopping district (that road already exists and has the space reserved for interchanges, it simply needs funding; it's a city-owned road).

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

The current government has committed to twinning the entire portion of Hwy 11/17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, but like the work underway between Parry Sound and Sudbury along Highway 69, it will be a decades long project.

When the Ontario government says their committed to this twinning project, is that like the BC Liberals saying their committed to 4-laning the Transcanada from Kamloops to the Alberta border? The Liberals have done some upgrades to bridges and such but outside of some signage (put up before the last election) nothing has been announced for a long time.

[vid]

Green = Completed
Orange = Currently under construction
Blue = proposed or planning

They're fairly committed. Everything on this map is actively being studied. I am not entirely sure where they are on the Pass Lake to Red Rock portion, I am pretty sure it is in the planning stages and they will build it in phases over the next 5 to 10 years. (Or they intend to.)

The light blue portion west of the city is currently in the feasibility/land acquisition stage. There are a couple dozen route options between Thunder Bay and Shabaqua, but the province has to secure the land to build a highway there. All of the land west of the city is privately owned, while the land to the east is largely crown land, and there is less traffic on the western stretch, so it is a lower priority.

The Thunder Bay Expressway freeway conversion is currently in the interchange design stage, and they will be publishing the interchange designs in the coming months. Once the designs are approved, they'll go into detailed work for construction to begin in 2018 at the latest. It will progress in phases over about 6 years, working east to west in the city. The PCs cancelled this project once before, in 1995, so the planning process will go very quick as they simply have to update plans that already exist to reflect changes along the highway over the past 20 years (and there haven't been too many). We just have to hope that the PCs don't get elected in 2018 and cancel it a second time...

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by SOSS

When the Ontario government says their committed to this twinning project, is that like the BC Liberals saying their committed to 4-laning the Transcanada from Kamloops to the Alberta border? The Liberals have done some upgrades to bridges and such but outside of some signage (put up before the last election) nothing has been announced for a long time.

Not from my understanding, the funding is secured to construct it here.

I wasn't aware MTO had the funding to make the Thunder Bay expressway an actual expressway... Do you have a source on that?