TCH east of Nipigon (La route transcanadienne à l'est de Nipigon)

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Detour via 41 -> 60 -> 11.

Update at 7:30 pm: Alternating traffic right now.

Update at 9:25 pm: It’s closed again. Detour in effect.

I have been hearing going east, you get stopped in Mattawa, and it will be closed or the rest of the night.

Also, 69 around Key River has a forest fire and they advise drivers to expect smoke.

We really need a day of rain with no lightning.

[Dengler Avenue]

Is this the first year where mountain fires in ontario are closing highways??

I thought it’d only be a BC thing but now it’s effecting Ontario too.

And yes 17’s closed between Matawa and Bisett Creek.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Is this the first year where mountain fires in ontario are closing highways??

Can't be, it's clearly an annual risk in many parts of the north (and probably in regions considered "south" too). In fact I recall seeing video of a fire sweeping across a [closed] N.Ontario highway in the recent past, perhaps posted here on this site.

[Dengler Avenue]

Highway 11 remains closed 5 km west of Longlac due to a collision. Detour via the backroad around Longlac.

Also mods can you change the thread's name to Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario?

[vid]

Forest fires have closed the highway many times, the largest in my memory was the one near White River in 1999. The highway was closed for a couple days due to that one. There was another fire in Beardmore in 1999 that closed Highway 11.

I just looked them up, and the White River fire was May 3rd 1999 and the Beardmore fire was May 5th, so it's quite likely that both fires closed both highways at the same time, too. 1999 was a really violent year for both forest fires and thunderstorms in Northern Ontario.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by vid

Forest fires have closed the highway many times, the largest in my memory was the one near White River in 1999. The highway was closed for a couple days due to that one. There was another fire in Beardmore in 1999 that closed Highway 11.

I just looked them up, and the White River fire was May 3rd 1999 and the Beardmore fire was May 5th, so it's quite likely that both fires closed both highways at the same time, too. 1999 was a really violent year for both forest fires and thunderstorms in Northern Ontario.

That really must have sucked for cross-country traffic...

(I don't know what else to say, really...)

[vid]

It really sucked for the people stuck on the side of the closure that didn't have a town.

[F. Lionel]

Originally Posted by vid

Forest fires have closed the highway many times, the largest in my memory was the one near White River in 1999. The highway was closed for a couple days due to that one. There was another fire in Beardmore in 1999 that closed Highway 11.

I just looked them up, and the White River fire was May 3rd 1999 and the Beardmore fire was May 5th, so it's quite likely that both fires closed both highways at the same time, too. 1999 was a really violent year for both forest fires and thunderstorms in Northern Ontario.

The largest fire in my memory happened in the west along 17 between Vermillion Bay and Kenora, in the area of Willard Lake. It was around 25 years ago now so you can barely see the remains anymore but for years the highway went straight through the heart of the burnt area and the landscape was fairly desolate. It's been interesting to see the area regenerate itself and trying to put it into context of my life has made me realize how old I've become.

[Dengler Avenue]

By the way, if you guys ever upload a picture of your own, how do you do it here? I wanna draw something and show you guys one of these days.

[vid]

I upload them to imgur.com, it's quick and easy.

[Dengler Avenue]

https://twitter.com/opp_comm_nwr/status/1024126690107301889?s=21

The news was published at 11 am: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/ignace-fatal-crash-1.4768217.

[Dengler Avenue]

It’s been a while, but any progress on Nipigon Bridge? Has there ever been another closure due to structural defect since late May?

(The lack of oversight is real.)

[vid]

As far as I know, there have been no issues since then.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

It’s been a while, but any progress on Nipigon Bridge? Has there ever been another closure due to structural defect since late May?

(The lack of oversight is real.)

Calling the incident that occurred on the bridge in May a failure is an overstatement. The expansion joints on the bridge have not been permanently installed. The bridge currently has an exposed concrete deck. It will be overlayed with asphalt once all of the deck segments have been installed. At that time the expansion joints will be permanently set. The media jumped to conclusions when the pictures of the raised expansion joint surfaced in May, but it isn’t actually that noteworthy of an event to have some surface deflection of a temporarily installed expansion joint.

When I was last there in June, there were only two deck segments left to install on the east side of the southern span. I would imagine those segments should just about be installed by now, and work should soon be transitioning to actual finishing work such as deck paving, final expansion joint installation, as well as finalizing the lane configuration on the bridge approaches.

[Dengler Avenue]

Twin 17 from North Bay to Sturgeon Falls with bypasses first, then build a 4-lane segment of 11 towards Marten River somewhere between Sturgeon Falls and Nipissing 10 where the terrain's more friendly (and download Highway 64 concurrent and north of 17).

As for the businesses along the current 11 and 17, build a mall somewhere between Nipissing U and Duchesne Falls and move everybody there.

Obviously, negotiation with Nipissing 10 is necessary.

Any thought?

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Twin 17 from North Bay to Sturgeon Falls with bypasses first, then build a 4-lane segment of 11 towards Marten River somewhere between Sturgeon Falls and Nipissing 10 where the terrain's more friendly (and download Highway 64 concurrent and north of 17).

As for the businesses along the current 11 and 17, build a mall somewhere between Nipissing U and Duchesne Falls and move everybody there.

Obviously, negotiation with Nipissing 10 is necessary.

Any thought?

Just drove all of that today!

The section between North Bay and Sturgeon Falls needs 4-laning for sure. Most, if not all of the current highway can be widened. There are a couple of places where curves could be eliminated. Just widen enough for paved shoulders and a tall wall in the middle. It would be an expensive project but great for safety.

Big time negotiations would need to take place with Nipissing First Nation. I can certainly see the FN wanting a better highway.

There also needs to be 4-laning from Markstay to the Sudbury Hwy 17 bypass. I believe there are plans for that but I'm not sure when it will actually happen.

[Dengler Avenue]

The section around Beaucage is a bad spot too.

But Marten River -> North Bay -> Sturgeon Falls? Did you have errands to run in North Bay?

Otherwise, 64 would have been a more direct route.

[sonysnob]

Unfortunately there aren't plans for any improvements between Sudbury and Markstay along Highway 17. For the short time when the NDP was propping up the minority Liberal government, a study was started to realign and widen Highway 17 east of Sudbury. After the NDP misplayed their hand, and handed the Liberals a majority, the study to widen the highway east of Sudbury was quietly shelved mid project, before a corridor was actually selected.

*edited to add... The only corridor in the North Bay area for Highway 17 is actually to the east of the city. Obviously they have a new proposed alignment of Highway 11/17 through North Bay that would run east of the mall, but there is nothing for Highway 17 to the west. To the east, Highway 17 is to one day be realigned to a new alignment to the south of the exiting alignment. I think they have a corridor for Highway 17 almost as far east as Mattawa. There was some prospecting being done along this part of the province a few years ago, and the MTO wanted to ensure their was a highway corridor before any new mines laid claims to the area.

[Dengler Avenue]

So it was the NDP that pushed for widening 17 between Sudbury and North Bay...

Perhaps one of these days I’ll show you guys what I’ve drawn (i.e. Verner Bypass, Sturgeon Falls Bypass). I’m still working on the route for Highway 11 realignment.

[Dengler Avenue]

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4791503

4! 4!!