Quote:
Originally Posted by jmt18325
Ontario actually has some other twinning planned. They have plans to extend the 417 to Renfew and they are supposed to start designing a route to Petewawa. The Sudbury bypass is going to be made into a freeway (work has already begun) and there is talk of extending the freeway west to Espanola.
|
The 417 extension to Petawawa via Pembroke and Renfrew is a good and achievable idea. They seem to be working on that section for quite a while- the next step should be construction/completion until as far as Renfrew. Reaching Pembroke and Petawawa will probably take another 10 years. Beyond that point, I don't think the traffic warrants twinning, as there are no significant towns until North Bay, which is quite far away.
Another 'less known' branch of the Trans-Canada is through central Ontario, along Highway 7. In my opinion, the stretch between Perth-Carleton Place-Highway 417 should be a candidate for twinning. I know there is currently work ongoing on a smallish section between the 417 interchange and Carleton Place. Along with better connecting those communities with Ottawa, it could also serve as a second viable connection between the GTA and Ottawa, as the 35/115 + highway 7 route is actually about 50 kms shorter than the 401 + 416.
As for the Sudbury region, I don't understand why they don't look at extending the freeway EAST, to north bay, instead of west. I would imagine there's quite a bit of traffic between 2 of Northern Ontario's largest cities, especially considering they're relatively close. I think connecting the via twinning 2 should be a priority over the extension westwards towards Espanola.