Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
There are no cities of 160k in NB. Moncton is the closest at 146K. Despite this, we have approximately 750 km of fully grade separated and limited access freeways in the province.
I agree that northern Ontario has been severely shortchanged in terms of freeway construction. Highway 17 should be divided all the way from Ottawa to Sault Ste Marie. The 400 should be completed to Sudbury. Highway 11 should be divided all the way north to New Liskeard. In some ways this should be considered an act of nation building. Regardless of what the AADT is now, you need these roads to stimulate economic activity. If you want the near north to prosper, you have to give them the tools to do so.
Ideally, Highway 11 should be divided the whole way to Thunder Bay and then on to the Manitoba border. |
Regarding the northern highways (traffic counts are extrapolated to 2015, most recent data is from 2010):
* Highway 17 is very busy through the Ottawa Valley as far as about Petawawa and is IMO one of the most dangerous highways in Ontario. It badly needs upgrading. AADT in that section is generally about 15,000 from Arnprior to Renfrew and about 8,000 to 12,000 beyond Renfrew. Since nearly every intersection is signalized there, a full freeway would be necessary there.
* Beyond Chalk River to Mattawa, traffic drops greatly, so that it is generally about 3,000 to 4,000. There are no problem intersections in that section either. That is definitely nice from a nation-building perspective, but not necessary from a traffic perspective.
* From Mattawa to North Bay, traffic slowly increases east to west. In the sections near Mattawa, AADT is generally about 5,000, which rises to nearly 10,000 approaching North Bay. I think the time has come to start building the freeway working east (since there are a couple problem intersections there as well), although only the first section is warranted at this time. In addition, the first 2 lanes of the Mattawa bypass (with at-grade intersections) are necessary now as well, due to a difficult descent for trucks and a tough corner in the centre of town.
* From North Bay to Sudbury, traffic is quite high. AADT is generally around 10,000 from North Bay to Sturgeon Falls, between 6,000 and 8,000 from Sturgeon Falls to Wahnapitae, and about 15,000 past Coniston to the bypass turn. The western section is under study, but the eastern section will be a difficult one due to First Nations issues as it is entirely on a First Nations reserve, plus the terrain between Sturgeon Falls and North Bay is as unforgiving as it gets.
* I believe the Sudbury bypass is to be twinned concurrently with the last section of Highway 69/400 (they pushed that back due to a change in plans and opposition to the previous plan). AADT on the bypass is between 8,000 and 13,000. The section from Lively to Whitefish is already a freeway, and from Whitefish to Nairn Centre is planned. However, as far as Highway 6 (Espanola/Manitoulin turn) is very busy (AADT about 12,000).
* I am less familiar with west of there, but I do know from limited experience the terrain between Espanola and Desbarats the terrain is much more forgiving. Traffic isn't as high there (AADT about 5,000 to 7,000) so interchanges wouldn't be necessary at this stage except at a few busy spots.
* Desbarats to the eastern end of Sault Ste. Marie is a 4-lane highway, mostly at grade with a few overpasses. 638 (Echo Bay) needs an interchange though I believe. One thing I would change is the speed limit should be 100 km/h instead of 90 km/h.
* As for 11 North, it is fairly busy and well used by trucks (due to the flatter terrain along its route beyond New Liskeard) between Highway 101 and North Bay. However, west of Cochrane, and especially between Hearst and Nipigon, it is not busy at all (AADT less than 2,000). Although 11 is one extremely long highway, it tends to function as three separate routes: one from Barrie to Matheson (a major north-south arterial), one from Swastika to Nipigon (where it and 66 tend to function together) and one from Shabaqua to Rainy River (as a southern route for areas south of 17).
* The problem with 11 beyond North Bay to New Liskeard: that section would be very expensive to construct it given the traffic counts (AADT 4,000 to 6,000).
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