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

[Dengler Avenue]

Deep River Road at Highway 17: 205 km to Ottawa and 162 km to North Bay

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Deep River Road at Highway 17: 205 km to Ottawa and 162 km to North Bay

Ah, Deep River. So many stopovers. So much Tim Hortons brand caffeine.

After the hundred kilometres of not much coming from Mattawa, a sign that one is getting back closer to civilization.

A quick check seems to indicate the Laurentian Dairy is open again.

[Dengler Avenue]

A quick check seems to indicate the Laurentian Dairy is open again.

What, and where??

I was thinking about venturing into Petawawa to try some food but I saw the snow and called it off. Then swimmer_spe called me muffins.

[Dengler Avenue]

Pictures from last Sunday:
Petawawa (confluence of Petawawa River and Ottawa River)

Pembroke

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

What, and where??

I was thinking about venturing into Petawawa to try some food but I saw the snow and called it off. Then swimmer_spe called me muffins.

New Restaurant in Old Dairy

It's right on Highway 17 towards the western end of town.

[F. Lionel]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Woohoo! Well keep in mind, though, that PC is using the twinning the Thunder Bay - Nipigon Corridor as an economic kickstarter. Maybe that’s why the government has ended its review. It’s probably same thing with twinning Highway 69.

Clearing the ROW approaches to the new CP overpass has begun! The heavy equipment was there as of yesterday and the trees are stack in piles to be hauled away. And the heavy equipment is pushing through the wilderness! We are underway!

[Dengler Avenue]

wow in winter too

[Dengler Avenue]

I just pulled into Petawawa for dinner takeout. The stream of cars coming out of Plant Road was spectacular. The drive was crap though. I was scared.
Ps: I forgot to say it was snowing quite a bit.
Ps 2: But it’s probably nothing for y’all.

[Dengler Avenue]

A coworker mentioned this: Highway 17 through CFB was closed due to a bad accident one time. It lasted so long that the military had to let regular traffic use Messier Trail next to it.

[Dengler Avenue]

Couple of observations:
17 from Renfrew to Arnprior is like A50 from Lachute to Mirabel Airport: The only safe passing spot is passing lanes. Dotted yellow lines are death traps.
The culvert extension at County Road 63 is complete so the roadway looks very wide there. If one isn’t familiar with the area, they will think that the highway used to have 4 lanes and got reverted to 2.

And, as always, there were quite a few big rigs from Deep River (and beyond) to Ottawa. It seems to me that other 2-lane highways with this much truck volume are 3 up to Leamington, 6 around Morriston and Puslinch, and... 11?

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Couple of observations:
17 from Renfrew to Arnprior is like A50 from Lachute to Mirabel Airport: The only safe passing spot is passing lanes. Dotted yellow lines are death traps.
The culvert extension at County Road 63 is complete so the roadway looks very wide there. If one isn’t familiar with the area, they will think that the highway used to have 4 lanes and got reverted to 2.

And, as always, there were quite a few big rigs from Deep River (and beyond) to Ottawa. It seems to me that other 2-lane highways with this much truck volume are 3 up to Leamington, 6 around Morriston and Puslinch, and... 11?

Yeah, passing opportunities are best left for passing lanes on that section of 17. Or cars with lots of passing power.

I always had the impression that highway 11 had more trucks than that section of 17. Simply because 11 was the big east-west connector between southern Ontario and the west, whereas that section of 17 pretty much was unindustrialized, relatively speaking.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Couple of observations:
17 from Renfrew to Arnprior is like A50 from Lachute to Mirabel Airport: The only safe passing spot is passing lanes. Dotted yellow lines are death traps.
The culvert extension at County Road 63 is complete so the roadway looks very wide there. If one isn’t familiar with the area, they will think that the highway used to have 4 lanes and got reverted to 2.

And, as always, there were quite a few big rigs from Deep River (and beyond) to Ottawa. It seems to me that other 2-lane highways with this much truck volume are 3 up to Leamington, 6 around Morriston and Puslinch, and... 11?

You just need to know the capabilities of your vehicle. Ever pass 2 cars at the same time? On 17, I pulled out into the centre lane of the other side to pass a car. They also pulled out to pass a transport. So, I hammered down and did one more lane change and passed them both. Mind you, this was later at night, so traffic was less.

It would be nice if Deep River - east was 4 lanes.

[Dengler Avenue]

Last Saturday I passed 5-6 cars in one go on the 28 and I thought I was gonna die. Generally, I get uncomfortable if I have to get into stunt driving speed to pass others.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Last Saturday I passed 5-6 cars in one go on the 28 and I thought I was gonna die. Generally, I get uncomfortable if I have to get into stunt driving speed to pass others.

"Sorry Officer, I wasn't looking at my speedometer when I was passing. I was looking at the road ahead to make sure it was clear." Most of my vehicles, I learn where the governor kicks in, when I try to pass.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

You just need to know the capabilities of your vehicle. Ever pass 2 cars at the same time? On 17, I pulled out into the centre lane of the other side to pass a car. They also pulled out to pass a transport. So, I hammered down and did one more lane change and passed them both. Mind you, this was later at night, so traffic was less.

It would be nice if Deep River - east was 4 lanes.

When I drive cars that don't have that immediate passing power, I drop back a bit, accelerate behind the car I'm trying to pass and then pull into the oncoming lane with additional speed. Yes, one is breaking the speed limit, but I drive with respect to the laws of Newtonian physics first and traffic laws second. It also lessens the chance that a spiteful person who doesn't want to be overtaken will try and pace me to prevent me from passing.

People who pull into the oncoming lane then decide to accelerate have lots of horsepower, or are foolish/brave.

[Dengler Avenue]

You’re supposed to accelerate before pulling into the other lane?? Uh oh...

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by wave46

When I drive cars that don't have that immediate passing power, I drop back a bit, accelerate behind the car I'm trying to pass and then pull into the oncoming lane with additional speed. Yes, one is breaking the speed limit, but I drive with respect to the laws of Newtonian physics first and traffic laws second. It also lessens the chance that a spiteful person who doesn't want to be overtaken will try and pace me to prevent me from passing.

People who pull into the oncoming lane then decide to accelerate have lots of horsepower, or are foolish/brave.

That is why I have a NA engine. No lag.

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

You’re supposed to accelerate before pulling into the other lane?? Uh oh...

Ideally, as you pull out, you are passing the car that you are wanting to pass.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

You’re supposed to accelerate before pulling into the other lane?? Uh oh...

I've spent my life with small cars that have ~100-150 hp, so passing on a two-lane highway requires more thought than if you have oodles of power to spare.

Some helpful rules:

1. If you think you can't make the pass safely, don't pass. It's hard to get to one's destination when one is dead.
2. Your brakes are better than your acceleration. Decreasing your speed if you have to abort a pass is done more quickly than finding out you need another 20-30 km/h of acceleration right now.
3. Momentum is your friend. If you have a 20-25 km/h+ speed delta on the person you are passing already, you spend a lot less time in the oncoming lane. As mentioned before, it also prevents people from trying to block your passing. By the time they've figured out what you're doing, you're past them.

[Dengler Avenue]

I definitely agree with the first one. I actually ended up doing the second one very often too. I tried to pass, saw the oncoming traffic, went “never mind” and returned to my original (well, not quite) position.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Last Saturday I passed 5-6 cars in one go on the 28 and I thought I was gonna die. Generally, I get uncomfortable if I have to get into stunt driving speed to pass others.

Holy cow, I don’t think I’ve ever passed more than 3 at once.