Trans Canada Highway Twinning: Segments U/C

[Mininari]

Since the federal government passed jurisdiction of upgrading the Trans Canada Highway to the Provinces, I find that it is rather difficult to know of what is currently being twinned where, and more importantly, when it will be open for use.

For example: I have not been able to find an updated completion date for the Trans Canada Highway Twinning in Saskatchewan. Maybe I didn't "mine" the Saskatchewan Transportation and Infrastructure website for long enough... whatever.

I propose that we compile active and/or detailed proposals to upgrade any segment of the TCH highway system. Theres the Kicking Horse Canyon Project in BC, Twinning near Lake Louise in Alberta, the Sask-MB border twinning "connection" project, construction of the 400 to Sudbury, Twinning of the Autoroute 15 in Quebec.

What else is there?
(and when am I going to have 4-lanes to drive on all the way to the Rockies from Winnipeg?)

[DrJoe]

The twinning of the 400 to Sudbury is a mammoth project, taking roughly 13 years to complete.

Here's some newer sections around Parry Sound





Source: http://www.onthighways.com/index.html

[The Jabroni]

Manitoba is about to or just about completed twinning the THC from Virden, MB, to the Saskatchewan border, and increased the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, so from the MB/ON border, to the MB/SK border, a twinned highway.

Now it's up to Saskatchewan. Northwest Ontario is pretty much a given, in it's current state, considering that it's going through the Canadian Shield. Vid, do you have any input on this?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[theshark]

In NB, the twinning was finished last year, from the Quebec border, down to the Nova-Scotia border and I believe the speed limit has been upgraded to 110 all the way.

The New-Brunswick DOT has a nice little site for the TCH

http://www.gnb.ca/0113/Fed-prov/index-e.asp

[Rathgrith]

It going to take a long time to twin the 417 and the 17 from Arnpior to North Bay or Pembroke or wherever they go.

[Acajack]

Québec

Although officially part of the Trans-Canada, Route 117 down from Abitibi to the Laurentians, and then turning into Autoroute 15 about an hour north of Montreal, is not widely considered to be part of the Trans-Canada here. Also, note that Autoroute 15 is twinned from the U.S. border south of Montreal - where it joins up with Interstate 87 to New York City - through the city of Montreal and then north into the Laurentians up to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. The road then becomes Route 117, and is actually divided (but not limited access) until a bit past the turnoff for the Mont-Tremblant ski resort. After that, the 117 is a two-lane highway for several hundred km to the Ontario border west of Rouyn-Noranda.

But like I said, no one in Quebec considers this section to be part of the TCH. In fact, a lot of people are probably not even aware of it – although it is signed as the TCH.

The road commonly referred to as the Transcanadienne in Quebec is:

Autoroute 40 from the end of the 417 from Ottawa at the Ontario border, across Montreal Island to a short bit on Autoroute 25 (to the tunnel) across the St. Lawrence to link up with Autoroute 20.

The TCH then follows the 20 all the way to Rivière-du-Loup. The 40-25-20 segment, which is approximately 750 km, is all twinned expressway. Has been for ages.

Then, at Rivière-du-Loup is a 100-km segment to Edmundston, NB that is currently mainly comprised of Route 185, a two-lane highway with passing lanes and lots of accidents. The 185 is being upgraded to Autoroute 85 status but as far as I know there is no fixed calendar for doing the work. Currently, there are a few km of “autoroute” open south of Rivière-du-Loup to the town of Saint-Antonin. There are also completed “autoroute” sections through the main towns along the way like Cabano, Notre-Dame-du-Lac and Dégelis. I drove there last summer and some segments outside the towns were under construction, but I wouldn’t say that the entire route is under construction at this time.

Once Autoroute 85 is completed, there will be a divided highway from all of the main cities of southern Ontario and Quebec straight through to Halifax.

[lubicon]

Twinning near Lake Louise still falls under federal jurisdiction as it is located within a national park (Banff in this case). The province of Alberta has nothing to do with this section of road. Same goes for BC in Yoho and Glacier national parks.

BC recently opened a new bridge east of Golden and is working on the next stage of the Kicking Horse Canyon project. I believe there may also be some work going on near Sicamous / Salmon Arm as well.

[ReginaGuy]

Saskatchewan is almost done completely twinning the #1

[theshark]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Québec



Then, at Rivière-du-Loup is a 100-km segment to Edmundston, NB that is currently mainly comprised of Route 185, a two-lane highway with passing lanes and lots of accidents. The 185 is being upgraded to Autoroute 85 status but as far as I know there is no fixed calendar for doing the work. Currently, there are a few km of “autoroute” open south of Rivière-du-Loup to the town of Saint-Antonin. There are also completed “autoroute” sections through the main towns along the way like Cabano, Notre-Dame-du-Lac and Dégelis. I drove there last summer and some segments outside the towns were under construction, but I wouldn’t say that the entire route is under construction at this time.

Once Autoroute 85 is completed, there will be a divided highway from all of the main cities of southern Ontario and Quebec straight through to Halifax.

Add another fatality to that road yesterday....The toll must be close to 150 deaths in 15 years for the 185

[Doug]

The final AB section to be twinned is 34 km in Banff National Park. Work has been underway for 2 years. Most of the twinned highway is open, but the old side is closed for reconstruction. Due to soaring construction costs in AB, twinning of a 4 km section adjacent to the BC has been deferred.

In addition, the AB government is working on a freeway bypass for the TCH around Calgary. A northerly bypass route will be open next year. Most of it will be limited access, but a few at grade intersections will remain. The AB government is also working on removing the remaining at grade intersection east from Calgary to the SK border. An overpass is u/c near Strathmore and a bypass is being planned around Medicine Hat.

[Acajack]

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation also has medium-term plans to extend Highway 417 (which replaces the 17 as it is built) westward from its current terminus at Arnprior (about 60 km* from Ottawa) another 100 km* or so to Petawawa, which is past Pembroke.

This would twin another small portion of the TCH in Ontario, but it's still a long way from Petawawa to North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie!

*All distances are approximate!

[eemy]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation also has medium-term plans to extend Highway 417 (which replaces the 17 as it is built) westward from its current terminus at Arnprior (about 60 km* from Ottawa) another 100 km* or so to Petawawa, which is past Pembroke.

This would twin another small portion of the TCH in Ontario, but it's still a long way from Petawawa to North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie!

*All distances are approximate!

And then from Sault Ste. Marie to the Manitoba border. If Ontario were to twin the entire Trans Canada Hwy through this province, it would have to construct at least 2000km to Arnprior, approximately 1/4 of the entire system.

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by The Jabroni

Manitoba is about to or just about completed twinning the THC from Virden, MB, to the Saskatchewan border, and increased the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, so from the MB/ON border, to the MB/SK border, a twinned highway.

Now it's up to Saskatchewan. Northwest Ontario is pretty much a given, in it's current state, considering that it's going through the Canadian Shield. Vid, do you have any input on this?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Not nitpicking but Saskatchewans segment will be completed this year as all tenders have been let, and all construction paving is in process.

Meanwhile Manitoba as a wee little segment near the Ontario border which remains single lane. Aproximately 12 miles if memory serves.

Correct ME if I'm wrong.

[Andy6]

The new four-lane alignment from Sault Ste. Marie to Echo Bay is now open, I believe, bypassing the crowded, slow and dangerous two-lane stretch through the Garden River Indian Reserve and moving the TCH's route through the Sault from the Trunk Road up to the Second Line. The new route joins the divided stretch in the Bar River flats that was completed around about 1975.

It would certainly be great for the economy of the area if the divided highway could be extended to Sudbury and via the 400/69 to Toronto. But that has been promised for decades and nothing much has ever happened on Highway 17. It took 30 years to negotiate the new route through the Indian Reserve.

It's unlikely that the wee little segment in Whiteshell Park in Manitoba would be twinned since it is basically a controlled access road anyway, with a separate adjacent secondary highway that takes the local traffic. It's not a significant bottleneck. Land acquisition there would be difficult and expensive.

[crooked rain]

Originally Posted by Doug

...and a bypass is being planned around Medicine Hat.

Great to hear. Medicine Hat takes an extraordinarily long time to get through given its size. Strathmore is pretty annoying too and driving through Brooks stinks. The drive to Regina from Calgary really sucks.

[Dmajackson]

Adding onto "theshark"'s post the TCH is twinned from NB/QUE border - New Glasgow in NS. There are two twinnings u/c in NS:

-Highway 104: Exit 26 (New Glasgow) to Exite 27 (Sutherland's River) approx. 10km.

-Highway 104: Antigonish bypass (exit 31A to past 35) approx. 15km?

As a rough estimate half of our TCH from Amherst to Sydney is twinned. Most of the remainder will probably be left alone because of under-population and once past Truro the importance drops (Truro has the interchange with the highway to HRM). Where twinned our TCH is wide-median, 110km/h with rumble strips (NB - Debert).

"theshark" forgot to mention both NB (16) and NS (106) have extensions to PEI which are not twinned.

[Smevo]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

Adding onto "theshark"'s post the TCH is twinned from NB/QUE border - New Glasgow in NS. There are two twinnings u/c in NS:

-Highway 104: Exit 26 (New Glasgow) to Exite 27 (Sutherland's River) approx. 10km.

-Highway 104: Antigonish bypass (exit 31A to past 35) approx. 15km?

As a rough estimate half of our TCH from Amherst to Sydney is twinned. Most of the remainder will probably be left alone because of under-population and once past Truro the importance drops (Truro has the interchange with the highway to HRM). Where twinned our TCH is wide-median, 110km/h with rumble strips (NB - Debert).

"theshark" forgot to mention both NB (16) and NS (106) have extensions to PEI which are not twinned.

To add, to this, the New Glasgow to Sutherland's River section is scheduled to be open in 2010. The need for upgrading was identified in 1992.

The Antigonish Bypass routing was studied in 1996, and selected in 2000. Earliest possible start date dependent on funding is fall of this year.

Port Hastings to Port Hawkesbury upgrading (planned for twinned highway, though being initially built as 2-lane) has been studied since the 70's, and has the earliest start date of late this year or early next year, but no funding has been established for it yet.

Request for routing proposals came out last year for the 104 from the Canso Causeway to Sydney (with the Newfoundland ferry in North Sydney being accessed from there by the 125 & 105), but no start dates announced yet, and they probably won't be announced anytime soon.

Most who say that twinning beyond Truro is not necessary do not drive the highway very often. As someone who drives quite often to both Sydney and Halifax, I can say it is necessary to twin as far as the Canso Causeway, and upgrade from there to Sydney with sections closer to the city needing to be twinned. For example, on the current TCH (105) which will lose its TCH designation to the 104 once completed on Cape Breton Island, the Kelly's Mountain switchback is often the site of this:

By Joyce Nicholson

Here are some videos from a transport truck driver that show the state of the current TCH 105, and former/future TCH 104/4 of which only a short section is currently 104. Keep in mind that, since these photos were taken from a transport truck, most of the traffic would be behind him, or he'd be travelling at slower traffic times to start out a long-haul trip
104/4
• Video Link

105
• Video Link

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by Doug

The AB government is also working on removing the remaining at grade intersection east from Calgary to the SK border. An overpass is u/c near Strathmore and a bypass is being planned around Medicine Hat.

No, they are not planning to remove all the at grade intersections. Such would be a huge, unneccessary undertaking. They are planning to remove all the at grade intersections with lights.

Current places between Calgary and Regina that have lights or a lower posted speed limit:

Strathmore: 3 lights - 60km/h
Redcliffe - 2 or three lights - 80 km/h
Medicine Hat - about 5 or 6 lights - 50km/h section and a 80km/h section.
Dunmore - no lights - 90? km/h
Irvine - 90 km/h (although this one may have been removed recently).
Ernfold - (Westbound only) - 90 km/h
Moose Jaw & Swift Current - one or two intersections that require you to slow down to 80 km/h I think (no lights)
Regina East End - built a whole bunch of development and lights outside of the ring road, so there is a section of a number of lights and 60 km/h.

[vid]

The government announced a HUGE spending project for the TCH just east of Thunder Bay: They're adding another truck passing lane!!

Other than that, the TCH between Soo and Manitoba won't be twinned in our lifetimes.

[itom 987]

The portion of the Yellowhead (transCanada) Highway in Jasper National park still needs to be twinned but I have no idea when that will happen if it happens at all.