Quote:
Originally Posted by 1overcosc
The MTO has a new corridor protected that bypasses Cobden. I've seen it on maps before. If I recall, it follows a new path a few kilometres east of the current road for most of the distance between Renfrew and Pembroke.
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Correct, having seen the official plans. Highway 417 would break away just west of the Haley Station turn, initially remaining very close to the current alignment on the west side of Jeffreys Lake. Just before Logos Land, it would shift farther away from the current Highway 17, running on the back of their property, meeting County Road 7 very close to Marjorie Road. There would be an interchange at CR 7 serving Cobden and the Whitewater area (I believe that is the only interchange between Haley Station and Meath Hill).
From there, it would run through the forest/plateau about 2 km northeast of Muskrat Lake, before turning northwest towards Meath Hill. At the curve just west of Greenwood Road, Highway 417 would rejoin the current Highway 17 alignment. Most likely, the Greenwood Road interchange would be located just north of the end of the road and Greenwood Road would continue onto existing Highway 17 directly. From there to Petawawa, it would be twinned again.
The existing Highway 17 in that section would likely become a county road and would serve local traffic. I know businesses in Cobden would suffer...some may decide to move to the CR 7 interchange though.
Extrapolating 2005-2010 traffic counts to 2015, my estimate for the current AADT in that section:
Arnprior area (around White Lake Road, 4 lane freeway) - 18,000
Arnprior to Renfrew (starting to upgrade now) - 15,500
Renfrew area (around O'Brien Road) - 13,500
Renfrew to Haley Station - 10,000
Haley Station to Cobden (to be bypassed) - 9,500
Cobden to Meath Hill (to be bypassed) - 9,000
Meath Hill to Pembroke (Highway 41) - 7,500
Pembroke to Petawawa - 9,000
Petawawa to Chalk River - 7,500
Chalk River to Deep River - 8,500 (much of it local; only a portion of it would be grabbed by Highway 417)
Deep River to Rolphton - 4,000
From there, it is around or below 4,000 for AADT all the way to Mattawa, remaining relatively consistent.