Ontario Highways - Page 6

vid · #**101** Posted **Sep 6, 2018, 12:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by F. Lionel

On a somewhat related note - Hydro One is removing telephone poles near the Dorion Loop that needed to be removed for the planned twinning next year - there is no reason to remove them otherwise. So maybe all of the projects are not 100% dead.

Not yet, but there is plenty of time to kill them still.

F. Lionel · #**102** Posted **Sep 6, 2018, 4:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid

Not yet, but there is plenty of time to kill them still.

A ray of sunshine as always, eh Vid?

I have no faith that any of these projects will actually proceed due to the aforementioned statements but it is interesting to see some things still proceeding as if they were going to happen.

Highway 61 expansion was always sort of a pie-in-the-sky project. It is needed, don't misunderstand me, but unless the Liberals or NDP had taken power it was not going to take place. Same with the TB Expressway, second Nipigon River Crossing, the Pearl-to-Dorion, and Dorion-to-Hurkett twinnings. There were no shovels in the ground so out they go.... I don't agree but I understand the government of the day wanting to review everything the previous one had promised.

What burns me are the 4 projects that were done their detailed design and supposed to start construction this year and next. Those should just proceed... the process is half done after all. But politics are politics and the Cons are definitely sore. Sad really. Everything goes back on the shelf for at least another decade.

Dengler Avenue · #**103** Posted **Sep 6, 2018, 5:10 PM**

So is the twinning of TCH around Nipigon dead too? That one seems almost done to me. It even shows on google map.

Innsertnamehere · #**104** Posted **Sep 7, 2018, 1:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonysnob

There is not a legislative deadline that requires the government to publish a five year plan.

It was under the previous liberal government that the MTO began publishing it's five year plan online. It's not a guarantee that the current Progressive Conservative government will be as forthcoming with their plans and publish a five year plan.

There was a delay after the last election for them too, the 2014 plan was released in November instead of the regular August.

vid · #**105** Posted **Sep 7, 2018, 1:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by F. Lionel

A ray of sunshine as always, eh Vid?

Better to be a pessimist who is always pleasantly surprised than an optimist who is always let down.

Doug Ford is running a shitty government. I dare him to prove otherwise!!!

sonysnob · #**106** Posted **Sep 7, 2018, 3:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

There was a delay after the last election for them too, the 2014 plan was released in November instead of the regular August.

That’s true. I was drawing a parallel between the five year plan and the current government’s decision to withhold mandate letters. It’s entirely possible that the current government will continue the tradition of releasing a five year plan, but, I think it’s safe to surmise that just because the Liberals did something doesn’t mean the PCs are automatically going to follow suit.

sonysnob · #**107** Posted **Sep 8, 2018, 1:14 AM**

I have a question. I'm not sure if anyone will know the answer or not... but what's the story with Pine Street South that leads southerly from Timmins and connects to Highway 566 to Matchewan. Obviously it's a resources road, but I can't seem to find any information about it, other than it sounds like it's in very terrible condition. Has anybody every driven it? Who maintains it? It's kind of a strategic road alignment, it'd be nice if it were maintained in better condition.

F. Lionel · #**108** Posted **Sep 8, 2018, 3:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

So is the twinning of TCH around Nipigon dead too? That one seems almost done to me. It even shows on google map.

No... Nipigon to Red Rock is almost 100% complete.... Just so paving and painting left from what I can see. Same with the Nipigon Bridge. It's also coming to the end of construction with approach paving going on right now.

I'm referring to the four announced projects that were to start construction this year and next that don't appear to be proceeding: Red Rock to Hurkett (2 separate projects), Pass Lake to Pearl, and Superior Shores to Dorion Loop.

All were announced as commencing in 2018 & 2019 and all look to be cancelled or "indefinitely delayed."

Dengler Avenue · #**109** Posted **Sep 8, 2018, 3:31 PM**

Hopefully it's just 4 years of hiatus.

Can I say that the fact alone that NWO has some sort of 4-lane divided highway is already pretty impressive?

Once the "last piece" (for now) is done, NWO and NEO will have around the same km's of such highway.

sonysnob · #**110** Posted **Sep 9, 2018, 11:33 AM**

A couple of photos of the construction of the 407 extension:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ug18_24x16.jpg

Dengler Avenue · #**111** Posted **Sep 9, 2018, 12:02 PM**

That’s some very narrow median there, much like 401 between London and Tilbury.

sonysnob · #**112** Posted **Sep 9, 2018, 12:29 PM**

^ The median on the 407 is much, much wider than the the 401 between London and Tilbury.

If I had to estimate, the median of the 407 is probably about 7.5m wider, at about ~22.5m instead of the ~15m that is used between Tilbury and London.

Dengler Avenue · #**113** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 8:30 PM**

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1yNGaXQdWWXKj

This reminds me of the time when I honked at a cyclist that was travelling in the middle of Fairway Road (KWC), running red and then travelling in the wrong direction, just to hear him say “F—k you” to me twice.

Another time, I was going down Courtland Street, and there was a cyclist that held everybody up, when there’s a bicycle lane on that street.

Honestly, it’s because of people like this that make many harbour the anti-cyclist sentiment.

(Ps: IMO forcibly adding bike lanes has made the configuration of certain Waterloo roads, such as Seagram Drive facing University Avenue and Columbia Street/Lexington Road awkward.)

But as a reminder, in Ontario and in Quebec, neither pedestrians nor cyclists are allowed on freeways. Heck sometimes they aren’t even allowed on certain at-grade highways (11-17 Twin City Bypass, 61-11-17 T Bay Expressway, 17 Garden River Bypass, 17 Sudbury Bypass <?>, 11-17 N Bay Bypass, 3 St Thomas Bypass, 6 Hamilton Bypass).

Dengler Avenue · #**114** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 8:43 PM**

http://www.ontariocycling.org/forms/...act-slidehsow/

Loco101 · #**115** Posted **Sep 17, 2018, 9:30 PM**

Quebec is doing a great job at added shoulders wide enough for bicycles on its national (what we call provincial) highways and even on some secondary ones.

sonysnob · #**116** Posted **Sep 23, 2018, 2:17 AM**

Photos of the Highway 69 widening project near French River. The bridge in the photo will carry Highway 69 (400) over top of the Pickerel River.

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3500_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3505_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3511_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3518_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3520_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3527_24x16.jpg

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_6...3529_24x16.jpg

Dengler Avenue · #**117** Posted **Sep 23, 2018, 2:25 AM**

Highway 69 already has undivided 4 lanes around Pickerel River. I’ve always thought it’d be waste to build the freeway anew and tear down the passing lanes.

Also you should share this in swimmer_spe’s thread as he dedicated it to Highway 69.

sonysnob · #**118** Posted **Sep 24, 2018, 12:20 AM**

I drove up to Thunder Bay today for work this week. I had some time to kill so I had a look at a little bit of Highway 11/17 from Thunder Bay to Nipigon.

I kind of agree with the sentiment that our new PC government would like to spend as little as possible on the highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, and probably won't continue the twinning in earnest. As I have mentioned before though, some of the existing structures may pose a problem.

Take this one for example, this is the CPR Crossing at Ouimet. As is evident from the photos below, this bridge is rather deteriorated. I'm sure it's still safe, I'm not at all concerned about that, but I think it's also going to force the government's hand. So the question become's what do they do? The future highway is supposed to be realigned through the Ouimet overhead with two new bridges built off of the current alignment. I'm curious if they'll build a new highway on the future alignment, but only build one set of lanes, and leave it as a two lane staged divided highway instead of twinning it all at once. Call me a pessimist, but I could see that happening.

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_1...ep18_24x16.jpg

F. Lionel · #**119** Posted **Sep 24, 2018, 1:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonysnob

I drove up to Thunder Bay today for work this week. I had some time to kill so I had a look at a little bit of Highway 11/17 from Thunder Bay to Nipigon.

I kind of agree with the sentiment that our new PC government would like to spend as little as possible on the highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon, and probably won't continue the twinning in earnest. As I have mentioned before though, some of the existing structures may pose a problem.

Take this one for example, this is the CPR Crossing at Ouimet. As is evident from the photos below, this bridge is rather deteriorated. I'm sure it's still safe, I'm not at all concerned about that, but I think it's also going to force the government's hand. So the question become's what do they do? The future highway is supposed to be realigned through the Ouimet overhead with two new bridges built off of the current alignment. I'm curious if they'll build a new highway on the future alignment, but only build one set of lanes, and leave it as a two lane staged divided highway instead of twinning it all at once. Call me a pessimist, but I could see that happening.

Further to this point and, as an addition to the earlier conversation, there is work proceeding on the East side of the current alignment between Superior Shores and just north of Ouimet Canyon Rd.. There is a company currently clearing trees from the right-of-way. This doesn't mean construction of the highway is proceeding however... just some preliminary work.

Dengler Avenue · #**120** Posted **Sep 24, 2018, 3:12 PM**

Back in the days, NDP wanted to replace the intersection of 11-17 and 102 with an interchange. They cleared the land. Then PC came and cancelled the project. I heard some trees have grown back since.

If this is all preliminary right now, I can’t see why the trees won’t grow back. In other words, we are clearing the land for nothing.