[Andy6]

Originally Posted by vid

Highway 11 is desolate. Only use that if you have to go up there or like not being near anything whatsoever for long periods of time.

The Trans-Canada up here has climbing lanes and passing lanes, which are the same thing as the three lane idea but on the outside and spread apart a little more. You can see examples by following 11/17 east, it starts off with two lanes eastbound and one west, then alternates, then is two lane for a few kilometres.

There is a new right of way that the province is establishing in Shuniah, this will result in three east-west corridors in that area (Lakeshore Drive, the original TCH; the current TCH; and the future one) and I think they're finished environmental reports, it's supposed to start construction on Insert Future Date Here.

Should note however, that the stretch of Highway 11/17 and Former 11/17 west of Thunder Bay have claimed many lives in the past year. People don't seem to understand how to use the new highway.

The stretch of highway near Kenora is in Conservative ridings. North-east of Thunder Bay along the shoreline is in a former Conservative riding, now NDP, so I doubt it will see any funding, as non-partisanship doesn't exist in Canada.

Northern Ontario was solidly Conservative at the provincial level for generations, during 40 years of PC governments, and it didn't seem to do much good in terms of highways. I remember when John Rhodes was the Tory MPP for the Sault and the Transportation minister we got the short four-lane stretch built through the Bar River Flats east of the Sault but it took another 30+ years to get the portion from the Sault to Echo Bay (nearly) completed. This is really essential for the economic development of Northern Ontario and especially for tourism. I could even see Manitoba and the Lake Winnipeg beaches developing as a destination for Torontonians on summer vacations if they could be assured of a safe drive across northern Ontario. People routinely drive to PEI for the same thing and would go the other direction for a change if the driving were equally easy.