A group of Northeastern Ontario municipal leaders are proposing an upgrade to key sections of the Trans-Canada Highway.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities is spearheading a proposal to upgrade Highways 11 and 17 to the "2+1 model", which is prominent on European highways, featuring alternating passing lanes with a crash-rated median barrier, which FONOM argues is "a cost-effective and safer alternative to full highway twinning...particularly suited to long-distance routes with moderate traffic volumes, such as those in Northern Ontario".
FONOM - which represents about 110 cities, towns, and municipalities across the Northeast - is proposing a two-phase approach, starting by rolling out the 2+1 expansion on Highway 11 from North Bay to Cochrane and Highway 17 from Renfrew to Sudbury, with the second phase including Highway 11 from Cochrane to Nipigon, Highway 11/17 from Thunder Bay to Kenora, and Highway 17 from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury - it does not outline plans for the "2+1 model" to be used on Highway 17 north of west of the Sault, such as to Wawa, White River, or beyond.
Noting this comes as the federal government's looking for "nation-building" projects of national interest, FONOM President Danny Whalen calls it "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in infrastructure that promotes enhanced trade between the east and west within Canada", arguing it'd reduce head-on collisions and improve traffic flow, support Canada's busiest trucking corridors and reduce operational costs, strengthen Canada's internal trade routes and national resilience, and echo the original nation-building spirit of the Trans-Canada Highway, which was first funded during the Great Depression.
This also comes amid an alternate bid for the future of the Trans-Canada Highway in Northeastern Ontario, as Chapleau Town Council recently backed a rerouting of the highway from Sudbury to Chapleau to White River, which Mayor Ryan Bignucolo called "important".
