Ontario Highway 11

King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a provincially-maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At Template:Convert, it is the second-longest highway in the province, after Highway 17. HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie and arches through northern Ontario to the Ontario–Minnesota border at Rainy River via Thunder Bay; the road continues as Minnesota State Highway 72 across the Baudette–Rainy River International Bridge. North and west of North Bay (as well as for a short distance through Orillia), HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 forms part of the Trans-Canada Highway and is part of MOM's Way between Thunder Bay and Rainy River.

The original section of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 along Yonge Street was colloquially known as "Main Street Ontario" and was one of the first roads in what would later become Ontario. It was devised as an overland military route between York (Toronto) and Penetanguishene. Yonge Street serves as the east–west divide throughout York Region and Toronto.

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 became a provincial highway in 1920 when the network was formed, although many of the roads that make up the route were constructed before the highway was designated. At the time, it only extended between Toronto and north of Orillia. In 1937, the route was extended to Hearst, northwest of Timmins. The route was extended to Nipigon by 1943. In 1965, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was extended to Rainy River, bringing it to its maximum length of Template:Convert. The southernmost leg, an Template:Convert section (including the Bradford–Barrie extension) through Barrie and south to Lake Ontario in Toronto, also known as Yonge Street, was decommissioned as a provincial highway in 1996 and 1997.

From the late 1940s through the 1960s, numerous bypasses of towns along the route were built, including Orillia, Washago, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Huntsville, Emsdale, Powassan, Callander, North Bay, Cobalt, Haileybury, New Liskeard and Thunder Bay. Beginning in the 1960s, the highway was expanded to four lanes between Barrie and North Bay in stages. Four-laning was completed between Barrie and Gravenhurst in the 1960s, between Gravenhurst and Huntsville in the 1970s, and from North Bay south to Callander in the 1980s. The remaining two-lane section between Huntsville and Callander was expanded through the 1990s and 2000s and completed in 2012. A section concurrent with HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 east of Thunder Bay was rebuilt as a divided highway in the early 2010s and work continues. After a structural failure in 2016, the two-lane Nipigon River Bridge was replaced with a twin-span bridge that opened in 2018.

Route description

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 varies between a divided four-lane urban freeway and a two-lane rural road. It travels through surroundings ranging from cities to farmland to the uninhabited wilderness. The section through northern Ontario includes several sections with no gas or service for over Template:Convert. Significant urban centres serviced by the route include Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Huntsville, North Bay, Temiskaming Shores, Cochrane, Kapuskasing, Hearst, Nipigon, Thunder Bay, Atikokan, Fort Frances and Rainy River.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm">Template:Cite map</ref> It is often paired with Yonge Street in the persistent but incorrect factoid that Yonge Street is the longest street in the world, a claim that was featured in the book of Guinness World Records from 1977 to 1998.<ref name="marshall">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="cherry">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="perra">Template:Cite news</ref>

File:11 Orillia.png

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 facing south from HighwayTemplate:Nbsp12 in Orillia

Barrie – North Bay

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 begins at an interchange with HighwayTemplate:Nbsp400 on the north side of Barrie, travelling northeast parallel to the northwestern shore of Lake Simcoe. The four-lane route, divided by a median barrier, crosses former HighwayTemplate:Nbsp93 (Penetanguishene Road) and passes through a generally flat rural area, though businesses line both sides of the route. At the northern end of Lake Simcoe, the highway enters Orillia, where it is built as a divided freeway. It meets and becomes concurrent with HighwayTemplate:Nbsp12 for Template:Convert. At Laclie Drive, the route exits Orillia and returns to a RIRO design with rural surroundings. It travels northward along the western shore of Lake Couchiching as far as Washago, then crosses the Severn River / Trent Severn Waterway.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" />

File:11 NB near Bracebridge.png

Highway 11 facing north towards Bracebridge

North of the Severn River, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 travels through the Canadian Shield; large granite outcroppings are frequent and thick Boreal forest dominates the terrain.<ref name="2022orm" /> At Gravenhurst, the highway makes a sharp curve to the east, then becomes a divided freeway before curving northward around Gull Lake. Near Bracebridge, it meets Highway 118 and former Highway 117. Highway 141 branches west from the route between Bracebridge and Huntsville, while Highway 60 branches east towards Algonquin Park in Huntsville. The section between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge is at freeway standards, while several at-grade intersections remain between Bracebridge and Huntsville.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" /> HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 crosses the 45th parallel north Template:Convert north of the bridge carrying HighwayTemplate:Nbsp118 at interchangeTemplate:Nbsp182, just outside Bracebridge.<ref>Template:Google maps</ref>

The Template:Convert section of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 between Huntsville and North Bay provides access to the western side of Algonquin Park. It also connects to Highway 518 at Emsdale, Highway 520 at Burk's Falls, Highway 124 at Sundridge and South River, Highway 522 at Trout Creek, Highway 534 at Powassan, and Highway 94 and Highway 654 at Callander. Most of this section is built to freeway standards, although a small number of at-grade intersections remain, primarily between Trout Creek and Callander.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" />

North Bay – Nipigon

A cable-stayed bridge with a backdrop of coniferous forest

The new Nipigon River Bridge while under construction in July 2016

From its junction with HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 at North Bay, the two highways share a concurrency for Template:Convert to the Algonquin Avenue intersection, where HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 continues west toward Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie while HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 turns north onto Algonquin Avenue.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" /> Due to a steep incline as it descends Thibeault Hill into North Bay, the southbound Algonquin Avenue segment of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 features the only runaway truck ramp on Ontario's highway system, which was upgraded in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> From North Bay, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 extends northerly for Template:Convert, passing through communities such as Temagami, Latchford, Temiskaming Shores, Englehart and Matheson en route to Cochrane, where the route turns west. From Cochrane, it passes through communities such as Smooth Rock Falls, Kapuskasing, Hearst and Greenstone, arching across northeastern Ontario westward then south for Template:Convert before again meeting HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 at Nipigon.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" />

Nipigon – Rainy River

Nearly the entire route from Nipigon to Rainy River is a two-lane, undivided road, with the exception of two twinned, four-lane segments approaching Thunder Bay. The first starts just west of Nipigon and ends just north of the Black Sturgeon River, for a distance of Template:Convert. The second portion reaches a distance of Template:Convert, from HighwayTemplate:Nbsp587 at Pass Lake to Balsam Street in Thunder Bay. Work is being done to twin the route from Ouimet to Dorion.<ref name="Dorion" /> Additionally, the section from Balsam Street to the Harbour Expressway is four lanes wide, but undivided. The partial cloverleaf interchange at Thunder Bay's Hodder Avenue is the only interchange in Northwestern Ontario.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" />

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 and 17 run concurrently from Nipigon down to Thunder Bay, a distance of approximately Template:Convert, where they swing west on the Shabaqua Highway, encountering Kakabeka Falls several kilometers later. The highway then runs in a northwestern direction to Shabaqua Corners, where the two highways split; HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 continues northwest to Dryden and Kenora, while HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 continues in a generally west direction, eventually reaching HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11B at Atikokan, approximately halfway between Thunder Bay and Rainy River. The highway continues for Template:Convert, crosses the Noden Causeway, and reaches Fort Frances, where [[U.S. Route 71|HighwayTemplate:Nbsp71]] runs south across the U.S. border to International Falls. From here, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 shares a concurrency with [[Ontario Highway 71|HighwayTemplate:Nbsp71]] for Template:Convert until the latter branches north after Emo, while HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 runs parallel to the border for Template:Convert before ending at the town of Rainy River, where the roadway continues into Baudette, Minnesota, and ends at Minnesota State RouteTemplate:Nbsp11.<ref name="km" /><ref name="2022orm" />

Business routes

File:Cobalt ON 1.jpg

Former HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11B entering Cobalt

Highway 11B is the designation for business routes of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11, ten of which have existed over the years. Two continue to exist today, while the remaining eight have been decommissioned. With the exception of the short spur route into Atikokan, all were once the route of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 prior to the completion of a bypass alignment. All sections of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11B have now been decommissioned by the province with the exception of the Atikokan route and the southernmost section of the former Tri-Town route between Cobalt and HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11.<ref name="km" />

• Highway 11B (Holland Landing)
• Highway 11B (Orillia)
• Highway 11B (Gravenhurst)
• Highway 11B (Huntsville)
• Highway 11B (Powassan)
• Highway 11B (North Bay)
• Highway 11B (Cobalt–Temiskaming Shores)
• Highway 11B (Matheson–Porquis Junction)
• Highway 11B (Thunder Bay)
• Highway 11B (Atikokan)

History

Predecessors

A black and white sketch showing two high ranking British officers onlooking as several soldiers chop trees with axes to widen a path through a forest.

John Graves Simcoe supervising the Queen's York Rangers cutting trees during the construction of Yonge Street, 1795

The earliest established section of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 is Yonge Street in Toronto and York Region, though it is no longer under provincial jurisdiction. Yonge Street was built under the order of the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario), John Graves Simcoe. Fearing imminent attack by the United States, he sought to create a military route between York (now Toronto) and Lake Simcoe. In doing so, he would create an alternative means of reaching the upper Great Lakes and the trading post at Michilimackinac, bypassing the American border.Template:Sfn

In late 1793, Simcoe determined the route of his new road. The following spring, he instructed Deputy Surveyor General Augustus Jones to blaze a small trail marking the route.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Simcoe initiated construction of the road by granting land to settlers, who in exchange were required to clear Template:Convert of frontage on the road passing their lot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the summer of 1794, William Berczy was the first to take up the offer, leading a group of 64 families north-east of Toronto to found the town of German Mills, in today's Markham. By the end of 1794, Berczy's settlers had cleared the route around Thornhill. However, the settlement was hit by a series of setbacks and road construction stalled.Template:Sfn

Work on the road resumed in 1795 when the Queen's Rangers took over. They began their work at Eglinton Avenue and proceeded north, reaching the site of St. Albans on FebruaryTemplate:Nbsp16, 1796. Expansion of the trail into a road was a condition of settlement for farmers along the route, who were required to spend 12Template:Nbspdays a year to clear the road of logs, subsequently removed by convicted drunks as part of their sentence. The southern end of the road was in use in the first decade of the 19th century, and became passable all the way to the northern end in 1816.<ref name="globeandmail">Template:Cite web</ref>

For several years the Holland River and Lake Simcoe provided the only means of transportation; Holland Landing was the northern terminus of Yonge Street. The military route to Georgian Bay prior to, and during the War of 1812, crossed Lake Simcoe to the head of Kempenfelt Bay, then by the Nine Mile Portage to Willow Creek and the Nottawasaga River. The Penetanguishene Military Post was started before the war. However, lacking a suitable overland transport route, passage from York to Lake Huron continued via the Nottawasaga. The Penetanguishene Road, begun in 1814, replaced this route by the time the military post was opened in 1817.<ref name="earlyhistory">Template:Cite book</ref>

Black and white photo of a concrete two-lane road stretching straight towards the distant horizon

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 facing northeast from the junction with the Penetanguishene Road at Crown Hill in 1931, shortly after being paved with concrete

In 1824, work began to extend Yonge Street to Kempenfelt Bay near Barrie. A north-western extension was branched off the original Yonge Street in Holland Landing and ran into the new settlement of Bradford before turning north towards Barrie. Work was completed by 1827, making connections with the Penetanguishene Road. A network of colonization roads built in the 1830s (some with military strategy in mind) pushed settlement northeast along the shores of Lake Simcoe and north towards the shores of Georgian Bay.Template:Sfn Construction of the Muskoka Road began by the 1860s. The road, which penetrated the southern skirts of the Canadian Shield and advanced towards Lake Nipissing, reached as far as Bracebridge by 1861, and to Huntsville by 1863.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was officially opened when it reached Lake Nipissing in 1874.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Further extensions into Northern Ontario would await the arrival of the automobile, and consequent need for highway networks.

Assumption and paving

Highway 11 was initially planned as a trunk road to connect the communities of Southern Ontario to those of Northern Ontario, as a continuous route from Toronto to North Bay. In 1919, Premier of Ontario Ernest Charles Drury created the Department of Public Highways (DPHO), though much of the responsibility for establishing the route he left to minister of the new cabinet position, Frank Campbell Biggs. By linking together several previously built roads such as Yonge Street, Penetanguishene Road, Middle Crossroad and the Muskoka Road—all early colonization roads in the region—a continuous route was created between Toronto and North Bay; however, the new department's jurisdiction did not extend north of the Severn River. Roads north of that point were maintained by the Department of Northern Development (DND).Template:Sfn

File:Postcard Ferguson Hwy North Ontario.jpg

1927 postcard of the Ferguson Highway

In order to be eligible for federal funding, the DPHO established a network of provincial highways on FebruaryTemplate:Nbsp26, 1920.Template:Sfn What would become HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was routed along Yonge Street, its extension to the Penetanguishene Road, and the Muskoka Road as far as the Severn River.Template:Sfn The portions of Yonge Street through what is now York Region, as well as Toronto as far south as Yonge Boulevard, were assumed by the DPHO on JuneTemplate:Nbsp24, 1920, while the portions through Simcoe County, from Bradford to Severn Bridge were assumed two months later on AugustTemplate:Nbsp18.<ref name="1920 report">Template:Cite report</ref> It received its numerical designation in the summer of 1925.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The new route was mostly unpaved, with work beginning in 1922 to improve the roadway. That year saw paving completed between Yonge Boulevard and Thornhill, as well as a bypass of the original route through Holland Landing (now known as York Regional RoadTemplate:Nbsp83).<ref name="1922 report">Template:Cite report</ref> The pavement was extended farther north from Thornhill to Richmond Hill the following year.<ref name="1923 report">Template:Cite report</ref> By 1925, the route was paved from Toronto north to Fennell, as well as between Orillia and Washago.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> An additional Template:Convert north from Fennell were paved in 1926. In 1927, the pavement between Toronto and Barrie was completed with the paving of approximately Template:Convert south from Barrie.<ref name="1926 report">Template:Cite report</ref> Between Barrie and Orillia, paving began in 1929, with the completion of approximately Template:Convert east from Guthrie; at that point the highway turned north at 11th Line, then east at East Oro along SideroadTemplate:Nbsp15/16. That year also saw paving completed from Washago to north of Gravenhurst.<ref name="1928 report">Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref> The following year, the newly-renamed Department of Highways (DHO) paved the remaining 13Template:Nbspkilometres between Barrie and Guthrie,<ref name="1930 report">Template:Cite report</ref> while the DND paved the Muskoka Road from Gravenhurst to Huntsville.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> The final Template:Convert of unpaved road between Barrie and Orillia was completed in 1931.<ref name="1930 report" />

Ferguson Highway and extension to Nipigon

"Black and white photo of a road meandering alongside a river rapids, eventually crossing the top of the rapids along a steel arch bridge."

The southern entrance to Bracebridge in 1930. This arch bridge, completed that year, was along the Ferguson Highway at the time. Today, this bridge is located on Muskoka District Road 16 (Eccleston Drive), and is over a kilometre from the modern HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11.

Throughout the 1910s and early 1920s, various chambers of commerce, rotary clubs and boards of trade petitioned the government to construct a new trunk road from North Bay towards the mining communities to the north that were established in the prior decades.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These delegations and committees also saw the potential tourist draw of opening the Temagami area to hunters, fishers, and recreational tourism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By 1923, a road existed between Cobalt and Kirkland Lake, as well as between Ramore and Cochrane, with an approximately Template:Convert gap separating the two sections.<ref>Template:Cite mapTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Conservative leader Howard Ferguson promised to build a road to connect North Bay and Cochrane during the 1923 Ontario general election, which saw him elected as premier.Template:Sfn

The route of the new road between North Bay and Cobalt was cleared by April 1925,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after which construction began in August from both North Bay as well as Cobalt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new gravel highway was officially opened on JulyTemplate:Nbsp2, 1927,Template:Sfn by Minister of Lands and Forests William Finlayson. He suggested at the opening that the road be named the Ferguson Highway in honour of premier Ferguson. The name was originally suggested by North Bay mayor Dan Barker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite the official opening, a section between Swastika and Ramore wasn't opened until August.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Ferguson Highway name was also applied to the Muskoka Road between Severn Bridge and North Bay.Template:Sfn Although the route from North Bay to Cochrane was passable, it was not an adequate road in many places. Construction continued for several years to build bypasses of sharp turns, steep grades, awkward rail crossings, and other obstacles. The Ferguson Highway was extended from Cochrane to Kapuskasing by 1930, and later to Hearst in 1932.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

File:Geraldon to Hearst construction camp.png

Construction camps such as this were built along the Template:Convert gap between Geraldton and Hearst. Several housed prisoners who were put to work on clearing the route of the highway.

The Provincial Highway Network was radically overhauled in 1937, when the Template:Abbr merged with the Template:Abbr on AprilTemplate:Nbsp1. Consequently, the DHO assumed responsibility of roads north of the Trent–Severn Waterway over the next several months.Template:Sfn On JuneTemplate:Nbsp2, Template:Convert of the Ferguson Highway was assumed by the DHO through Cochrane District. This was followed one week later when Template:Convert of the Muskoka Road through the District of Muskoka were assumed on JuneTemplate:Nbsp9. A Template:Convert portion of the route, which included a portion of what is now Highway 94 to connect to the Dionne quintuplets, was assumed through Parry Sound District on JuneTemplate:Nbsp16. On JuneTemplate:Nbsp30, Template:Convert of the Ferguson Highway were assumed north of North Bay within Nipissing District, as well as Template:Convert through Timiskaming District. HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 grew in length from Template:Convert to Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

Construction began in 1938 on a road to connect HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 at Nipigon with the gold mines discovered near the town of Geraldton several years earlier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although portions of this new road were passable by the end of 1939,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Nipigon–Geraldton Highway was opened ceremoniously by Thomas McQuesten and C. D. Howe on SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp7, 1940;<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> it was assumed as a provincial highway in 1941.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> With the onset of World War II, the need for an east–west connection across Canada became imperative,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and construction began on a link between Geraldton and Hearst, a distance of Template:Convert in 1939. Due to the shortage of labour, several prison camps were established between the two communities in October of that year and work began to clear a tote road for the movement of supplies over the following winter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While the highway was completed in November 1942, it was not maintained during through the winter, and the official opening did not take place until JuneTemplate:Nbsp12, 1943.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following this, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was extended to Nipigon, and was Template:Convert long.<ref>Template:Cite mapTemplate:Dead link</ref> Template:Clear

Thunder Bay – Rainy River

File:Highway 120 at French River, 1955.png

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp120 in 1955 at the French River in Quetico Provincial Park

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 ended at Nipigon until the late 1950s, after construction of a new highway west from Thunder Bay towards Fort Frances began. During World War II, large deposits of iron ore were discovered at Steep Rock Lake, around which the town of Atikokan was developed.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The need to connect the burgeoning community to the road network became apparent following a rail strike in August 1950, during which a "mercy train" was delivered to the isolated town. Throughout the fall of 1950, various delegates pressed the provincial government to construct a road link immediately.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The province announced plans for the new highway between Atikokan and Shebandowan the following August,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and released the proposed route on OctoberTemplate:Nbsp10; construction began shortly thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The Atikokan Highway was ceremonially opened by premier Leslie Frost on AugustTemplate:Nbsp13, 1954, although traffic had used the incomplete road beginning in November 1953. At that event, which saw him use an axe to cut a ribbon, Frost announced the future vision to extend the new route to Fort Frances. Despite the opening, work was ongoing to improve the existing road between the end of the new highway at Shebandowan and HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 at Shabaqua Corners.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

Initially this road was designated as HighwayTemplate:Nbsp120. In 1959, it was decided to make this new link a westward extension of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11. On AprilTemplate:Nbsp1, 1960, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 assumed the route of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp120; this consequently created a concurrency of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 and 17 between Nipigon and west of Thunder Bay.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Now reaching as far as Atikokan, construction of a road between there and Fort Frances was carried out over the next five years. The final link, the Template:Convert Noden Causeway over Rainy Lake, was opened on JuneTemplate:Nbsp28, 1965, after which HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was extended to Rainy River and the American border.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was now at its peak length of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Lakehead Expressway

Template:Main In 1963, Charles MacNaughton, minister of the Department of Highways, announced plans for the Lakehead Expressway to be built on the western edge of the twin cities of Port Arthur and Fort William (which amalgamated in 1970 to form Thunder Bay).<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Plans called for a Template:Convert at-grade expressway from South of Arthur Street to meet HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 and HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 northeast of the cities.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> Work began in August 1965, with a contract for a Template:Convert section of divided highway on the west side of the twin cities.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> The first section of the expressway opened on AugustTemplate:Nbsp29, 1967, connecting Oliver Road (then part of Highway 130) and Golf Links Road with Dawson Road (Highway 102).<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> By mid- to late 1969, the route had been extended to Highway 527 northeast of the twin cities and to HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 and HighwayTemplate:Nbsp17 (Arthur Street) at the Harbour Expressway.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> By late 1970, the route had been extended southward from Arthur Street to Neebing Avenue / Walsh Street West. At this time, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 and 17 and HighwayTemplate:Nbsp61 were rerouted along the completed expressway. The old routes through Thunder Bay were redesignated as Highway 11B/17B and Highway 61B.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name="1971 map">Template:Cite map</ref>

Expansion and rerouting

File:Highway 11 approaching Crown Hill.png

As a result of provincial downloading of highways to municipalities in 1996 and 1997, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 now begins at the "Crown Hill" interchange with HighwayTemplate:Nbsp400 north of Barrie. Previously it extended south to Lake Ontario in Toronto, mostly along Yonge Street

While HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was extended farther north and west between the 1920s and 1960s, numerous projects took place along the sections between Barrie and Cochrane during that period to either realign the highway to improve the geometry, or to bypass built up areas. The largest bottleneck along the highway in the 1940s was between Washago and through Gravenhurst, where construction began in 1947 to realign Template:Convert between the two towns, including a new high-level bridge over the Trent–Severn Waterway.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="1949 report">Template:Cite report</ref> The original bypass of Gravenhurst, along what is now Bethune Drive, opened in 1948,<ref name="Gravenhurst">Template:Cite news</ref> while reconstruction of the remainder of the route between Washago and Gravenhurst was completed in 1949.<ref name="1949 report" />

To the south, improvements between Barrie and Orillia, including a divided four-lane highway around the latter, were completed by 1955.<ref name="1954report">Template:Cite report</ref> During that period, a two-lane bypass around Washago was built between 1954 and 1955.<ref name="1954report" /><ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Similar bypasses were built between Barrie and North Bay over the next decade, which were later incorporated into the modern four-lane route. A bypass of Bracebridge opened JulyTemplate:Nbsp1, 1953.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The North Bay bypass was completed in 1953,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> while bypasses of Emsdale and Powassan were completed 1956<ref name="1956 report">Template:Cite report</ref> and 1957, respectively. Construction of the Huntsville Bypass began in 1957;<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> it opened NovemberTemplate:Nbsp27, 1959.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> The original Callander Bypass, which is now divided into Callander Bay Drive and part of Highway 94 also opened in October 1959.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Further north, the Template:Convert Tri-Town Bypass, from Gillies to north of New Liskeard, was opened on SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp18. The new route bypassed the towns of Cobalt, Haileybury and New Liskeard (the latter two which have since become part of Temiskaming Shores).<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> In several cases, the original route of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 became a business route (HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11B, see #Business routes) upon the completion of a bypass.

Beginning in 1965<ref name="2005 projects">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was widened to a divided four-lane route between Orillia and North Bay. Initially, this work began at the southern end and progressed northwards; work later began southwards from North Bay.<ref name="Bracebridge">Template:Cite news</ref> The first section to be four-laned was Template:Convert north of Orillia, which was completed in October 1964, while the remaining Template:Convert north to Severn River was completed by the end of 1965.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Construction continued north of Severn River, with a Template:Convert section—including a second bridge over the Severn River—opening as far north as Kahshe Lake in October 1966. Construction on the next Template:Convert from Kahshe Lake to south of Gravenhurst began that year.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> The current Template:Convert bypass of Gravenhurst, crossing Gull Lake, was announced on MarchTemplate:Nbsp31, 1966,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref> and construction began in the spring of 1967.<ref name="Gravenhurst" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new bypass was completed and opened in late 1970.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

By 1971, HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 was a four lane divided highway from Orillia to the northern interchange with Bethune Drive in Gravenhurst, and work was underway on twinning the highway between Gravenhurst and then-Highway 117 (now Highway 118), north of Bracebridge;<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref> That project was completed by 1974.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> Between then and 1979, widening was completed to Template:Convert north of Highway 141 at Stephenson RoadTemplate:Nbsp12 along the existing route of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11, and underway for another Template:Convert to the southern end of the Huntsville Bypass.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Downloading and four-laning Huntsville to Powassan

In 1996 and 1997, the care (or rescinding of Connecting Link agreements) of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 from Barrie southwards, including all of Yonge Street, was transferred by the provincial government to county, regional, and city governments by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario as part of the Mike Harris government's Common Sense Revolution. This practice is called downloading, in that the financial burden will fall to a lower tier government. The entire Template:Convert of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 within York Region was transferred to the region on AprilTemplate:Nbsp1, 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was followed up a year later with the transfer of Template:Convert of the highway within Simcoe County south of Crown Hill on AprilTemplate:Nbsp1, 1997.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Along with the name Yonge Street, the section in York Region is now York Regional RoadTemplate:Nbsp1, while the section in Simcoe County is now mostly Simcoe County RoadTemplate:Nbsp4. Within the Cities of Toronto and Barrie it is simply either Yonge Street or the sections of various streets the highway followed.<ref>Template:Google maps</ref>

By 1997, the four-laning of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 reached to approximately Template:Convert north of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp60,<ref name="1998orm">Template:Cite map</ref> where an interchange was built in 1992,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as from North Bay south to Powassan.<ref name="1998orm" /> A continuous construction project was carried out over the next 15Template:Nbspyears to widen the remaining Template:Convert between Huntsville and Powassan.<ref name="finally-done">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="4laning">Template:Cite news</ref> A Template:Convert project to twin the existing two lane highway between Powassan and McGillvray Creek opened in September 1997. This was followed in October 1999 with the opening of another Template:Convert of twinning from McGillvray Creek south to Hummel Line, north of Trout Creek.<ref name="eves-opens">Template:Cite press release</ref>

In the early 2000s, several more sections were completed at both the north and south end of the remaining two lane highway. A Template:Convert section was opened in September 2001 north of the Huntsville Bypass to south of Novar, mostly along a new alignment alongside the existing highway. On OctoberTemplate:Nbsp3, 2002, the southbound lanes of the Template:Convert Trout Creek Bypass, a new alignment around that town, were opened, followed by the northbound lanes two weeks later. An additional Template:Convert of twinning was completed by the end of that year between Novar and south of Emsdale.<ref name="eves-opens" />

In 2003, a major failure of the Sgt. Aubrey Cosens VC Memorial Bridge at the Montreal River in Latchford caused a complete closure and significant detour.<ref name=shotgun>Template:Cite news</ref> A temporary one-lane Bailey bridge, which opened two weeks after the incident, was constructed to carry traffic on the highway;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> due to the expected water levels on the Montreal River once ice and snow began to melt in the spring, however, a second temporary bridge then had to be constructed for the duration of the original bridge's reconstruction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the Ministry of Transportation's final report, the failure was caused by a fatigue fracture of three steel hanger rods on the northwest side of the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Following reconstruction, the bridge resumed service in 2005. Each hanger rod was replaced with four cable wires, to provide greater stability in the event of a wire failure.<ref name="akesson">Template:Cite book</ref>

On OctoberTemplate:Nbsp30, 2004, another Template:Convert of four-laning was opened between the south end of the Trout Creek Bypass and north of South River.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To the south, a Template:Convert bypass of Emsdale opened the week of OctoberTemplate:Nbsp21, 2005, with a portion of the original Emsdale Bypass (constructed in 1956)<ref name="1956 report" /> remaining as Highway 518.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This left a Template:Convert gap remaining to be four-laned; by 2009, construction was underway on Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A Template:Convert section from south of Burk's Falls to south of Katrine was four-laned by late 2010, mostly along a new alignment. The Template:Convert Sundridge–South River Bypass opened to traffic on or about SeptemberTemplate:Nbsp20, 2011, along a new alignment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The final two projects, twinning the Burk's Falls Bypass and a new alignment alongside the existing highway between Burk's Falls and Sundridge, were completed and opened together on AugustTemplate:Nbsp8, 2012, completing the four laning between Barrie and North Bay. Overall, the project between Huntsville and Powassan required "16Template:Nbspnew interchanges, 54Template:Nbspnew bridges, 1.7Template:Nbspmillion cubic meters of rock excavation, 10.5Template:Nbspmillion cubic metres of earth excavation, 4.6Template:Nbspmillion tonnes of granular material applied and 500,000Template:Nbsptonnes of asphalt."<ref name="finally-done" />

Since 2010

Plans for four-laning HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11/17 from the end of the Thunder Bay Expressway northeast to Nipigon, including the Nipigon River Bridge, were first announced in December 1989.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The corridor was divided into four segments, and an Environmental Study Report (ESR) was published for each in 1996 or 1997.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="Dillon">Template:Cite web</ref> While the MTO designated the corridor—a mix of twinning the existing highway and a new alignment—in 2003,<ref name="Dillon" /> funding wasn't committed to the project until the late 2000s. In early-to-mid 2009, the provincial government announced the first of several contracts to expand the highway, starting from the Thunder Bay end. Construction on the Template:Convert, $42-million contract began in August 2010, from west of Hodder Avenue to Highway 527.<ref name="open-for-business">Template:Cite news</ref> The westbound lanes opened the weekend of August 6, 2011;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the existing highway was then rebuilt as the eastbound lanes, and opened on August 17, 2012. An interchange at Hodder Avenue—the first in Northwestern Ontario—was included as part of this project<ref name="Status-report">Template:Cite report</ref>

By 2012, construction was already underway on two more contracts: A $46-million project to twin Template:Convert of the existing highway between HighwayTemplate:Nbsp527 and west of Mackenzie Station Road that began in 2010,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and another 12.3-kilometre project built along a new alignment east of that point to Birch Beach Road. The latter project was completed first, opening in July 2013,<ref name="Status-report" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while the former was opened the week of September 29, 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Construction began in 2013 on a new four lane cable-stayed bridge across the Nipigon River, to replace the existing two lane bridge built in 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The southern span to carry the future westbound lanes was opened on NovemberTemplate:Nbsp28, 2015, after which the old bridge closed. It was subsequently demolished to allow the construction of the northern span to carry eastbound traffic, which was scheduled for 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, on JanuaryTemplate:Nbsp10, 2016, the bridge experienced a significant structural failure in which the deck raised Template:Convert, severing the only highway connection between eastern and western Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A single lane was reopened the following day and repairs began; both lanes were reopened on FebruaryTemplate:Nbsp25, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The failure caused a significant delay in the construction of the northern span, which did not open until NovemberTemplate:Nbsp23, 2018,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Template:Convert of approaches at each end were completed in 2019.<ref name="Status-report" />

On June 10, 2015, the province announced the awarding of two contracts: A $32.7 million contract awarded to twin Template:Convert of the existing highway from Birch Beach Road to Highway 587 near Loon, and an $84.8 million contract to construct a new Template:Convert alignment from Red Rock Road No. 9 to Stillwater Creek near Nipigon.<ref name="two-contracts">Template:Cite news</ref> Construction began on the former in October,<ref name="2017 update">Template:Cite news</ref> and on the latter by the end of June.<ref name="2017 update" /> The section from Birch Beach Road to HighwayTemplate:Nbsp587 was completed on September 1, 2017,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="teranorth">Template:Cite web</ref> while the section from Red Rock Road No. 9 to Stillwater Creek was completed in September 2019.<ref name="teranorth" />

On March 29, 2022, the Government of Ontario announced that it was extending its Template:Convert speed limit increase, on a trial basis, to the section of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 from north of Katrine to north of South River.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Future

Work is ongoing or upcoming to twin or realign the remaining Template:Convert of two-laned HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11/17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon. On DecemberTemplate:Nbsp8, 2020, a $71-million contract was awarded for a mix of twinning and a new alignment for Template:Convert from Superior Shores Road south of Ouimet to south of Dorion Loop Road near Dorion. Construction started a few weeks earlier at the end of November. The project is scheduled for completion in September 2023.<ref name="mouinette-dorion">Template:Cite news</ref> On JulyTemplate:Nbsp11, 2022, Template:Convert of the new eastbound lanes opened from Ouimet Canyon Road to Superior Shores Road. The remainder of the eastbound lanes, from Ouimet Canyon Road to Dorion Loop Road, are scheduled to open by the end of the year.<ref name="Dorion">Template:Cite news</ref>

On AprilTemplate:Nbsp9, 2022, the province announced a $107-million contract to twin and realign Template:Convert of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11/17 from the end of the existing four lane route near Highway 587 to Pearl. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2022 and be completed in 2026.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The remaining Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are in the detailed design process as of 2022, and are broken up into several sections: Template:Convert between Pearl and south of Ouimet; Template:Convert between Dorion Loop Road and near Highway 582; Template:Convert between HighwayTemplate:Nbsp582 and Coughlin Road; Template:Convert between Coughlin Road and Red Rock Road No. 9, crossing the Black Sturgeon River and connecting with the existing four lane route, and; Template:Convert through Nipigon, between Stillwater Creek and First Street.<ref name="Status-report" /><ref name="2017 update" />

HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 between Barrie and Gravenhurst is currently a right-in/right-out (RIRO) expressway (local access permitted, turnarounds via special interchanges), except for a section around Orillia which is a full freeway. Another freeway section (formerly HighwayTemplate:Nbsp400A) does exist in Barrie with the freeway segment from the southern terminus ending at Penetanguishene Road (Simcoe County RoadTemplate:Nbsp93). The MTO is currently planning on either converting the existing RIRO expressway to a full six-lane freeway or bypassing it with an entirely new alignment. An environmental and fiscal study concluded that the improvements from Barrie to Gravenhurst will involve the existing route being widened with the exception of a portion south of Gravenhurst that may potentially be constructed to the east of the current road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are also plans to convert sections of HighwayTemplate:Nbsp11 north of North Bay to a 2+1 highway as a pilot project. The project will feature a centre passing lane that will alternate direction approximately every two to five kilometres.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> One section will span for Template:Convert from Sand Dam Road to Ellesmere Road, and the other will span for Template:Convert from Highway 64 to Jumping Caribou Lake Road. The section from Sand Dam Road to Ellesmere Road will be prioritized.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A contract was awarded by the provincial government to AECOM Canada to begin the environmental assessment and design work in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ministry of Transportation has stated that they would consider additional potential locations for a 2+1 highway after the pilot is completed and evaluated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the 2025 Ontario general election, the government of Doug Ford made a campaign pledge to extend the 2+1 construction all the way to Cochrane, although no firm timeframe for this construction has yet been announced.<ref>Jillian MacIver, "Ford pledges to expand Highway 11 from Temiskaming Shores to Cochrane". Cochrane Times-Post, February 25, 2025.</ref> In July 2025, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities sent a proposal to the provincial and federal governments calling for the 2+1 upgrades to be made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Images

• Highway 11 just north of North Bay. On the left the Brake Check area can be seen before trucks head into North Bay.
  Highway 11 just north of North Bay. On the left the Brake Check area can be seen before trucks head into North Bay.
• As a 4-lane divided highway at North Waseosa Lake Road/Rockhaven Road interchange near Melissa.
  As a 4-lane divided highway at North Waseosa Lake Road/Rockhaven Road interchange near Melissa.
• Between Cochrane and Longlac, Highway 11 is straight and flat with little development.
  Between Cochrane and Longlac, Highway 11 is straight and flat with little development.
• Winter can pose serious driving hazards along Hwy 11 (near Temagami).
  Winter can pose serious driving hazards along Hwy 11 (near Temagami).
• New 4-lane divided Hwy 11 (near Katrine).
  New 4-lane divided Hwy 11 (near Katrine).

See also

• Webers, a fast-food restaurant located alongside the highway, near Orillia

References

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Ontario Plaques – Ferguson Highway
• Ontario Highway 11 – A Virtual Community-by-Community Trip Along the World's Longest Street
• Highway 11 @ AsphaltPlanet.ca

Four-laning studies Thunder Bay–Nipigon

• Highway 11/17 Four-Laning (Pearl), Municipality of Shuniah
• Highway 11/17 Four-Laning: From Pearl Lake, easterly to 2.8 km west of CPR Overhead at Ouimet, 7.6km
• Highway 11/17 Four-Laning from Ouimet to Dorion
• Highway 11/17 Four-Laning: From east of Junction Highway 582 westerly to Dorion, 11 km
• Highway 11/17 Expansion from west of Highway 582 to Coughlin Road
• Highway 11/17 Expansion from Coughlin Road to Red Rock Road #9