Highway 11 (Ontario)
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Highway 11 is one of the longest of Ontario's King's Highways, with a current length (as of 2004) of 1 636 km (1,016 miles). Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie, Ontario, and stretches across northern Ontario, around Lake Superior, to the Ontario/Minnesota border at Rainy River. At that point it connects to Minnesota State Highway 72.
North and West of North Bay, Highway 11 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway.
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[edit] History
Highway 11 was originally constructed as a trunk road to connect the communities of northern Ontario, and was initially planned to run from North Bay to Cochrane. Construction began in 1925, and it was officially opened on 2 July 1927. When it was opened, it was named the Ferguson Highway, in honour of Premier George Howard Ferguson. Roads in northern Ontario later came under the Ministry of Transportation and became provincial highways.
Over the years, Highway 11 grew to stretch from downtown Toronto all the way to the Minnesota border. Highway 11 became synonymous with Yonge Street, the name of the street in Toronto which formed its southernmost segment. It is from this that Yonge Street gained (somewhat controversially) notoriety as the 'longest street in the world'.
In 1997, the care of the highway portion south of Barrie, including Yonge Street, was transferred by the provincial government to various regional governments as part of significant cost reductions by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. [This practice is called downloading, in that the financial burden will fall to a lower tier government, in the premise of reducing taxes] Along with the name Yonge Street, the section in York Region is now York Regional Road 1, the section in Simcoe County is now mostly Simcoe County 4. Toronto does not have a regional road system; it is now only known as Yonge Street there. Highway 11 consequently assumed the 1.1-kilometre highway stub formerly known as Highway 400A, and now ends at the interchange with Highway 400 just north of Barrie's city limits.
In 2003, a major bridge failure at the Sgt. Aubrey Cosens VC Memorial Bridge at the Montreal River in Latchford, Ontario caused a complete closure and significant detour.
Major reconstruction of Highway 11 has taken place in recent years, which has slowly been in the process of upgrading from a two-lane rural highway, to a four-lane road with right-in/right-out ramps, to a 400-Series standard freeway (which has been completed in several sections). In some aeas the new freeway is being built with at-grade intersections, presumably to be upgraded to full interchanges or grade separated at a future date. By the early-2010s, it is expected that all of the highway between Gravenhurst and North Bay will be four lanes. Despite the at-grade intersections, the normal freeway speed of 100 km/h (65 mph) is posted.
[edit] The future
Highway 11 between Barrie and Gravenhurst is currently a rather unusual right-in, right-out (RIRO) expressway (local access permitted, turnarounds via special interchanges), except for a section around Orillia which is a full freeway. The MTO is currently planning on either converting the existing RIRO expressway to a full 6-lane freeway, or bypassing it with an entirely new alignment.
Extensions of both the 404 and 427 have been contemplated by the MTO, and it is conceivable that if either of these options were chosen, the section of Highway 11 between Gravenhurst and North Bay could be redesignated as part of Highway 404 or 427. It is expected that the RIRO configuration will be eliminated within 20 years.
North of Gravenhurst to North Bay, the highway is a mixture of freeway sections and at-grade rural expressway (planned to be upgraded to a full freeway) except for one gap that remains a two-lane conventional highway; that section is expected to be widened by 2012. If the MTO does chose to upgrade the existing alignment of Highway 11, it has been speculated that the highway will be designated as Highway 411. [1]
(Note the exit numbers start around 104 - currently the first posted exit number is 129 in Orillia - presumably for continuation from Highway 400)
[edit] Lane and roadway configurations from south to north
Section | Travel Lanes and Description |
---|---|
Highway 400 to Simcoe Road 93 | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Simcoe Road 93 to Memorial Avenue | 2 lanes in each direction, RIRO expressway |
Memorial Avenue to Laclie Street | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Laclie Street to Muskoka Road 169 | 2 lanes in each direction, RIRO expressway |
Muskoka Road 169 to Gull Lake Narrows bridge | 2 lanes in each direction, At-grade expressway |
Gull Lake Narrows bridge to Muskoka Road 117 | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Muskoka Road 117 to Lindgren Road | 2 lanes in each direction, At-grade expressway |
Lindgren Road to Novar Road | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Novar Road to Station Road | 2 lanes in each direction, At-grade expressway |
Station Road to Highway 592/Sunset Pass Drive | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Highway 592/Sunset Pass Drive to 2km north of South River crossing | 1 Lane per Direction, Undivided (to be upgraded in various stages) |
2 km north of South River crossing to Lindsay's Hill Road | 2 lanes in each direction, At-grade expressway |
Lindsay's Hill Road to Proudfoot Road | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
Proudfoot Road to 1km south of Wasi River crossing | 2 lanes in each direction, At-grade expressway |
Wasi River crossing to Highway 17 East | 2 lanes in each direction, Freeway |
North Bay bypass multiplexed with Highway 17 | 2 lanes in each direction, Undivided major arterial road |
Highway 17 West (North Bay) northward | Generally 1 Lane per Direction, Undivided conventional highway |
[edit] Interchanges from south to north
Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
---|---|---|
Springwater | 104* | Highway 400 |
Springwater - Oro-Medonte Boundary | 105* | Penetanguishene Road (Simcoe County Road 93; former ) |
Oro-Medonte | 109** | Oro-Medonte Line 3 (Simcoe County Road 57)/"Gasoline Alley" |
Oro-Medonte | 115** | Oro-Medonte Line 7 (Simcoe County Road 127) |
Oro-Medonte | 121** | Oro-Medonte Line 11 (Simcoe County Road 20) |
Oro-Medonte - Orillia Boundary | 129 | Memorial Avenue (Simcoe County Road 49) (currently northbound only) |
Orillia | 131 | Highway 12 South / Old Barrie Road (Simcoe County Road 11) |
Orillia | 133 | Highway 12 North / Coldwater Road |
Orillia - Severn Boundary | 135 | Burnside Line/West Street (Simcoe County Road 18) |
Orillia - Severn Boundary | 137* | Laclie Street |
Severn | 146** | South Sparrow Lake Road (Simcoe County Road 38)/Goldstein Road |
Severn | 151** | Simcoe County Road 169 (formerly Ontario Highways 69 and 169) |
Severn - Gravenhurst Boundary | 153** | Coopers Falls Road (Muskoka Road 6 and Simcoe County Road 52) |
Gravenhurst | 154** | Southwood Road (Muskoka Road 13) |
Gravenhurst | 161** | Kilworthy Road/Kahshe Lake Road |
Gravenhurst | 169 | Muskoka Road 169 (formerly Ontario Highways 69 and 169) |
Gravenhurst | 175 | Bethune Drive (Muskoka Road 41)/Doe Lake Road (Muskoka Road 6) |
Bracebridge | 182 | Highway 118/Muskoka Road 118 West |
Bracebridge | 184 | Cedar Lane (Muskoka Road 37) |
Bracebridge | 189 | Taylor Road (Muskoka Road 42) |
Bracebridge | 191* | Kirk Line (substandard) |
Bracebridge | 193 | Muskoka Road 117 (formerly Highway 117) |
Huntsville | 205* | South Mary Lake Road (Muskoka Road 44)/Stephenson Road 4 (at-grade intersection, interchange construction to begin soon) |
Huntsville | 207 | Highway 141/Port Sydney Road (Muskoka Road 10) |
Huntsville | 212* | Allensville Road/Rowanwood Road (currently an at-grade intersection) |
Huntsville | 216* | Gryffin Lodge Road/Madill Church Road (currently an at-grade intersection) |
Huntsville | 219 | Muskoka Road 3 |
Huntsville | 221 | Muskoka Road 2 |
Huntsville | 223 | Highway 60 |
Huntsville | 226 | Muskoka Road 3/Old North Road |
Huntsville | 231 | North Waseosa Lake Road/Rockhaven Road |
Huntsville - Perry Boundary | 235 | Novar Road/ Highway 592 |
Perry | 244 | Fern Glen Road/Scotia Road |
Perry | 248 | Highway 518/Deer Lake Road |
Armour | 252* | Doe Lake Road/Three Mile Lake Road (at-grade intersection, interchange under construction) |
Armour | 257* | Highway 520/Ferguson Road (at-grade intersection, interchange under construction) |
Armour | 261* | Ontario Street (at-grade intersection, future interchange) |
Armour - Strong Boundary | 266* | Pevensey Road (at-grade intersection, future interchange) |
Strong | 271* | Black Creek Road/Robins Road (at-grade intersection, future interchange) |
Strong | 276* | Highway 124 (at-grade intersection, future interchange) |
Strong - Machar Boundary | 284* | Machar-Strong Boundary Road/Tower Road (future interchange) |
Machar | 291* | Highway 124 (Existing Highway 11) (interchange under construction) |
Parry Sound District (unincorporated) | 294 | Goreville Road/Summit Road |
Powassan | 301 | Highway 522/McFadden Line |
Powassan | 306 | Highway 522B/Hemlock Road |
Powassan | 316 | Highway 534/Clark Street |
Callander | 329 | Highway 654/Lake Nosbonsing Road |
North Bay | 338 | Lakeshore Drive |
North Bay | 344 | Highway 17 |
- *Exit number not signed, based on kilometre post
- **Current RIRO expressway section, possible interchange on new freeway
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ontario Plaques - Ferguson Highway
- Ontario Highway 11 Homepage - A Virtual Community-by-Community Trip Along the World's Longest Street
Preceded by ON Highway 71 |
Trans-Canada Highway ON Highway 11 |
Succeeded by ON Highway 17 |
Succeeded by ON Highway 66 |
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Preceded by ON Highway 17 |
Succeeded by ON Highway 17 |
British Columbia: Highway 1 • Highway 16 | Alberta: Highway 1 • Highway 16 | Saskatchewan: Highway 1 • Highway 16 | Manitoba: Highway 1 • Highway 16 • Highway 100 Ontario: Highway 17 • Highway 69 • Highway 400 • Highway 12 • Highway 7 • Highway 71 • Highway 11 • Highway 66 • Highway 417 Québec: Autoroute 40 • Autoroute 25 • Autoroute 20 • Autoroute 85 • Route 185 • Route 117 • Autoroute 15 New Brunswick: Route 2 • Route 16 | Prince Edward Island: Highway 1 | Nova Scotia: Highway 104 • Highway 105 • Highway 106 | Newfoundland: Highway 1 |