Province shifts Hwy. 11 passing lane project into high gear

The Ontario government is moving ahead with a new passing lane pilot project on Highway 11 between North Bay and Temiskaming Shores.

The three-lane highway has a centre passing lane that changes direction every few kilometres. The idea is to make highway travels safer for northern Ontario drivers.

The province announced Friday morning it awarded a contract to AECOM Canada Ltd. to begin the environmental assessment and design work on the 2+1 highway, as it’s known.

 “We know it’s a model that works,” said Mark Wilson, a member of the ‘Going The Extra Mile Safety’ group (GEMS).

“It suits really well for northern Ontario and the traffic volumes that we have here.”

The design is a continually alternating three-lane highway with a barrier between the opposing lanes. The GEMS group has been pushing for the project for a number of years.

In December 2021, Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said completing the roadway will cost between $1 million and $3 million per kilometre.

CTV News contacted the Ministry of Transportation for a comment on the project’s status. A spokesman said no one was available.

“We’re making great progress on our plan to build Ontario as we continue to work closely with communities and safety advocates to build a safer transportation network,” Mulroney said in a news release.

Statistics show the 2+1 roads have reduced fatalities between 55 and 80 per cent while also improving travel times. The province identified two 15-kilometre stretches of the highway for the proposed project: between Sand Dam Road to Ellesmere Road and between Highway 64 to Jumping Caribou Lake Road.

The locations were selected based on a site selection criteria report from the MTO, which included representation from the GEMS group.

“It needs to be part of a network and needs to be another model that we can use in Ontario between smaller two-lane rural highways,” said Wilson.

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The idea comes from Sweden. The country had about 3,000 kilometres of 2+1 roads as of early 2022 and it continues to build more. In 2021, Mulroney told reporters that once the design phase is complete, it will take between three to four years to build.

“We’re really pleased and happy to see it move forward,” said Wilson.

Once completed, Highway 11 will be the first 2+1 highway pilot project in North America.