Motorists making the journey between Thunder Bay and Nipigon should be able to enjoy mostly stress-free driving in just over a year’s time.
According to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), nearly 75 per cent of the 110-kilometre stretch of Highway 11-17 will consist of a four-lane roadway by the end of 2026.
“After two (ongoing four-lane) projects are complete, 81 km of the 110 km distance will be complete,” a MTO spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
Currently, the ministry is overseeing four-lane construction on an 8.3-km stretch of Highway 11-17 between the Coughlin Road and Highway 582 intersections. That portion, expected to be finished by the end of this month, is costing $43.5 million, the ministry said.
A second four-lane section to be constructed by the end of 2026 covers 14.4 km between the Highway 587 intersection and Pearl Lake at a cost of $107.5 million, the ministry said.
Just over half of the overall initiative to upgrade Highway 11-17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon has so far been finished.
To date, just over 58 km of the 110-km stretch is now a four-lane roadway.
Though planning for the project pre-dates the term of former Liberal Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle, many have given him credit for pushing the project along during his 27 years in office. Gravelle retired from provincial politics in 2022.
Meanwhile, planning for construction of an additional eight kilometres of four-lane highway in the eastern limits of Shuniah in the Pearl Lake area remains a work-in-progress.
When ready to go, that Highway 11-17 section is to begin near Superior Shores Road, about three kilometres west of the overpass that clears the CPKC rail line, and continue to towards Thunder Bay for 7.6 km.
More information about the Pearl Lake project, including how to submit feedback to project planners, is available online at Hwy11-17Four-Laning-PearlLake.ca.
