Ontario Highway 17A Explained

Province:ON
Type:Hwy
Route:17A
Alternate Name:Kenora By-Pass
Maint:the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Beltway City:Kenora
Cities:Kenora, Kenora Airport
Counties:Kenora District
Length Km:33.3
Established:November16, 1990[1]
Direction A:West
Direction B:East
Terminus A: near Keewatin
Junction: near Keewatin
near Jaffray–Melick
Terminus B: near Kenora
Spur Type:Hwy
Spur Of:17
Previous Type:Hwy
Previous Route:17
Next Type:Hwy
Next Route:17B

King's Highway 17A, commonly referred to as Highway 17A or as the Kenora By-Pass, is an alternate route of Highway 17 around the city of Kenora, in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was built along a former Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way, and has two westbound passing lanes in separate parts, and one eastbound passing lane.

Route description

Although it is not an official part of the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 17A is designated as the through route when travelling into Kenora on the Trans-Canada.The road also provides access to Kenora Airport, but otherwise avoids the built-up areas of the city.[2] The highway passes through a heavily forested area dominated by large granite rock outcroppings, geography typical of the Canadian Shield.[3] On an average day approximately 3,200–5,200 vehicles travel along the road, varying by season.[4]

History

Construction of Highway 17A began in 1981 in response to traffic congestion within the city of Kenora, which created a severe bottleneck for cross-national traffic. The bypass opened in stages as it was constructed from west to east.[5] The first, from Highway 17 to Highway 596 opened in September 1983. Following this, contracts were tendered for construction of the Winnipeg River bridge.[6] The section between Highway 596 and Highway 658 opened several years later in the autumn of 1988.The final section, linking Highway 658 with Highway 17, was opened on November16, 1990, at which point the Kenora Bypass was designated Highway17A.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Hansard Transcripts . Highway 17A in Kenora . Legislative Assembly of Ontario . November 21, 1990 . February 2, 2021.
  2. Ontario Back Road Atlas . Mapart . Peter Heiler Ltd . 2010 . 106 . G3 . 978-1-55198-226-7.
  3. Web site: Farming on the Canadian Shield . Lake of the Woods Museum . September 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120328114101/http://www.kenora.ca/museum/history/industry/industry.aspx?id=5571 . March 28, 2012 . dead .
  4. Web site: Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts . Ministry of Transportation of Ontario . Ministry of Transportation of Ontario . Government of Ontario . 2007 . August 29, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192209/http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5 . July 6, 2011 . dead.
  5. Northern Transportation Construction Projects 1989–90 . Ministry of Northern Development and Mines . Transportation Capital Branch, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario . May 1989 . 6 . 0822-1480.
  6. Northern Transportation Construction Projects 1988–89 . Ministry of Northern Development and Mines . Transportation Capital Branch, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario . April 1988 . VII . 0822-1480.