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I'm glad you brought this up...I was thinking the same thing.
It is a bit strange why Canada hasn't put more effort into it's highways.
Part of the problem is the TCH is provincial...the Feds kick in some of the money
but it is mainly down to the provinces.
Some of the "poorer" provinces have done a better job than the "richer" ones,
New Brunswick has a pretty good divided highway system...and they're not rich...
conversely big Ontario has been lazy ...it has almost 14 million people...almost 40% of
the entire population of Canada...if it was a US state it would be fifth, just ahead of Illinois.
The bulk of the "2 lane" TCH is in Ontario!
Former Ontario Premier...Kathleen Wynne was gung ho on twinning the TCH in
Ontario...and she did like to spend...progress was being made but current Premier, Doug Ford has put a halt to most of it. The last Toronto to Sudbury, approx. 80 km section from near Parry Sound to the French River is at a standstill...so... Ontario ,in almost 2020, doesn't even have a completed divided highway
from Toronto to Sudbury...that should have been completed 30 years ago or more, LOL.
Some sections are difficult...I agree constructing a divided TCH from Sault Ste. Marie to the Nipigon River would be very expensive...I personally think it is worth it and should be done, with the help of the Feds money.
It will benefit the entire country...we need one modern efficient "Interstate" like HWY to
span the country. Not many like the US has but one ...is that too much to ask
I read that just the "missing" BC section (Kamloops to Alberta) apparently costs the
economy (GDP) about $ 1.8 billion dollars annually of lost productivity (never mind missing potential for increased investment).
The sections not completed can be done, heck, we did it way back in the 1960s, with a smaller population,
when there is a will there is a way. Canada sometimes is missing that US "can do" attitude,
instead we get mired in procrastination and endless "studies".
There is progress...the section the OP refered, RT 185 in Quebec, Saint Antoine to Saint Louis du Ha! Ha! (got to love that town name) will be completed by 2025 (originally supposed to have finished in 2017).
New Brunswick is lobbying Quebec to get it completed as fast as possible.
Ontario has just about completed a small section from the Manitoba border to Kenora,
also the section from Thunder Bay to the Nipigon River. Also twinning the bridge there,
here is a bit of trivia...that TCH bridge over the Nipigon River is the ONLY road ...in other words,
if there is a problem with the bridge and it is closed there is no other way to go by road east/west in Canada (other than travelling thru the USA, via Michigan's UP ...which is a big costly detour). And that actually happen once in 2017. Imagine the USA with only one road at some point east/west for the entire country
Ah, a substantive reply......
Thanks for the info. I didn’t know about the other stretches which are only two lanes. I assume that there IS an actual way to use four lane highways in getting across the country, though? Maybe by taking a different, longer route? The problem with the stretch I referenced is that it’s the ONLY way to get from Quebec to the Maritimes.
There is no way that two lanes qualify as a highway or freeway or whatever else you want to call it. Actual four or six lane highways are essential in 2019.
America built most of its entire interstate system in less than 20 years.....tens of thousands of miles. Thanks to Eisenhower. Things just don’t get done the way they used to. Now, things drag on forever.
The problem with the stretch I referenced is that it’s the ONLY way to get from Quebec to the Maritimes.
The final 40 km of four-lane divided highway between Ontario-Quebec and the Maritimes is under construction a couple of hours from where you live and will be open in a few years.
Ah, a substantive reply......
Thanks for the info. I didn’t know about the other stretches which are only two lanes. I assume that there IS an actual way to use four lane highways in getting across the country, though? Maybe by taking a different, longer route?
Yes you can go for example from Toronto to Vancouver on a four-lane divided highway - if you go through the US via Detroit, Chicago and then across the Plains and the mountains to Seattle and then go north from there.
Yes you can go for example from Toronto to Vancouver on a four-lane divided highway - if you go through the US via Detroit, Chicago and then across the Plains and the mountains to Seattle and then go north from there.
So you have to use the States to do four lanes from Ontario to BC??
Wow.
I read that some Canadians (and lots of trucks) just come down to I-90 to go west or east. Wouldn’t completing an actual freeway get almost all Canadians to “stay home” when making that drive? Which would be an economic boost. The “build it and they will come” argument seems strong. (To say nothing of the cities in southern Canada which logically should be connected by a freeway, any way).
Side note: do they take I-94 as much as I-90? I would think they would, as it’s quite a bit closer to Canada.
I live in BC and this is the first I've heard of that..can you link where you got that. Also, " missing". The TCH goes through Kamloops all the way to Banff and on to Calgary. Is it the fact that is some parts it is only 2 lanes?
I've driven it a few times and never felt it needed to be wider since it has plenty of passing lanes every few K's. It certainly isn't missing.
BC has some great highways, such as the Coquihalla, and my fave, Highway 3 aka the Crowsnest. If anyone wants to drive across southern BC, I always recommend Highway 3. Gorgerous, stunning and ever-changing scenery. From rivers, to lakes, large mountains, to small, from from forest to scrubland, through wineries, fruit farms and ranchland.
No standard berms for safety? The scenery is pleasing, but those roads definitely don't meet Interstate standards for the most part.
Wow.
I read that some Canadians (and lots of trucks) just come down to I-90 to go west or east. Wouldn’t completing an actual freeway get almost all Canadians to “stay home” when making that drive? Which would be an economic boost. The “build it and they will come” argument seems strong. (To say nothing of the cities in southern Canada which logically should be connected by a freeway, any way).
Side note: do they take I-94 as much as I-90? I would think they would, as it’s quite a bit closer to Canada.
Google Maps recommends I94 to Billings, then I90.
Relatively few people go through the US to travel between Ontario and the Maritimes.
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