What's the Trans Canada like from North Bay to Sault Ste. Marie?

[Josh Hendy]

I last drove Highway 17 between the Soo and eastern Ontario 'way back in the early 70s ... as a little kid on vacation. I don't remember much except it was a pretty narrow road with pretty lousy to non-existent shoulders ... there was a really hairy moment of excitement in the hills near Sudbury when our camper trailer tire burst and there was literally nowhere to pull over. Not sure how we got out of that one OK but I'm still here. Way to go, Dad.

I know that it's been upgraded since then ... I drove the section from Ottawa to North Bay a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised with the road conditions. The grades and curves have been straightened out, the pavement and shoulders were pretty good, there are lots of passing lanes, and the traffic was very light and not full of aggressive yahoos trying to make the best possible time between T.O. and Montreal (like a certain 400-series highway I could name). Or idiot trucks with speed limiters trying to pass each other for 15 minutes because one is doing 105 km/h and the other one is locked at 104.9.

So is the rest of the highway from North Bay to the Soo as good? Have they ironed out some of the kinks, built a few more shoulders and added passing lanes all the way?

By "good" I mean, as good as a 2-lane highway can be in a joke of a country which doesn't even have a single coast-to-coast freeway more than 100 years after the invention of the automobile

 

[greenclan67]

Yes, you will be fine. I live on beautiful Manitoulin Island, and we travel to the Sault often. Haven't been to North Bay in awhile, but I believe it has been upgraded. It is still twisty turny, but lots of new road.

 

[PinkMagnolia]

We live in Sudbury. You will be fine on this highway. There are many passing lanes between North Bay and Sudbury; and Sudbury to the Soo. One thing I find about the highway, though, is that it's pretty slow. It goes through many small towns, so you need to slow down to 60 km/hr in a few spots, and there are quite a few stop lights that slow you down too. Although it is only about 300 Km between the Soo and Sudbury, it seems to take FOREVER to get there.

You will find the highway VERY busy. Lots of transports and campers slowing you down, cyclists freaking you out, and a lot of traffic volume. Don't allow yourself to become impatient and frustrated. It's just a busy highway. And guaranteed you will see your fair share of construction along the way too.

Another thing that has changed since the 70's too, is that the highway completely bypasses Sudbury, so if you are planning to eat or fuel up in Sudbury, you will need to go out of your way to go into town to do so.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[minnie mum]

My DD and her DH just drove this route. They're driving from Ottawa to Vancouver. She said the roads have been fine. A fair bit of heavy traffic, with big trucks and campers/ RVs. But plenty of passing lanes as well. Just don't be in too big of a rush. They'll finally make it out of Ontario and get to Winnipeg tomorrow.

 

[myzel]

Gee, remember when the "hwy" from Winnipeg to the Pas was gravel, if you don't like this "joke" country then feel free to leave. Get a rectal cranial inversion, drive safe and every road is good.

 

[minnie mum]

By "good" I mean, as good as a 2-lane highway can be in a joke of a country which doesn't even have a single coast-to-coast freeway more than 100 years after the invention of the automobile

Gee, remember when the "hwy" from Winnipeg to the Pas was gravel, if you don't like this "joke" country then feel free to leave. Get a rectal cranial inversion, drive safe and every road is good.

I assume that you were taking exception to the quote above. I must admit that I was somewhat surprised to read this as well. While I am sure all Canadians would like to see the remaining 2 lane sections of the TCH twinned, its not quite as simple as the OP seems to have assumed.

I could be wrong, but I don't think even the US had a coast to coast freeway system 100 years ago. In fact, it didn't start until the 50s, under the Eisenhower administration. Canada began work on the TCH in the 50s as well. Unfortunately Canada has neither the population density nor the tax base to support the massive cost of rapidly completing these projects. I believe that these projects now fall under provincial jurisdiction. If we had 10x the tax base that we currently have ( which would be similar to the US) we could probably have finished by now. But we don't. So we haven't.