Construction Begins on Highway 11/17 Widening in Ontario

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The Ontario government has commenced construction to widen Highway 11/17, enhancing the Trans-Canada Highway infrastructure.

SHUNIAH, ONT. — The government of Ontario has officially launched construction efforts to widen Highway 11/17, covering the segment from McGuire Road to Coughlin Road. This development represents a significant step forward in the province's broader initiative to twin more than 107 kilometers of the Trans-Canada Highway, which runs between Thunder Bay and Nipigon. The current project entails the widening of a five-kilometer stretch of Highway 11/17, which will expand the existing two-lane corridor into a four-lane roadway, featuring two lanes in each direction separated by a grassy median. Additionally, the construction will include the erection of two new bridges across the Black Sturgeon River, as noted in an official release.
Financial backing for this project is being provided by the federal government, which is contributing up to $26.05 million through the New Building Canada Fund’s Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component. Alongside the highway widening, the province is also set to implement round-the-clock operations at the Shuniah truck inspection station located on Highway 11/17. This facility, which has a budget of $30 million, is designed to assist enforcement personnel in detecting potential issues with commercial vehicles.
Looking ahead, the province anticipates that by November 2025, it will have completed significant construction phases that involve widening Highway 11/17 from Coughlin Road to Highway 582 and from Highway 587 to Pearl Lake. This scope of work includes the addition of two new bridges over the Pearl River. Furthermore, detailed design work is currently in progress to expand Highway 11/17 from Pearl Lake to the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway Overhead at Ouimet, a distance of 7.6 kilometers. In addition, preliminary design efforts are underway for another section of Highway 11/17 that stretches 11 kilometers, from Highway 582 to Dorion East Loop Road.

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