THUNDER BAY — The Ontario government has awarded a contract for twinning another stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway east of Thunder Bay.
The project involves an 8.6 kilometre section of Highway 11/17 between Superior Shores and Dorion.
A Ministry of Transportation spokesperson says the contract was awarded to Teranorth Construction for just under $71 million.
Work started at the end of November, and won't be completed until September 2023.
It includes 4.5 kilometres of all-new new four-lane alignment, with the remaining 4.1 kilometres being a twinning of the existing two-lane highway.
The project site runs easterly from a point 2.8 kilometres west of the Ouimet overhead bridge.
Included in the work are:
- Two new bridges over the Canadian Pacific Railway
- Realignment of Meyers Road, Ouimet Canyon Road, and Dorion Loop Road west connections to the new highway
- A new Birch Lane connection to Meyers Road
In August, 2019 the federal government announced it was willing to contribute $37 million to help the province twin this section.
The announcement was welcomed by the province, which said the work had already advanced to detailed design engineering.
To date, the divided highway spans about one half of the 107 kilometres between Thunder Bay and Nipigon.
