Ontario Highway 144

Last updated

Ontario 144.svg
Highway 144
Ontario Highway 144
Highway 144 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length271.7 km [1]  (168.8 mi)
HistoryAssumed April 1965 [2]
completed September 25, 1970 [3]
Major junctions
South endOntario 17 crown.svg  Highway 17 in Sudbury
Major intersectionsOntario Highway 560.svg  Highway 560 / Sultan Industrial Road
Ontario Highway 661.svg  Highway 661 – Gogama
North endOntario 101 crown.svg  Highway 101 in Timmins
Highway system
← Ontario 141.svg Highway 141 → Ontario 148.svg Highway 148

King's Highway 144, commonly referred to as Highway 144, is a provincially maintained highway in the northern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario, linking the cities of Greater Sudbury and Timmins. The highway is one of the most isolated in Ontario, passing through forest for the majority of its 271 km (168 mi) length. It is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police and features an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit.

Contents

Highway 144 was created by renumbering Highway 544 in April 1965. This was done in preparation for an extension of the short secondary highway from Cartier to Timmins, and was completed in 1970. In the mid-1980s, a new route was constructed which allowed Highway 144 to bypass the urban core of Sudbury, known as the Northwest Bypass.

Route description

Highway 144 north of Gogama Ontario Hwy 144.JPG
Highway 144 north of Gogama

Highway 144 is 271 km (168 mi) long, lying between its southern terminus at an interchange with Highway 17 west of Lively and its northern terminus at an intersection with Highway 101 west of downtown Timmins. [1] Much of the route is isolated; Cartier is the only community located directly on the highway anywhere north of Sudbury's northerly city limits, although Gogama and the Mattagami First Nation are near the highway along spur routes. [4]

Between the communities of Dowling and Onaping in Greater Sudbury, Highway 144 is home to the scenic A. Y. Jackson Lookout, overlooking the waterfall depicted in Jackson's 1953 painting "Spring on the Onaping River". It exits Greater Sudbury at Windy Lake Provincial Park and passes through the village of Cartier, then enters a long isolated stretch surrounded only by endless expanses of the boreal forest. [4] At an isolated point 149 km (93 mi) north of Lively and 117 km (73 mi) south of Timmins, Highway 144 meets Highway 560 and the Sultan Industrial Road, which constitute the only major transportation route intersecting the highway outside the cities of Sudbury and Timmins; [1] the rest stop at this intersection is the only gas station located on the highway north of Cartier. [5]

Northern terminus of Highway 144 at Highway 101. No fuel for 85 km. Ontario Hwy 144 2.JPG
Northern terminus of Highway 144 at Highway 101. No fuel for 85 km.

Just north of the Highway 560/Sultan Industrial Road intersection, the highway crosses the Laurentian Divide, the boundary between the Great Lakes and Arctic Ocean watersheds. North of this point, all streams and rivers flow north into Hudson Bay. A sign and a small picnic area mark the transition. The highway continues through isolated forests and curves east to meet Highway 661, a short spur serving the town of Gogama. The highway turns to the north and follows along the western side of Kenogamissi Lake for 70 km (43 mi) to Highway 101, just west of the urban core of Timmins. [4]

History

Prior to 1964, Highway 144 was numbered as Highway 544 and extended from Sudbury to Cartier. [6] Construction began in that year on a new route connecting Sudbury to Timmins, with work commencing at both ends as well as from Gogama. The highway number was changed in April 1965; the upgrade from secondary to primary highway reflected the proposed route's importance in linking two major urban centres. [2] Despite this, the portion of the route of Highway 544 between Windy Lake and Cartier was bypassed by a new alignment; the old route is still known as Old Highway 544 or Old Cartier Road. [4] The new highway was fully opened to traffic by premier John Robarts on September 25, 1970. [3]

Until some point between 1974 and 1977, Highway 144 passed through the INCO mine property north of Copper Cliff and entered Sudbury along Spruce Street and Regent Street. [7] Realignments between Sudbury and Azilda resulted in a shorter routing that is today known as Sudbury Municipal Road 35. [8] [9] Despite this, planning was underway throughout the 1970s to construct several bypasses around Sudbury, including the Southwest Bypass of Highway 17, as well as the 17.6-kilometre (10.9 mi) Northwest Bypass between it and Chelmsford. In early 1983, contracts were tendered for the grading of the northern 8.7 km (5.4 mi) section within what was then the town of Rayside-Balfour. The project was completed by the end of the year, after which a second contract was awarded to grade a further 6 km (3.7 mi). The final grading contract, which included the interchange at Highway 17, was awarded in 1985 and completed in mid-1986. The entire bypass was paved shortly thereafter and opened in 1987. [10] [11] [12]

Future

In recent years, heavy traffic has been reported along the route through Chelmsford and Dowling, with an average daily traffic volume of 19,200 vehicles in 2002. [13] The Ministry of Transportation has announced a preliminary study into potential improvements to the route between Chelmsford and Dowling, which may include the possibility of a full bypass realignment. [14]

The City of Greater Sudbury is currently widening Municipal Road 35 between the eastern intersection of Municipal Road 21 (Notre Dame Street) in Azilda to Highway 144 in Chelmsford to four lanes. Construction began in the fall of 2018 with a culvert replacement contract. The completion of widening is expected in 2021. [15] [16]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 144, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. [1]  

DivisionLocationkm [1] miDestinationsNotes
Greater Sudbury 0.00.0Ontario 17 crown.svgTrans-Canada Highway shield.svg Highway 17  / TCH  – Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay Trumpet interchange
4.02.5 Municipal Road 24 – Creighton Mine, Lively
17.610.9 Municipal Road 15  / Municipal Road 35 – Valley East May be bypassed in the future by a realignment currently under MTO study.
18.711.6St. Albert Street / Charlotte Street
24.115.0 Municipal Road 13 (Vermilion Lake Road)
28.217.5Larchwood Avenue – Onaping Falls
40.925.4 Municipal Road 8 – Onaping Falls
Sudbury Unorganized Sudbury 73.945.9Onaping Lake Road – Onaping Lake Provincial Park
154.095.7Ontario Highway 560.svg  Highway 560 / Sultan Industrial Road
186.0115.6Ontario Highway 661.svg  Highway 661 – Gogama, Mattagami
Cochrane Timmins 271.7168.8Ontario 101 crown.svg  Highway 101 – Timmins
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related Research Articles

Sudbury District District in Ontario, Canada

The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District.

King's Highway 101, commonly referred to as Highway 101, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 473.3-kilometre (294.1 mi) highway connects Highway 17 west of Wawa with Highway 11 in Matheson before continuing east to the Ontario–Quebec border where it becomes Route 388. The highway forms one of the only connections between the two routes of the Trans-Canada Highway between Nipigon and Temagami, and crosses some of the most remote regions of Northern Ontario. Major junctions are located with Highway 129 near Chapleau and Highway 144 southwest of Timmins, though the distance between these junctions is significant.

Ontario Highway 427 Controlled-access highway in Ontario

King's Highway 427, also known as Highway 427 and colloquially as the 427, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that runs from the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and Gardiner Expressway in Toronto to Major Mackenzie Drive in Vaughan. It is Ontario's second busiest freeway by volume and the third busiest in North America, behind Highway 401 and Interstate 405 in California. Like Highway 401, a portion of the route is divided into a collector-express system with twelve to fourteen continuous lanes. Notable about Highway 427 are its several multi-level interchanges; the junctions with the QEW/Gardiner Expressway and Highway 401 are two of the largest interchanges in Ontario and were constructed between 1967 and 1971, while the interchanges with Highway 409 and Highway 407 were completed in 1992 and 1995, respectively.

Ontario Highway 417 Controlled-access highway in Ontario

King's Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Ottawa with Montreal via A-40, and is the backbone of the transportation system in the National Capital Region. Within Ottawa, it forms part of the Queensway west from Highway 7 to Ottawa Road 174. Highway 417 extends from the Quebec border, near Hawkesbury, to Arnprior, where it continues westward as Highway 17. Aside from the urban section through Ottawa, Highway 417 passes through farmland that dominates much of the fertile Ottawa Valley.

Ontario Highway 400 Controlled-access highway in Ontario

King's Highway 400, commonly referred to as Highway 400, historically as the Toronto–Barrie Highway, and colloquially as the 400, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking the city of Toronto in the urban and agricultural south of the province with the scenic and sparsely populated central and northern regions. The portion of the highway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe roughly traces the route of the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, a historic trail between the Lower and Upper Great Lakes. North of Highway 12, in combination with Highway 69, it forms a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH), the Georgian Bay Route, and is part of the highest-capacity route from southern Ontario to the Canadian West, via a connection with the mainline of the TCH in Sudbury. The highway also serves as the primary route from Toronto to southern Georgian Bay and Muskoka, areas collectively known as cottage country. The highway is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police and has a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph), except for the section south of the 401, where the speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph).

King's Highway 69, commonly referred to as Highway 69, is a provincially maintained north–south highway in the central portion of the Canadian province of Ontario. In conjunction with Highway 400, it links Toronto with the city of Greater Sudbury at Highway 17, via Parry Sound. It is part of the Trans-Canada Highway and the National Highway System. From its southern terminus of Highway 559 at Carling, Highway 69 begins as Highway 400 narrows from a four-laned freeway to a two lane highway. It travels northerly for approximately 68 kilometres (42 mi) to south of the French River before widening back to a divided four lane freeway for approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) into Sudbury. The final 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of the route, connecting to Highway 17, is a five lane arterial road that will be converted to freeway as the final phase of the four-laning.

King's Highway 27, commonly referred to as Highway 27, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, much of which is now cared for by the city of Toronto, York Region and Simcoe County. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario was once responsible for the length of the route, when it ran through much of Southern Ontario, from Long Branch to Highway 93 in Waverley. Highway 27 followed a mostly straight route throughout its length, as it passed through the suburbs of Toronto, then north of Kleinburg the vast majority of the highway was surrounded by rural farmland. Today, only the southernmost 1.6 km (1 mi) from Highway 427 north to Mimico Creek is under provincial jurisdiction.

Ontario Highway 655 Ontario provincial highway

Highway 655 is a secondary highway in the Cochrane District in Northern Ontario. The route is 74.7 kilometres (46.4 mi) in length. It is heavily used by trucks as a critical access road to Timmins. The highway is one of the widest, best-maintained secondary highways in the north, and has the distinction of being Ontario's only secondary highway that features a 90 km/h (55 mph) speed limit, due to its importance and high design standards.

Secondary Highway 537, commonly referred to as Highway 537, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway is 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) in length, connecting Highway 69 near Wanup with Finni Road. It once continued 3.6 km (2.2 mi) further to intersect Highway 17 in Wahnapitae, but was truncated in 1998; this portion of the route is now designated as Greater Sudbury Municipal Road 537. Highway 537 remains the only secondary highway in the province within a jurisdiction that also maintains a county/regional road network.

King's Highway 37, commonly referred to as Highway 37, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at Highway 401 in Belleville and travels 44.2 km (27.5 mi) north to Highway 7 in Actinolite. The route once continued south through Belleville to Highway 62, but was truncated in 1998. Prior to the re-routing, Highway 37 was 47.2 km (29.3 mi) long.

King's Highway 40, commonly referred to as Highway 40, is a provincially maintained highway in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario. The 91.4-kilometre (56.8 mi) route links Chatham and Sarnia via Wallaceburg, following close to the St. Clair River. The southern terminus is at Highway 401 south of Chatham, while the northern terminus is at Highway 402 in Sarnia. The portion of Highway 40 between Highway 401 and north of Wallaceburg is within the municipality of Chatham-Kent, while the portion north of there is within Lambton County.

King's Highway 35, also known as Highway 35, is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, linking Highway 401 with Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, and Algonquin Park. The highway travels from west of Newcastle, through Lindsay and the Kawarthas and into Haliburton before terminating at Highway 60 to the west of Algonquin Park. The winding course of the highway, combined with the picturesque views offered along its length, have led some to declare it the most scenic highway in Ontario.

Secondary Highway 634, commonly referred to as Highway 634, is a remote highway in Northern Ontario that connects Highway 11 in Smooth Rock Falls to the Abitibi Canyon Generating Station in the community of Abitibi Canyon, Ontario. It is the second highway in Ontario to be designated Highway 634, with the original Highway 634 being near Sudbury. The current routing was at first designated as Highway 807, but was renumbered in 1977. The road was re-aligned around the eastern part of Smooth Rock Falls in the mid-1990s.

Ontario Highway 560 Ontario provincial highway

Secondary Highway 560, commonly referred to as Highway 560, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the northern section of the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins in the west at an intersection with Highway 144 and the Sultan Industrial Road and proceeds 183.9 kilometres (114.3 mi) east to Highway 11 at Englehart.

King's Highway 85, commonly referred to as Highway 85, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting Highway 7 to immediately north of the Waterloo city limits. The 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) highway, which is mostly controlled-access, travels through the Regional Municipality of Waterloo along the Conestoga Parkway from its interchange with Highway 7, which continues south along the parkway, to an interchange with Regional Road 15, where it continues as Regional Road 85 to St. Jacobs.

The Sultan Industrial Road, also sometimes unofficially known as Ramsey Industrial Road, is a public–private forest access road in the Canadian province of Ontario. Originally built as a resource route for E. B. Eddy's logging and lumber operations in the northwestern Sudbury District, the road is now owned and operated by Eacom Timber. It is under a public access agreement with the province, permitting its use for public travel since 1978. The Sultan Industrial Road is gravel-surfaced throughout its length. There are no services along the remote route.

King's Highway 38, commonly referred to as Highway 38, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 66.9-kilometre (41.6 mi) road connected Highway 2 and Highway 401 in Kingston with Highway 7 west of Perth. It was designated in 1934 and remained relatively unchanged throughout its existence, aside from some minor diversions and a rerouting through Kingston as a result of the construction of Highway 401 in the mid-1950s. At the beginning of 1998, the entire highway was transferred to the municipalities of Frontenac County through which it travelled: Kingston, South Frontenac and Central Frontenac. Today the former highway is named Road 38 and Gardiners Road, but is still referred to as Highway 38 by locals.

Secondary Highway 536, commonly referred to as Highway 536, was a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. This highway connected Highway 17 near Lively with Wellington Street at the Creighton Mine. Highway 536 followed most of what is now Municipal Road 24, north from Greater Sudbury Road 55. The route existed from 1956 until the formation of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury in 1973.

Onaping River

The Onaping River is a river in Greater Sudbury and Sudbury District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin and is a right tributary of the Vermilion River.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2016). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts" . Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. 1 2 AADT Traffic Volumes 1955–1969 And Traffic Collision Data 1967–1969. Ontario Department of Highways. 1969. p. 114. Notes: 2. Hwy. 144 renumbered from Sec. Hwy. 544 in April 1965
  3. 1 2 "Robarts, 4 in Cabinet Open Sudbury-Timmins Link". News. Toronto Daily Star. Canadian Press. September 26, 1970. p. 3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Peter Heiler. 2010. p. 52. § R68–U70. ISBN   978-1-55198-226-7.
  5. ↑ Google (October 19, 2020). "Highway 144 - Length and Route" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1961. § R35–S35.
  7. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1956. Sudbury inset.
  8. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1974. Sudbury inset.
  9. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1978–79. Sudbury inset.
  10. ↑ "Highway 144 New - Sudbury North-west Bypass". Northern Transportation Construction Projects 1986-87 (Report). Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. April 1, 1986. p. VII. ISSN   0822-1480.
  11. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation. 1986–87. Greater Sudbury inset.
  12. ↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation. 1988–89. Greater Sudbury inset.
  13. ↑ EarthTech Canada (September 2005). City of Greater Sudbury Transportation Study (PDF) (Report). City of Greater Sudbury. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2012.
  14. ↑ Bradley, Bill (September 8, 2010). "Heavy traffic irks Dowling residents". Northern Life . Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  15. ↑ "City of Greater Sudbury Municipal Road 35 Widening from Notre Dame Street to Chelmsford". City of Greater Sudbury. March 7, 2006. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  16. ↑ "MR 35 - Road Widening and Infrastructure Improvements". City of Greater Sudbury. 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

Route map:

KML file (edit • help)
    KML is from Wikidata
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.