Harbour Expressway
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- Inaugurated August 27, 1979[1]
- Originally part of
Highway 131 - Downloaded to city 1981
Highway 11 / Highway 17 / TCH (Shabaqua Highway)Harbour Expressway | |||||||||||||
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Map of Thunder Bay with Harbour Expressway shown in red | |||||||||||||
| Route information | |||||||||||||
| Maintained by City of Thunder Bay - Department of Roads | |||||||||||||
| Length | 3.5 km (2.2 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Existed | 1979–present | ||||||||||||
| History |
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| Major junctions | |||||||||||||
| West end | Highway 11 / Highway 17 / TCH (Shabaqua Highway) | ||||||||||||
Golf Links Road Balmoral Street Memorial Avenue | |||||||||||||
| East end | Fort William Road (Continues as Main Street) | ||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||||||||
| Major cities | Thunder Bay | ||||||||||||
| Highway system | |||||||||||||
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The Harbour Expressway is a four-lane undivided municipal expressway with signalized intersections running the Intercity business district of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
The highway bisects the Intercity area, which is primarily composed of big box retail stores and office parks, as well as suburban neighbourhoods. The expressway is one of the busiest and crucial piece of infrastructure for Thunder Bay,[2] connecting key arteries and destinations with the provincial highway network, particularly Highway 11/17.[3]
The entire route of the Harbour Expressway is four lanes and undivided. All intersections are at-grade. Plans to divide the expressway and build interchanges are on hold, and the city of Thunder Bay maintains a right of way for these expansion plans in its official plan. In some places, there is evidence of those plans.
Starting at the west end, is the junction of Harbour Expressway, Highway 11/17, and Highway 61. There are plans to build a freeway to freeway interchange when the Thunder Bay Expressway twinning project occurs.[4]
Heading east, the expressway separates Northwood and the Innova Park commercial district. A small road, Premier Way has a partial intersection with this expressway with two ramps. Traffic heading west on the expressway can exit onto Premier Way or traffic heading south on Premier Way can head west towards the highway junction.[3]
After passing Northwood and Innova Park, the first major intersection is Golf Links Road. It is a signalised intersection with four right turn ramps. Passing the intersection, Confederation College is to the south of the expressway and the Thunder Bay Central suburbs are to the north of it. The expressway passes over the McIntyre River and a pedestrian trail connecting Confederation College with Riverside Drive.[3]
The expressway then enters the Intercity Business District as it approaches Balmoral Street. The expressway traverses this business district as it passes Balmoral and Carrick Streets, both of which have the same configuration. This configuration is a signalised intersection with four right turn ramps.[3]
The next intersection is Memorial Avenue, one of the busiest streets in Thunder Bay. This is another signalised intersection,[5] but there are only two turning ramps. One moves southbound Memorial Avenue traffic onto westbound Harbour Expressway traffic while the other moves eastbound Harbour Expressway traffic onto southbound Memorial Avenue.[3]
The expressway in the vicinity of Memorial Avenue is built over the former 16th Avenue. In the early 20th century, Port Arthur built a numbered street grid moving south from 1st Avenue onwards. While many are now buried under big box developments, evidence of some still exists. One is a stub of 16th Avenue immediately north of the Harbour Expressway between Memorial Avenue and the CN mainline.[6] The Harbour Expressway crosses a diagonal single track CN line roughly halfway between Memorial Avenue and Fort William Road.[3]
Finally, the expressway reaches its eastern terminus at Fort William Road. North of it is vacant commercial land and south of it is Intercity Shopping Centre, the latter having its own exit ramp shortly before Fort William Road. The roadway continues east as Main Street, a minor arterial road towards the Thunder Bay harbour.[3][7]
