The Northern Policy Institute (NPI) says twinning most highways in Northern Ontario would cost too much and require northerners to wait too long for better, safer roads.
Its latest publication says 2+1 is the best fit for most highways in the north.
This as momentum on improving safety and expanding capacity builds in government circles.
The three lane roads include a regular passing lane that changes direction every few kilometres, and is separated by a median.
Officials say based on available evidence, highway twinning would be a reasonable investment on only four segments of the Highway 11-17 corridor.
The include Highway 17 from North Bay to Greater Sudbury, and then on to Sault Ste. Marie.
The other two stretches venture east and west of Thunder Bay.
“If Ontario primarily used the 2+1 configuration to upgrade northern highways instead of twinning, these upgrades could be delivered sooner – without compromising on safety – and the government could save billions of dollars,” says author William Dunstan. “That money could be spent on other priorities in Northern Ontario, such as health care, all season roads, or remote airports, or returned to taxpayers in the form of lower taxes in the future.”
Officials say compared to twinned highways, the 2+1 configuration is faster and less expensive to build because it typically only requires modifying and expanding the existing road.
NPI says even if traffic volumes were to grow at double the rate they did between 2014 and 2024, most northern highways still would not reach the levels required to justify twinning over 2+1 within the next 60 years.
A 2+1 pilot is coming to a stretch of Highway 11 north of the city.
**With files from Richard Coffin
