To the editor:
Further to numerous recent letters to the editor, the writers and the public in general may not be aware that in the early 1990s (excluding the Copenhagen/Hodder intersection) the provincial government saw the necessary need, conducted surveys, prepared and finalized approved detailed design construction plans, acquired adjacent intersection lands (which remain vacation to this date) for the construction of a safe, non-stop, through traffic Thunder Bay Expressway system with cloverleafs, overpasses, ramps, etcetera at each intersection.
Also, the Harbour Expressway was to be extended to Shabaqua Corners and not to where and what it is now.
Also, the Harbour Expressway was to be extended to Shabaqua Corners and not to where and what it is now.
This extension was to be known as the Shabaqua Highway (transport truck route), which would do away with the heavy transport truck traffic on Dawson Road (highway 102) and Arthur Street (Highway 11-17).
Construction soon became a reality on this extension. However, it came to an abrupt stop soon after the 1995 election of a new provincial government with both regionally elected MPPs being opposition members of the provincial parliament.
This new provincial government did not see the very necessary need for any of the foregoing works, leaving Thunder Bay and surrounding municipalities with the current unsafe dilemma. The above detailed design construction plans and documentation rest in the archives of the MTO office.
For safety’s sake, our present provincial government must bite the bullet and construct what was originally planned two decades ago instead of what it is currently proposing – second left turn lanes, extension and or reconstruction of certain right and left turn ramps and lanes.
This will do very little, if anything, to improve safety.
This will do very little, if anything, to improve safety.
It would appear the only positive safety phase of these new works is the much needed night lighting.
Unlike our Thunder Bay Expressway, a true expressway is not cluttered with traffic lights at each intersection – a potential safety hazard for accidents and fatalities lurking at and amid each intersection.
Realistically, our Thunder Bay Expressway system encourages motorists to accelerate, weave and swerve from one lane to the other in order to beat the next traffic light.
How many more accidents and fatalities do our governments want before they see the light?
How many more accidents and fatalities do our governments want before they see the light?
Stan Zapior,
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
