Ontario Highway 101 - History

History

Highway 67 was the first provincial highway to provide access to Timmins from the Ferguson Highway (Highway 11). When it was designated in mid-1937, shortly after the merging of the Department of Northern Development into the Department of Highways (DHO), several other roads had been "built" in the area, but hardly improved beyond the clearing of trees. The DHO set forth to construct several new highways in the north. A concession road between Hoyle and Matheson already existed at this point, and over the next several years it was reconstructed to provincial standards. On June 26, 1940, the route was designated as a provincial highway. However, it was not numbered on official maps.

During World War II, plans arose to connect Timmins with the Quebec border, and the route via Matheson was chosen as the most direct path. By the end of the war, the road between Hoyle and Matheson had been numbered as Highway 101 and extended eastward to Abitibi, ending at Garrison Creek. The route remained this way for several years.

The Trans-Canada Highway Act was passed in 1950 and provided the impetus to construct Highway 17 around Lake Superior, which was carried out over the course of the decade. This resulted in the planning of a new road to connect Highway 11 with Highway 17; it was decided that Highway 101 would be extended west as the new connector highway. In order to accommodate this future extension, the section of Highway 67 between Timmins and Hoyle was renumbered as Highway 101 in mid-1955. On September 1, 1955, the route was extended west of Timmins to Warren Lake. West of Warren Lake, Highway 616 and Highway 624 continued to the CNR stop in Foleyet; these would soon become part of Highway 101. Highway 101 was opened to the Quebec border in December 1958 with the completion of the final 11.6 km (7.2 mi) gap. In addition, work began on December 18 to clear the route of the Foleyet to Chapleau Resource Road. On April 1, 1960, Highway 616 and Highway 624 were renumbered as part of Highway 101, making the highway 247.2 km (153.6 mi) long; it now connected Foleyet to the Quebec border.

In 1963, several new sections of Highway 101 were opened. On May 16, the majority of the new Chapleau–Foleyet road was designated as Highway 101, with the exception of a 13.4 km (8.3 mi) bypass of Foleyet and the old route of Highway 624 that opened on December 19. In addition, a new 40.2 km (25.0 mi) road west of Chapleau was assumed in December, terminating at the Grazing River near the present entrance to The Shoals Provincial Park.

Work also progressed from the west, near Wawa. Prior to the opening of Highway 17 and Highway 101, a road connected the port at Michipicoten with Wawa. Highway 101 follows a portion of this route, but south of the Highway 17 junction the old road is now known as Pinewood Drive. In October 1965, a 31.5 km (19.6 mi) road was designated as Highway 101, travelling as far east as the Michipicoten River, The final section, a gap between the Michipicoten River bridge and the Grazing River, opened to traffic on January 1, 1967, completing the link between Wawa and Timmins.