Ontario Highway 102 - Route Description

Route Description

Highway 102 passes through terrain typical of northern Ontario highways, including thick boreal forest and muskeg. On an eastward journey, the surroundings quickly change from isolated muskeg-ridden foothills to urban development as the highway enters Thunder Bay from the north. Highway 102 provides a shortcut over the Trans-Canada Highway to the south, as such it is frequented by transport trucks, despite local protest.

Highway 102 begins at Sistonens Corners, immediately south of a Canadian National Railway (CN) overpass, along Highway 11 and Highway 17. A truck stop sits to the west of the intersection. From there, the two-lane road travels east through rolling hills, with muskeg dotting the valleys between the hills. It parallels roughly 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south of the Shebandowan River for 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) before crossing both the CN and Canadian Pacific Railway tracks as well as the Kaministiquia River. The highway meets Silver Falls Road, which proceeds north to Silver Falls Provincial Park. The terrain becomes gentler as the route passes several houses while travelling alongside a creek. The highway curves as it meets a power transmission line, which it then parallels. It zig-zags southeast, passing alongside Mud Lake and briefly curving back to the east. Curving back to the southeast, the highway serves several houses before crossing into Thunder Bay at Townline Road and curving to the east.

Within the city limits, the density of residences surrounding the highway rapidly increases as the terrain flattens. The highway intersects Mapleward Road, then diverges from the power transmission lines and curves southeast into suburban Thunder Bay. It meets Secondary Highway 589 after passing the Emerald Greens Golf Course. The route then travels through North McIntyre, formerly a separate community which was annexed. It descends through a wide muskeg, after which it is crossed by several power transmission lines. The highway enters urban Thunder Bay immediately thereafter, where it passes to the west of County Fair Mall before ending at an intersection with the Thunder Bay Expressway. The road which carries Highway 102 continues through Thunder Bay as Red River Road, and was once part of the highway.