Highway 17 is now fully open after a collision west of Dryden.
The collision was at Kellar Road.
The collision happened at around 2:45pm.
Cleared: #Incident #Dryden #HWY17 at Kellar Rd is reopened in both directions.
— 511Ontario (@511Ontario) February 24, 2020
More work has been completed towards twinning Highway 17 from the Manitoba Border to Kenora.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed today between the Provincial Government and the Four Winds Group.
The Four Winds Group is comprised of Washagamis Bay First Nation, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation and Niisaachewan Anishinaabe First Nation.
Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford says “Today, we are one step closer to twinning Highway 17 and improving road safety for the people of Kenora-Rainy River”
Rickford also says they are still committed to targeting shovels in the ground on section 1 of the project by summer 2020.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney says “The signing of today’s agreement with Niiwin Wendaanimok is a key milestone for this important project.”
Mulroney also says “We are committed to maintaining a long-term working relationship with Indigenous communities in the Kenora area to ensure the successful completion of the project. We have a shared goal to create meaningful economic opportunities for local Indigenous communities and build better transportation in Northern Ontario.”
There is now some clarification on an early morning (Thursday) transport fire in the Dryden area.
Ontario’s Travel Information Service ‘511’ originally reported the blaze on Highway 17 between Wabigoon and Dinorwic.
However, it was later determined the fire occurred on Highway 17 West near Solomon and Sons.
A Facebook message reports the Oxdrift Fire Team responded to a trailer fire around 5:30am.
Members had the fire under control within an hour and were able to save 3/4 of the cargo on board.
No injuries are reported.
The incident caused some travel disruptions for motorists for a couple of hours.
(Photo Credit: Brody Pinkerton)
Expect to see some shovels in the ground for the Twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway west of Kenora in 2020.
That’s the promise of the Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford.
Rickford says they have ironed out most of the hurdles.
“It took the previous government 10 years to work through indigenous engagement and we’re now at the point where we’ve got a path forward with those communities in a little over a year,” states Rickford.
“It’s about doing things differently and it’s about staying positive. And frankly, it’s working with all of the communities on other things.”
Rickford says we should start to see some movement in the late winter or early spring on the Twinning.
An unidentified transport driver has been convicted in relation to a February crash on Highway 17 in the Kenora area.
The collision involved a tractor-trailer unit and a small SUV.
Provincial Police say the driver of the truck was found guilty for possession of more than one daily log book and entering inaccurate or false information in the daily log.
The conviction came with a $12,500 fine.
Provincial Police are investigating a fatal motor vehicle collision that has closed Highway 17.
The crash occurred last night (Sunday, December 1st) around 7:00am in the area of Raith, east of Ignace.
OPP say two transports were involved in a head on collision and became engulfed in fire.
The Trans-Canada Highway is expected to be closed for a significant remainder of today. (Monday, December 2nd)
A traffic detour is in place from Highway 11 to Highway 622 exiting in the Dryden area and Highway 11 to Highway 71 exiting in the Kenora area.
No other information has been released.
Good news for those heading to Winnipeg for the Def Leppard concert tonight. (Thursday, July 25th)
Work on Highway 17 in the Rush Bay area near Clearwater Bay wrapped up around 7:00 Wednesday night.
A culvert was replaced and crews were conducting other road work.
Wait times were as long as six hours on Tuesday, but flagging operations reduced that to just minutes Wednesday.
The Ministry of Transportation says they apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate the travellers patience.
Expect traffic delays on Highway 17 between Kenora and Winnipeg.
Crews are replacing a culvert and doing some surface treatment in an area west of Rush Bay Road near Clearwater Bay.
There have been several complaints from motorists of delays lasting anywhere from four to five hours.
The work is supposed to last again all day today (Wednesday) and should wrap up sometime late Thursday.
Kenora MP Bob Nault says he doesn’t care who gets credit, he just wants to see the twinning of Highway 17 from Kenora to the Manitoba boundary get started.
“If the design is ready and people say the consultations are now started, there should be no excuse for us not to be putting shovels in the ground. Even though Mr. Rickford has suggested the shovels in the ground were going to be in the Summer, Summer is quickly going away, we’re heading into the Fall and still no shovels in the ground.”
Kenora-Rainy River MPP and Northern Development and Mines Minister Greg Rickford has suggested he hopes to now see the project start by the end of the calendar year.
Nault says “Stop the squabbling. Stop pointing fingers. Let’s just get on with doing the job that we’re asked to do. The twinning of the highway is a provincial jurisdiction but I’ve been saying all along that the Federal government should be involved.
He adds “I’ve been extremely clear in my message that in order to fund the twinning of Highway 17 from the Federal side, the Province of Ontario must submit the project to the Government of Canada and list it as a top priority.
Nault notes no one on his side has seen any proposal or design for the project and stresses time is quickly running out for a 2019 start-up.
He says if there is no interest in having the Federal government involved, that’s up to the province to make that decision.
However, he stresses he just wants to see shovels in the ground.
Nault adds “I’m not interested in having a ‘Family Feud’ with the Member of Provincial Parliament. What I’m really interested in is to get the Ford government to recognize that the west end of their province has infrastructure needs like they do in Southern Ontario, and we need to get those built.”
He believes the only reason the project hasn’t got started is because it’s not based in Southern Ontario.
The twinning was first announced by the government’s of the day back in 2009.
To hear more from Bob Nault, visit the Audio link below.
