Ontario Highway 811

Tertiary Highway 811, commonly referred to as Highway 811, is the longest of Ontario's tertiary highways, and the highest posted route number in the province. The route encounters no named roads along its route, aside from its eastern terminus at Secondary Highway 527. It extends 59 kilometres (37 mi) westward into the wilderness, ending at a bridge over the Weaver River. The route was designated in 1976 with the intention of extending it further west, but this extension has yet to be constructed.

Highway 811 marker

Highway 811

Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length59.0 km[1] (36.7 mi)
Existed1976–present
Major junctions
West end Highway 527
East endWeaver River Bridge, near Kashishibog Lake
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
CountiesThunder Bay District
Highway system
← Highway 810→ Highway 2
Former provincial highways
Highway 812  →

Route description

Branching off from Secondary Highway 527, roughly halfway between Thunder Bay and Armstrong, Highway 811 is Ontario's highest numbered route, but also one of its most remote. Aside from its beginning, the highway connects with no named roads along its length.[2] The route begins approximately midway along Highway 527, 114 kilometres (71 mi) north of Ontario Highway 17 and 122.2 kilometres (75.9 mi) south of Armstrong,[1] It zig-zags northwestward for 59 kilometres (37 mi) towards Savant Lake, although as of 2011 the road reaches less than halfway there. It crosses several small rivers as it travels through the Boreal Forest before ending at a bridge over the Weaver River, south of Obonga-Ottertooth Provincial Park.[3] The road is gravel for its entire length.[2] There are no communities along Highway 811; it is almost exclusively used for wilderness travel or forest operations.

History

As part of the 1974 Ontario Highway Capital Construction Program, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications studied the potential benefit of a road connecting Highway 527 southwest of Lake Nipigon with Highway 599 near Savant Lake. A forest road that branched off from Highway 527 was assumed as Highway 811 in 1976. However, the planned connection to Highway 599 has yet to occur, and an 83 kilometres (52 mi) gap separates Savant Lake from the Weaver River.[4] Despite no connection materializing over the past 35 years, and no plans to construct that connection presently, Highway 811 remains a signed and maintained provincial highway.[2]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 811, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] The entire route is located in Thunder Bay District.[3] Distances along the remote highway are referenced using bridges and culverts.[5] 

Locationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Unorganized Thunder Bay0.00.0 Highway 527 – Thunder Bay, Armstrong
16.810.4Gull River culvert
30.919.2Mooseland River Bridge
43.627.1Grew River culvert
59.036.7Weaver River BridgeListed as a "temporary bridge", as it has been since at least 1989.[1][5]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2016). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. Geomatics Office (February 1, 2010). Official Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Simmons, Bryan; Martin, Lori-Anne. Ministry of Transportation. Northern Ontario inset. § G6. ISBN 978-1-4435-2043-0. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  3. Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Peter Heiler. 2010. p. 107. § G8. ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7.
  4. Google (February 22, 2011). "Distance between Savant Lake and Weaver River as the crow flies" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  5. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (April 1, 1989). Provincial Highways Distance Table. Government of Ontario. p. 125. ISSN 0825-5350.
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