The Northern Policy Institute says 2+1 highways in four key areas of the north would save the province money and be just as safe as highway twinning Twinning most highways in northern Ontario would cost too much and require northerners to wait too long for better, safer roads, researcher William Dunstan said in a news release Thursday “If the province used the 2+1 configuration to upgrade northern highways instead of twinning, upgrades could be delivered sooner – without compromising on safety – and the government could save billions of dollars,” Dunstan wrote in his report, ‘Twin Carefully; Why 2+1 is the Best Fit for Most Northern Ontario Highways.’ “That money could be spent on other priorities in northern Ontario, such as health care, all season roads, or remote airports. Or (it could be) returned to taxpayers in the form of lower taxes in the future.” He said 2+1 roads are three-lane roads that have one lane in each direction along with a middle lane that alternates direction every few kilometers, with the two directions of traffic separated by a median barrier. “Compared to twinned highways, the 2+1 configuration is faster and less expensive to build as it typically only requires modifying and expanding the existing road.” The report said highway twinning would be a reasonable investment on only four segments of the Highway 11-17-71 corridor: Highway 17 between Greater Sudbury and North Bay Highway 17 between Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie Highway 11/17 between Thunder Bay and Nipigon Highway 11/17 between Thunder Bay and Shabaqua Corners The Northern Policy Institute is a northern Ontario think tank based in Thunder Bay.
