Jottings West, Day 1

March 16th, Highway 11

Persistent hugs and handshakes aside, I swiftly departed from Atikokan around 1pm. It was not that I didn't think twice as I drove by the last town sign before reaching the highway, but that my trip was a matter of inward necessity, and therefore was not worth the time of reflection and doubt. The man of action understands that the world has natural constraints, and, when making any decision that inevitably discriminates against certain possibilities, does not hold on to what could have been, but maximizes the experience and efficacy of what may soon be. It would have been easy to feel self-doubt, when, saying goodbye to a table of people, a young girl grabbed ahold of my leg, in her mind eliminating the possibility of my departure. Perhaps in too crude a tone, I kneeled down and said to her, “when you get older, sometimes you have to make hard decisions”. 

Only those insulated from social and economic reality can ignore the necessity of pragmatism. Moments of great urgency arise serendipitously: a raiding party emerges out of the forest; a child falls ill on the morning of their first day of school; one of the most voluminous deposits of Iron Ore in the world to date is discovered in an area with no road connected to market, and is badly needed by steel factories across the continent. Politicians come face to face with this reality in a particular way, molding the conflicting interests of a society into actionable ends. Much like the Ring of Fire infrastructure currently belabouring the Ford government, former Ontario Premier Leslie Frost (a.k.a ‘Old Man Ontario’) had little choice but to heavily invest public money into surveyors, concrete, machinery, and all the other elements that eventually completed the stretch of Highway 11 from Atikokan to Thunder Bay in 1954. Not only were these hefty costs, but from our cozy sense of hindsight, produced insufficient results. 

Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable increase in serious accidents on the twin trans-Canada highways of Northern Ontario. So significant this trend seems to the public (see: highway 11/17 kills) that politicians have been inspired to propose a grand solution, one that Frost in his tombstone would receive anxiety arising in his bloodstream over the thought of his minister of finance’s reaction. Dave Plourde, who is the mayor of the beautifully designed town of Kapuskasing, sent an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney in January, asking him to designate the extension of these highways a ‘nation building project’. Specifically, he proposed to convert 2-lane highways into either 4-lane or 2+1 (i.e with a middle passing lane for both sides). 

It is nigh impossible to argue against the proposition that lane extensions would make these highways safer. However, when operating under various constraints that limit the resources of our current governments, can it be said that a construction project of this scale is backed by wisdom? On the rugged lands that surround Atikokan in every direction, one cannot simply draw up a gridded system that maximizes for spatial efficiency, as has been common in southern Ontario during the several expansionary waves of the last 230-ish years. No. carving past the monumental bedrock, making way for a bed of concrete, requires a great deal of explosives, and a team of people that know how to use them.

{'Blasting through the West Kootenay'}

Last week, this reporter spoke to the Mayor of Atikokan, Rob Ferguson, about highway safety. Figuring he had something to say, in part because he is Atikokan’s FONOM representative, but more so due to personal traits such as high sociability and sense of duty, I asked him whether he supported Plourde’s proposal. 

“Its going to take time”, he said, pointing to the multi-year timeline of roads stretching not even 100 kilometres. In his opinion, specific high-traffic sections should be selected as priority, such as the stretch between Thunder Bay and Shabaqua Corners. “If you don’t start, you’ll never finish”, he said, recognizing that the sheer scale of the project could easily overwhelm any politician that tries to tackle it holistically all at once. For reference, Highway 11 (Barrie to Rainy River) is more than double the length of Highway 401.

The question must also arise, can safety be improved without additional infrastructure? The Ontario NDP, a party currently pressed between the dual prospects of a never ending Ford-imperium and an apparently resurgent Ontario Liberal party, seems to think so. Before any road extensions, the party proposes changes related to labour, maintenance, and inspection.

As I was entering the 11 out of Atikokan, there was a police car stationed on the sidelines of the road, no doubt looking to crack down on such dangerous driving. In a moment of decisiveness I made a right-turn, solidifying my westward travels. There was no turning back. As I looked out the window, seeing the hardened elements in all of their glory, I pondered over the technical logistics of such an expansion project.  

Immaterially, I could sense an anti-civilizational spirit within Northern Ontario, refusing to be wholly conquered by the forces of human desire and population pressure that seek to transform its rolling landscape into a flattened grid. Perhaps rising danger is a sign not of the need for expansion, but that building the initial road was disfavoured, and will be punished. That, in an attempt to further extend the reach of man, the wrath of Athos will come tumbling down upon us.

Of course, these psychological intuitions are extremely un-pragmatic, prophesying destruction rather than working towards conditions of human amelioration. A man of action looks for solutions, and does not dwell on impossibilities. In this case, it is clear to me the path forward must start with fixing the basic problems rightly pointed out by the Ontario NDP, such as lack of training, outright fraud in the issuance of licenses, and improper maintenance of roads. Only then should we consider major lane expansions. To pursue the latter without any focus on the former would be analogous to spending $1,000 on a new treadmill, without ever learning to walk. Now imagine the treadmill is over 2.4 billion years old, and explosives are needed in order to launch you far enough upwards to access it. Best to learn to run beforehand…

Apologies for the half-baked analogy. It is late, and I am off to bed, ready for tomorrow, a day which should see me exit highway 11, and the Canadian shield altogether….