Ontario Highway 599

Secondary Highway 599, commonly referred to as Highway 599, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 292 km (181 mi) route connects Highway 17 near Ignace with the remote northern community of Pickle Lake; its terminus at Pickle Lake marks the northernmost point on the provincial highway system.

Highway 599
Route information
Length291.4 km[1] (181.1 mi)
Existed1956–present
Major junctions
South end Highway 17 in Ignace
North endPickle Lake
Location
DistrictsKenora
Thunder Bay
TownsIgnace, Silver Dollar, Savant Lake, New Osnaburgh, Pickle Lake
Highway system
The start of Highway 599 at Ignace.

Route description

Highway 599 is a long and isolated road in Northwestern Ontario, starting at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) near Ignace. It travels through the dense forests and hills of Kenora District and ends in Pickle Lake. It is the longest secondary highway in Ontario, at about 292 km (181 mi) long. It is also the northernmost highway in Ontario maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

The road links up with the Northern Ontario Resource Trail, which used to be a part of Highway 599, and then Highway 808. The Resource Trail is paved for only the first 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of its length, and is gravel for the rest of its length. It links up with winter roads that travel to isolated communities even farther north, terminating at the northern shore of Windigo Lake.

Towns

History

Highway 599 was initially constructed by the Department of Mines and Forestry in the early 1950s, opening from Savant Lake to Pickle Lake in 1955. In early 1956, that road was assumed by the Department of Highways and incorporated as part of the new secondary highway network, with the designation of Highway 599.[2] Unlike most other secondary highways, it was not possible to access the new highway by car from the rest of the province.[3]

In 1958, construction began to connect the route with Highway 17 near Ignace, working south from Savant Lake. By 1963, Highway 599 was opened to the community of Valora, where it connected with the Ignace–Valora Road. On February 15, the province signed an industrial road agreement, which opened the Ignace–Valora Road to the general public, connecting Highway 599 with the rest of the province. Despite this, work continued on a paved road. In 1963 construction began from the Highway 17 end. The road was completed in the middle by 1966.

In 2017, the provincial government of Ontario pledged support for the construction of a road that would extend Highway 599 to connect Nibinamik, Webequie and the Northern Ontario Ring of Fire to the provincial road network.[4]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 599. In addition, it includes some minor junctions that are noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

Division Location km[1] Destinations Notes
Kenora Ignace 0.0  Highway 17 – Kenora, Thunder Bay
Silver Dollar 59.7  Highway 642 – Sioux Lookout Silver Dollar Inn and Can-Op service centre located at junction of Highways 599 and 642.
Thunder Bay Savant Lake 126.8 Savant Lake VIA Rail train station Canadian National (CN) railway crossing. Savant Lake has a number of local business including Ennis Grocery and motel.
Unorganized Thunder Bay District 135.7  Highway 516 – Sioux Lookout
222.6 Austin's Road (west)
Pashokokogan Lake Road (east)
Kenora Unorganized Kenora District 255.7 Rat River Bridge
Pickle Lake 290.8 Pickle Lake Road
Central Patricia 291.4 End of Highway 599. Road beyond the terminus becomes North Road that ends at north side of Windigo Lake as the most northerly point accessible by car.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2007). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  2. "Ontario Secondary Roads Now Designated 500, 600". 112 (33, 119). The Globe and Mail. February 4, 1956. p. 4. Two new Ontario road numbers appear on the province's 1956 official road map which will be ready for distribution next week. The new numbers are the 500 and 600 series and designate hundreds of miles of secondary roads which are wholly maintained by the Highways Department. More than 100 secondary roads will have their own numbers and signs this year. All of these secondary roads were taken into the province's main highways system because they form important connecting links with the King's Highways
  3. Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1956.
  4. "Ontario pledges 'support' for year-round road access to 3 remote First Nations". CBC Thunder Bay, August 21, 2017.
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