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History of Secondary Highway 574:
Secondary Highway 574 is a local highway in the District of Cochrane that provides access from Highway 652 to the small community of Norembega, located east of
Cochrane. Highway 574 was first designated by an Order-in-Council dated May 9, 1956. The route was first depicted on a Preliminary Route Plan prepared by the
Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) in May, 1956. Initially, the new highway had a length of 18.0 miles (29.0 km). The route originally began at the eastern
limits of the Town of Cochrane and ended in Norembega. The highway was gravel-surfaced at the time of designation in 1956. A primed bituminous surface was constructed
along Highway 574 from Cochrane easterly for 7 miles during 1965. This paving work was continued for 4 miles south of the Highway 652 Junction in 1968, and the final
paving contract from that point southerly to Norembega was completed in 1969.
For many years, a cable ferry operated near Brower on Highway 574 across the Abitibi River. This DHO-run ferry provided free transportation across the river from the western (Cochrane) leg of Highway 574 to the eastern (Norembega) leg of Highway 574 as well as Highway 652. Increased forestry traffic east of Cochrane led to the construction of a temporary Bailey Bridge across the Abitibi River in the mid-1960s. The Brower Ferry ceased operation after the new Bailey Bridge was completed and opened to traffic in July, 1966. The ferry vessel Cassiopeia IV was relocated from Brower to the Highway 579 crossing of the Abitibi River near Gardiner, where it still operates today. As originally assumed in 1956, the DHO owned Highway 574 in its entirety with the exception of the portions of the route passing through the Town of Cochrane. This non-assumed section of the route from the Highway 579 Junction in Cochrane (Third Avenue) to the east limits of Cochrane at Seventeenth Avenue remained under municipal jurisdiction. A Municipal Connecting Link was established for Highway 574 through Cochrane in 1959. From Highway 579 (Third Avenue), Highway 574 extended east along Railway Street to Twelfth Avenue, where the route briefly turned north. At Fourth Street, Highway 574 turned right and continued east to the join the assumed section of Highway 574 at the eastern town limits at Seventeenth Avenue and Fourth Street. This route was officially designated as a Municipal Connecting Link by an Order-in-Council, effective February 12, 1959. The Municipal Connecting Link was modified slightly in the early 1970s. The new route was established by an Order-in-Council, effective August 20, 1970. The revised route began at Highway 579 (Third Avenue) and followed Fifth Street easterly to Seventeenth Avenue. At Seventeenth Avenue, Highway 574 turned south for one block to join the assumed section of Highway 574 at the eastern town limits at Seventeenth Avenue and Fourth Street. During the early 1980s, Highway 652 was extended from the Northwest Industrial Road east of Cochrane northerly towards the Detour Lake Mine. This extension of Highway 652 prompted the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC) to revise the route of Highway 574 in 1983. Prior to 1983, Highway 652 began at the Highway 574 Junction in Brower Township, just east of the Abitibi River Bridge. It was decided that Highway 574 would be truncated at Highway 652 in Brower Township. At the same time, the section of Highway 574 from the Highway 652 Junction westerly into Cochrane was renumbered as Highway 652. It is believed that the change in route numbers took place in the Fall of 1983. The change in route numbers reduced the length of Highway 574 from approximately 31 km to its current length of 15.9 km. There have been no changes made to the route of Highway 574 since 1983. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 574 is 80 km/h (50 mph). There are no services available on this highway. |
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