History of Secondary Highway 646:
Secondary Highway 646 was a local highway that connected the small mining communities of Pickle Lake and Central Patricia, in extreme Northwestern Ontario. During the
1960s, Highway 646 also connected to the now-abandoned mining community of Pickle Crow. The highway first came into existence in 1963, when the Department of Highways
of Ontario (DHO) assumed the Pickle Landing Road (now known as Pickle Lake Road) from Highway 599 westerly to Pickle Lake as a new provincial highway. The proposed
highway was first illustrated on a Preliminary Assumption Plan dated September 6, 1963. This plan was registered on September 24, 1963 and the new highway was
formally designated as Highway 646 by an Order-in-Council, effective November 21, 1963. Highway 646 reached its western terminus at the intersection of Patricia
Avenue and Koval Street. Additionally, the short section of Highway 599 which led east from Central Patricia to Pickle Crow was renumbered as Highway 646, since the
route of Highway 599 was in the process of being extended northerly past Central Patricia towards the Otaskwin River at that time. The mines at Pickle Crow closed in
the 1960s, and the entire townsite was abandoned. The ghost town of Pickle Crow was later burned to the ground. With no community left to serve on the eastern side of
Highway 599, the province planned to close the eastern section of Highway 646 to traffic. An Order-in-Council was approved on January 24, 1973, which allowed the
Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC) to legally close Highway 646 to traffic from the Highway 599 Junction at Central Patricia to the ghost town of
Pickle Crow. The closure of the eastern section of Highway 646 set an unprecedented record. At a length of 4.58 miles, the east leg of Highway 646 became the longest
section of provincial highway to be legally closed, that wasn't a direct result of a new highway diversion or a bypass being built. As a result of the closure of the
eastern leg of Highway 646, the highway's total length shrunk from 6.7 miles (about 11 km) down to 2.2 miles (about 3.5 km). The only piece of Highway 646 that
remained ran from Koval Avenue in the community of Pickle Lake easterly out to the Highway 599 Junction at Central Patricia.
In 1975, Highway 646 was extended westerly from the Pickle Lake townsite to the airport. The Pickle Lake Airport Road and Koval Street were designated as an extension
of Highway 646 by an Order-in-Council, effective August 20, 1975. The length of Highway 646 stood at 7.5 km for the next six years, until it was decided to
transfer jurisdiction over Highway 646 to the municipality. On August 28, 1981, jurisdiction over the entire route of Highway 646 from the Highway 599 Junction to
Pickle Lake Airport was transferred from the province to the Township of Pickle Lake. Since that time, Highway 646 has simply been known as Pickle Lake Road, Patricia
Avenue, Koval Street and Airport Road. This section of Former Highway 646 leading into Pickle Lake was subsequently designated as a Municipal Connecting Link,
effective November 5, 1981. However, the Highway 646 designation was removed from MTO mileage tables after 1981, which suggests that the highway was no longer being
signed. The Pickle Lake Municipal Connecting Link was eventually revoked by a Minister's Order, effective September 18, 1997. The route of Former Highway 646 is
paved for its entire length. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Former Highway 646 is 80 km/h (50 mph). Services are available in Pickle Lake and on
Highway 599 in Central Patricia.
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