Ontario Highway 11 Photographs - Page 22 - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

Left - Watabeag River Bridge on Old Hwy 11 (Monahan Road), located about 6 km north of Matheson. This ten-span steel beam and creosoted timber trestle structure was completed in 1951. Click here to see a Historical 1952 Photo of the Watabeag River Bridge, taken shortly after it was built. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south along Old Hwy 11 (Monahan Road) towards Matheson at the Watabeag River Bridge. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along Old Hwy 11 (Monahan Road) at the Watabeag River Bridge north of Matheson. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The bridge deck of the Watabeag River Bridge was recently rehabilitated. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Close-up of the creosoted timber trestle portion of the Watabeag River Bridge north of Matheson. This bridge type saw considerable use in Northern Ontario. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Old Hwy 11 (Monahan Road) about 7 km north of Matheson. This narrow, old section of the original 1920s Ferguson Highway was bypassed by a new route for Hwy 11 (the Monteith Diversion) a short distance to the west in 1957. The old route of Hwy 11 seen here hasn't changed at all in many decades, which makes it a rather interesting historical drive. Old highway alignments such as this one provide a great insight as to how early motorists would have experienced the adventure of Ontario's King's Highways. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing south along Old Hwy 11 (Monahan Road) about 7 km north of Matheson. After the Monteith Diversion was completed in 1957, Old Hwy 11 was briefly renumbered as Hwy 11B. The old highway was stripped of its King's Highway designation in 1961, but continued to serve as a provincial highway known as Secondary Highway 626 for a number of years thereafter. Ultimately, jurisdiction over the old highway was transferred from the province to the municipal tier in 1974. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Driftwood River Bridge on Old Hwy 11 (Rese Road) near Monteith. The Monteith Bridge has a rather odd history, in that it was rebuilt and/or retrofitted no fewer than three times during the 1950s - once in 1953, again in 1958 and yet again in 1959. Although the reason for the repeated work on this bridge was never recorded, it appears that some type of a problem arose with the 1953 structure just a few years into its service life. The Monteith Bridge was initially a timber trestle structure with a 52-foot steel beam centre span. Whatever the issue was led to the partial replacement of several of the bridge spans with a temporary Bailey Bridge in 1958. The permanent Warren-type steel deck truss centre span seen here was installed in 1959. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - View of the steel deck truss superstructure of the Driftwood River Bridge on Old Hwy 11 near Monteith. This steel deck truss was constructed as part of a retrofit and partial replacement of an earlier structure, built at this location in 1953. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north across the Driftwood River Bridge on Old Hwy 11 near Monteith. Historical photos of this bridge prove that the exposed concrete deck on the present day structure was not built as part of the original 1953 structure, nor were the steel tube handrails. It appears that the entire bridge deck and all appurtenances were replaced in 1959. What adds to this bridge's mystery is that the steel tube handrails used on the Monteith Bridge were of a design more commonly used on bridges built in the 1930s, which suggests that the materials may have been salvaged from a dismantled bridge site at another location and moved here. This type of material salvaging was a relatively common practice for steel bridges built on Ontario's Highways in the 1950s, particularly in the northern parts of the province where it was more difficult to find local suppliers of manufactured bridge parts. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Side view of the centre deck truss span and timber trestle approach spans of the Monteith Bridge on Old Hwy 11 (Rese Road). Note that the deck truss span is slightly narrower than the approach spans. This strongly suggests that this steel deck truss span was not originally designed for use in this particular location. In all likelihood, the deck truss span was salvaged and transported from another location and reassembled for use here. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing south across the Monteith Bridge over the Driftwood River on Old Hwy 11 (Rese Road). See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Eastern side of the Monteith Bridge over the Driftwood River on Old Hwy 11. This interesting and mysterious bridge only adds to the historical appeal of the bypassed, original route of Hwy 11 between Matheson and Porquis Junction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Directional ramp to northbound Hwy 11 from Hwy 101 near Matheson. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 17, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Approaching the junction of Hwy 101 and Hwy 11 west of Matheson. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Overhead guide signs at the Hwy 11 and Hwy 101 Junction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing south along Hwy 11 towards the Hwy 101 Junction west of Matheson. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Hwy 11 towards Cochrane from the Hwy 101 Junction near Matheson. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing north along Hwy 11 between Matheson and Val Gagne, about 2 km north of the Hwy 101 Junction. A northbound passing lane was constructed on Hwy 11 in this area a few years after this photo was taken. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Hwy 11 near Val Gagne, about 10 km north of the Hwy 101 Junction. This section of Hwy 11 is actually a relocation of the original Hwy 11 route. When the Monteith Diversion was completed and opened to traffic in 1957, it bypassed almost 20 miles of the original 1937 alignment of Hwy 11 between Matheson and Porquis Junction. The Monteith Diversion created a new through highway, which bypassed several towns along the original highway's route, including Val Gagne. The old route of Hwy 11 was briefly known as Hwy 11B, but it later became Hwy 626. Today, Old Hwy 11 is a municipal road. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Driftwood River Bridge on Hwy 11 & Hwy 577 near Monteith. This three-span steel structure was completed in 1956. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Hwy 11 & Hwy 577 towards Cochrane at the Driftwood River Bridge near Monteith. Immediately north of the bridge, Hwy 577 turns right and heads north towards Iroquois Falls. Since 1997, the north section of Hwy 577 has been under municipal jurisdiction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Eastern side of the Driftwood River Bridge on Hwy 11 & Hwy 577 near Monteith. This structure consists of a single Warren-type steel deck truss span and two steel beam approach spans. This bridge was built on the Monteith Diversion, a long realignment of Hwy 11 which bypassed the communities of Matheson, Monteith and Porquis Junction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Hwy 11 towards the Ontario Northland Railway Crossing at Porquis Junction. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 6, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Green guide sign marking the upcoming Hwy 67 Junction on northbound Hwy 11 at Porquis Junction. Hwy 67 serves at the main access highway into nearby Iroquois Falls. Hwy 11 and Hwy 67 were both established in 1937, when the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) took over the Department of Northern Development's trunk road system. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Approaching the Hwy 67 Junction on northbound Hwy 11 at Porquis Junction. Prior to 1997, there was both a north and south Hwy 67 Junction along Hwy 11. The south junction of Hwy 67 led towards Timmins, while the north junction of Hwy 67 led to Iroquois Falls. The route of Hwy 67 overlapped with Hwy 11 for almost 3 km between these two junctions. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Hwy 11 & Hwy 67 Junction at Porquis Junction, facing north towards Cochrane. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing north along Hwy 67 towards Iroquois Falls from the Hwy 11 Junction. Iroquois Falls' town centre lies about 10 km northeast of Hwy 11. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on August 28, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Abandoned alignment of Hwy 11 at the Warrick Lake Picnic Area south of Cochrane. The new road alignment is on the embankment at left. This spot marks the beginning of a 14 km abandoned section of the original Hwy 11, which was bypassed in 1963. This old alignment comes out at Hwy 7036 in Newmarket Township. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken in August, 2002 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Another section of the abandoned Hwy 11 south of Cochrane. Note the sign at right which reads "Road not maintained - Use at your own risk". This alignment comes out at Hwy 7036, 6 km away. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken in August, 2002 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Hwy 11 at the Cochrane Town Limits, facing north. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 4, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Hwy 11 approaching the 49th Parallel Road, just south of Cochrane. As the name suggests, this concession road follows the 49th Parallel. This particular degree of latitude is significant because it marks the southern boundary of most of Canada's western provinces. However, the most populated regions of Ontario are situated well below this degree of latitude. Toronto, for example, lies over 600 km south of the 49th Parallel. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photograph taken on September 4, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)