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All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the Webmaster (Cameron Bevers), unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are arranged in approximate chronological order, while present day photographs (Year 2000 to date) are arranged by location from south to north. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image!

Please note that all photographs displayed on this website are protected by copyright. These photographs must not be reproduced, published, electronically stored or copied, distributed, or posted onto other websites without my written permission. If you want to use photos from this website, please email me first for permission. Thank-you!

Historical Secondary Highway 626 (#1) Photographs


HWY 11 #203

Above - New Watabeag River Bridge on Hwy 11 (later known as Hwy 626), 3 1/2 miles north of Matheson. Photo taken on September 7, 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  -  © King's Printer for Ontario, 1952)


Present Day Secondary Highway 626 (#1) Photographs


HWY 11 #1105 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1106 - © Cameron Bevers

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. 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)





HWY 11 #1107 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1108 - © 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)





HWY 11 #1109 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1110 - © 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)





HWY 11 #1111 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1112 - © 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)





HWY 11 #1113 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1114 - © 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)





HWY 11 #1115 - © Cameron Bevers             HWY 11 #1116 - © 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)





HWY 11 #1117 - © Cameron Bevers

Above - 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)





More Secondary Highway 626 (#1) Photographs Coming Soon!


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