Southwest and Southeast Bypasses (Sudbury)
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The Southwest Bypass and Southeast Bypass are two separately-constructed roads in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario that form a loop around the southern end of the city for traffic travelling on Highway 17. It is a two-lane road for its entire length with at-grade intersections, with the exception of 1 km of road near an interchange with Highway 69 which is a divided freeway. With the Northwest Bypass from Lively to Chelmsford, the roads form a partial ring road around the city's urban core.
Prior to its construction, traffic staying on highway 17 through the city was required to travel on what is now Municipal Road 55 through the city, which has a speed limit of 60 km/h. The Southwest Bypass was constructed in the 1970s as a route primarily for local city traffic. The road was considered part of the provincial highway system, although it was designated with a private 7000-series number and was never signed as a provincial highway - only with trailblazers to highway 69 eastbound and highway 17 westbound.
When the Highway 17 freeway route through Walden was constructed in the early 1980s, the Southwest Bypass terminus in Lively was chosen as the freeway's eastern interchange point. At the interchange, the Highway 17 designation switched from the freeway to the current Municipal Road 55 route through downtown.
When the southeast section was completed in 1995, the Highway 17 designation was transferred to the bypass route.
The Southwest Bypass's western terminus is at Highway 17's interchange with Municipal Road 55, at the conclusion of an isolated freeway segment of approximately 20 km. The first kilometre east of the interchange is a transition from the Highway 17 freeway back down to a two-lane highway. The bypass then runs to Long Lake Road, and then a further 1 km to an interchange with Highway 69, widening to four lanes for this parclo interchange - at which point the Southwest Bypass is generally considered to end and the Southeast Bypass begins. The southeast segment runs for approximately 10 km and meets no roads for its entire length (crossing over but not interchanging with Bancroft Drive), before ending at a signalized intersection with Municipal Road 55 approximately 2 km west of Coniston. Traffic on highway 17 must turn right to continue on the highway.
The provincial government has announced that this road will be four-laned to Coniston, likely around the same time that Ontario provincial highway 400 supersedes highway 69 to Sudbury.
[edit] Interchanges
km | Intersecting Road(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|
0.0 | Municipal Road 55 | Western terminus of SW bypass, intersecting original Highway 17 alignment. Parclo B4 interchange. |
Fielding Road / Kantola Road | At-grade intersection. | |
Southview Drive | At-grade intersection. | |
Hannah Lake Road | At-grade intersection. | |
Middle Lake Road | At-grade intersection. | |
9.9 | Long Lake Road (Municipal Road 80) | Original eastern terminus of bypass until completion in 1995. Signalized at-grade intersection, awaiting conversion into a parclo interchange. |
13.3 | Highway 69 / Municipal Road 46 | Meeting point of southwest and southeast bypass segments. Parclo A2 interchange. |
24.3 | The Kingsway (Municipal Road 55) | Eastern terminus of SE bypass. Traffic must turn to remain on highway 17. Signalized at-grade intersection. |