Ontario Highway 599

Highway 599
Route information
Length:	291.4 km[1] (181.1 mi)
Existed:	1956 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Highway 17 in Ignace
North end:	Pickle Lake
Location
Districts:	Kenora Thunder Bay
Towns:	Ignace, Silver Dollar, Savant Lake, New Osnaburgh, Pickle Lake
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways 400-series • Former

Secondary Highway 599, commonly referred to as Highway 599, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 292-kilometre (181 mi) route connects Highway 17 near Ignace with the remote northern community of Pickle Lake

Route description

Highway 599 is a long and isolated road in Northwestern Ontario, starting at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) near Ignace. It travels through the dense forests and hills of Kenora District and ends in Pickle Lake. It is the longest secondary highway in Ontario, at about 292 kilometres (181 mi) long. It is also the northernmost highway in Ontario maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

The road links up with the Northern Ontario Resource Trail, which used to be a part of Highway 599, and then Highway 808. The Resource Trail is paved for only the first 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of its length, and is gravel for the rest of its length. It links up with winter roads that travel to isolated communities even farther north, terminating at the northern shore of Windigo Lake.

Towns

• Ignace
• Valora
• Silver Dollar
• Savant Lake
• Osnaburgh
• Rat Rapids
• Mishkeegogamang First Nation (New Osnaburgh)
• Pickle Lake

History

Highway 599 was initially constructed by the Department of Mines and Forestry in the early 1950s, opening from Savant Lake to Pickle Lake in 1955. In early 1956, that road was assumed by the Department of Highways and incorporated as part of the new secondary highway network, with the designation of Highway 599.^[2] Unlike most other secondary highways, it was not possible to access the new highway by car from the rest of the province.^[3]

In 1958, construction began to connect the route with Highway 17 near Ignace, working south from Savant Lake. By 1963, Highway 599 was opened to the community of Valora, where it connected with the Ignace–Valora Road. On February 15, the province signed an industrial road agreement, which opened the Ignace–Valora Road to the general public, connecting Highway 599 with the rest of the province. Despite this, work continued on a paved road. In 1963 construction began from the Highway 17 end. The road was completed in the middle by 1966.

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 599. In addition, it includes some minor junctions that are noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.

Division	Location	km[1]	Destinations	Notes
Kenora	Ignace	0.0	Highway 17 – Kenora, Thunder Bay
	Silver Dollar	59.7	Highway 642 – Sioux Lookout
Thunder Bay	Savant Lake	126.8	Savant Lake train station	Canadian National (CN) railway crossing
	Unorganized Thunder Bay District	135.7	Highway 516 – Sioux Lookout
		222.6	Austin's Road (west) Pashokokogan Lake Road (east)
Kenora	Unorganized Kenora District	255.7	Rat River Bridge
	Pickle Lake	290.8	Pickle Lake Road
	Central Patricia	291.4		End of Highway 599
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2007). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5. Retrieved August 25, 2011. 
2. ^ "Ontario Secondary Roads Now Designated 500, 600". 112. The Globe and Mail. February 4, 1956. p. 4. "Two new Ontario road numbers appear on the province's 1956 official road map which will be ready for distribution next week. The new numbers are the 500 and 600 series and designate hundreds of miles of secondary roads which are wholly maintained by the Highways Department. More than 100 secondary roads will have their own numbers and signs this year. All of these secondary roads were taken into the province's main highways system because they form important connecting links with the King's Highways" 
3. ^ Ontario Department of Highways (1956). Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. 

External links

• Highway 599 length and route