Gas in Nobel

[revrnd]

W/ all the talk about gas in Waubamik & Pointe au Baril, I was wondering about the situation in Nobel. It's been a couple of years since I was thru there on 69, but it looked like there was a lot construction east of the Esso & south of Portage Lake. Did anyone sled to the Esso from TOP C last winter? If you were thru there this summer how did the construction look?

I think this 4 laning is causing a lot of problems for sledders. I hope that the money spent is worth it. People say a 4 lane highway will be safer, but I don't know. Yes, the weather can cause problems (BTDT), but aren't a lot of the accidents on 69 due to driver error? Falling asleep while driving too far, driving too fast when the road is snow or slush covered. Mind you if someone does lose control they'll probably hit a rock cut (there are a few along there) rather than a oncoming carload of people or a tractor trailer.

I had to laugh when I saw him passing the McKevitt rig. My buddy drives for Laidlaw out of North Bay & he says you're always passing them.

Taken from Urban Dictionary:

McKevitt Trucking 53 up, 6 down

Some truck company based out of Thunder Bay Ontario in Canuckstand.

They often drive comb over (cabover) trucks and old equipment, that's usually as old or way older than your mom. Also, they are castrated at only 55 miles per hour, making anyone driving an electric old fart scooter look like a Dale Earnhardt Jr on the streets. In addition, you see one of their vehicles dragging a rear door while evading Department of Transportation's PoPo's. Their rear door dragging policy is known by many as being a time saving move in order to make up for lost time.

Legend has that these trucks actually float on water and hence their color scheme of blue. The biggest reason for this potential of McKevitt's fleet is that they're governed at 56 miles per hour and the drivers are so damn underpaid that they have to go accross the Great Lakes to deliver their crap (on time).

Another legend has that their color blue matches the testicular masses of their male drivers that are sexually deprived because they are underpaid and underpowered. And in order to survive, they must forfeit their sexual activities on the road and at home.

Holy crap! That McKevitt Trucking vehicle is so slow! Just like Mikey's Mom!

[Wildbill]

As a firefighter on hwy 69 for 16 years I fail to see the humour in this .I could not begin to count how many innocent people I have helped the coroner load up . Yes the four laning has forced us to adapt .How many lives is that worth ?

[revrnd]

As a firefighter on hwy 69 for 16 years I fail to see the humour in this .I could not begin to count how many innocent people I have helped the coroner load up . Yes the four laning has forced us to adapt .How many lives is that worth ?

Not making light of the 4 lining, but just questioning whether there will be a reduction in accidents after the construction is finished.

I myself have witnessed the carnage on 69. Several years ago I saw the remains of a Ford Econoline & Suzuki sedan. According to a friend (stationed @ Parry Sound OPP) who was following me, 2 people died.

[Wildbill]

On the Foley section we went from over five fatalities some years to one every couple of years is that "worth it" ?

[Wildbill]

Do you remember the aweful level crossing on hwy 69 at the Seguin trail prior to four laning ? it was borderline dangerous and downright rotten.

[slomo]

Esso/Wendy's/Tim Hortons are still open in Nobel. If you look north from the 400/124 junction you can see lines where four lanes will bypass Nobel. The different sections of construction - Parry Sound, Nobel, and onward will not be open as four lane until all sections are completed. So likely be two lane for some time yet and construction will stop with winter weather. Didn't gas sled at Esso last year, but the Carling club has usually figured out temporary trails to get over that way that adapt to the progress of construction.

Twinning of 69 Parry Sound to Sudbury was projected to be completed in 2020. Darn good idea. Driving that highway for years prior to the passing lanes was scarey as people took awful chances passing.

[revrnd]

Esso/Wendy's/Tim Hortons are still open in Nobel. If you look north from the 400/124 junction you can see lines where four lanes will bypass Nobel. The different sections of construction - Parry Sound, Nobel, and onward will not be open as four lane until all sections are completed. So likely be two lane for some time yet and construction will stop with winter weather. Didn't gas sled at Esso last year, but the Carling club has usually figured out temporary trails to get over that way that adapt to the progress of construction.

Twinning of 69 Parry Sound to Sudbury was projected to be completed in 2020. Darn good idea. Driving that highway for years prior to the passing lanes was scarey as people took awful chances passing.

I could see where the blasting was going on SE of Nobel. It looked like the 4 lanes would go between the lake & the Esso.

I've been driving 69 since '82 when a friend started working in Elliot Lake & later Timmins. I always found the traffic thinned out north of Parry Sound. After following a northbound pickup/slide in camper (doing about 75/80 kph in the 90 zone) for about 40 klicks on 69 before the 4 laning started, I asked my OPP friend what happened to the signs telling slower vehicles to use the paved shoulder. He said accidents had been caused by people where trying to pass on the paved shoulder.

[sledjunk]

The "slower traffic use the shoulder" idea was one of the lamest I have ever seen. The area has a number of side roads and guardrails where someone on the shoulder would suddenly run out of lane because they had the courtesy to allow faster traffic to pass. The same people usually wouldn't allow a gap for the guy on the shouder to squeeze back in.

They didn't get rid of that soon enough IMO.

[Wildbill]

The issue north of town is the lack of patience. Almost all crashes involve an innocent party being hit head on by someone trying to pass.

[slomo]

The issue north of town is the lack of patience. Almost all crashes involve an innocent party being hit head on by someone trying to pass.

One really bad section was around the Burwash 'Industrial Farm' (minimum security prison) which was pretty well the only straight stretch of highway between Parry Sound and Sudbury....(pre-dates the 80's revrnd!) It was summer time, going and returning from vacation. People would get geared up to pass miles in advance and once they hit this stretch the fun would begin. The inmates at the farm used to keep a herd of bison, so some traffic would slow down to see if they could spot them in the trees along the road. Drivers going in both directions took crazy chances passing 3 or more cars at a time. Multiple car crashes were the norm, not the exception. I can only imagine the 'Far Side' cartoon observations from the point of view of the animals as they watched this go on.

Every year the drive got better as improvements were made....For many years the highway went right through downtown Parry Sound and occasionally a truck would get stuck under the bridge in town. Over the years it has been interesting to see how the complexion of the town has been changed by the highway....gradual shifting of the businesses from the north end to the south.

It used to seem like magic when you hit four lanes at Barrie to head into Toronto. (something that the Sudbury driver ed instructors never prepared you for!) As the 400 crept further north some of our favourite stops were expropriated or closed down. It was almost this time of year around 2002 when the four lane reached Parry Sound at last which made for good driving up from the south...particularly when you had to avoid Bala during the Cranberry Festival.

I can still vaguely remember when 69 was a dirt road in some parts and the best way from Toronto to Sudbury was via North Bay.... Have some baby pictures taken on a one lane bridge over the French River. Have a few pictures taken many years later on a one lane snowmobiling bridge over the same river.

[Wildbill]

There is a cost to the faster safer highway . Many family businesses along the way have suffered while "corporate" canada gains strength . I always dreaded what would happen to such businesses as the Maples motel and the Big wheel who were unable to adapt to the change in traffic patterns . Much to my surprise some like Oscar's ,Memories and the whitfield actually saw an increase in traffic. In the long run I have embedded in my mind forever the faces on the dead victims of hwy 69 and am very grateful for the four laning and wish the best for those negitively affected by it .

[sledjunk]

The issue north of town is the lack of patience. Almost all crashes involve an innocent party being hit head on by someone trying to pass.

One really bad section was around the Burwash 'Industrial Farm' (minimum security prison) which was pretty well the only straight stretch of highway between Parry Sound and Sudbury....(pre-dates the 80's revrnd!) It was summer time, going and returning from vacation. People would get geared up to pass miles in advance and once they hit this stretch the fun would begin. The inmates at the farm used to keep a herd of bison, so some traffic would slow down to see if they could spot them in the trees along the road. Drivers going in both directions took crazy chances passing 3 or more cars at a time. Multiple car crashes were the norm, not the exception. I can only imagine the 'Far Side' cartoon observations from the point of view of the animals as they watched this go on.

Every year the drive got better as improvements were made....For many years the highway went right through downtown Parry Sound and occasionally a truck would get stuck under the bridge in town. Over the years it has been interesting to see how the complexion of the town has been changed by the highway....gradual shifting of the businesses from the north end to the south.

It used to seem like magic when you hit four lanes at Barrie to head into Toronto. (something that the Sudbury driver ed instructors never prepared you for!) As the 400 crept further north some of our favourite stops were expropriated or closed down. It was almost this time of year around 2002 when the four lane reached Parry Sound at last which made for good driving up from the south...particularly when you had to avoid Bala during the Cranberry Festival.

I can still vaguely remember when 69 was a dirt road in some parts and the best way from Toronto to Sudbury was via North Bay.... Have some baby pictures taken on a one lane bridge over the French River. Have a few pictures taken many years later on a one lane snowmobiling bridge over the same river.

Talk about a trip down memory lane!!! We had a few family trips to the big smoke to visit famly when I was a lad in the Sault. I remember the Burwash facility with the signs for miles on either side of it warning against picking up hitchhikers. We must be about the same vintage

[slomo]

We must be about the same vintage

And a fine vintage it is!

The Sault is a great place to come from....particularly impressed with how they developed the down town waterfront...well worth a visit.

[revrnd]

We must be about the same vintage

And a fine vintage it is!

The Sault is a great place to come from....particularly impressed with how they developed the down town waterfront...well worth a visit.

A friend of mine married a girl from the Sault back in '84. The wedding pics were taken down by the old locks (Canadian side). Nice park.

Now if the ACR (CN) could fix the station platform where you load your sleds on the train it would be perfect.

A funny story @ the expense of a Toronto girl in the Sault.

A few years ago we were up there to the Searchmont races. We drove up on Friday, while the 2 racer friends arrived a day earlier to practice.

Well after they cleaned up back @ the motel, we discussed dinner. A couple of us mentioned pizza. My friend asked, "Do they have pizza up here?" I laughed. She asked me what was so funny as she'd never been there before & didn't know if they had pizza in the Sault (I guess the next stop is Fraserdale). I said half of the population was Italian & mentioned the Espositos were from there plus Rocky DiPietro & Dino Ciccarelli. Since she was Italian herself, I checked the white pages & found some of her relatives (well they had the same last name).