Prior to the construction of the Lakehead Expressway in the 1960s, Highway
11/
17 and
Highway 61 used local streets through the cities of
Fort William and
Port Arthur. In Port Arthur, Highway 11/17 entered the city from
Shuniah through Lakeshore Drive into
Current River. It then turned south on Hodder Avenue and continued south along Cumberland Street, which used to turn west Downtown to become Bay Street. From Bay Street, Highway 11/17 then followed Algoma Street/Memorial Avenue south out of Port Arthur and into Fort William, where the roadway is named May Street. Following May Street, this highway then turned west along Arthur Street, following the highway out. Highway 61, meanwhile, started at the corner of Arthur Street (Hwy 11/17) and Kingsway and followed Kingsway and Ford Street to Frederica Street. This highway then followed Frederica Street west to James Street, where the highway headed south, crossing into
Fort William First Nation reserve using a Swing Bridge built in 1906. At the terminus of James Street at present day Chippewa Road in the reserve, where the highway turns west, heading towards the
US border. The current Highway 61/Chippewa Road intersection did not exist then and was one continuous roadway from the reserve to the border. Also, there was a Port Arthur branch of Highway 11/17, numbered Highway 11A/17A, starting at Cumberland Street and Red River Road in downtown Port Arthur, and headed west towards Sistonen’s Corners. This highway would be renumbered to
Highway 102 west of the Thunder Bay Expressway in 1971 following the construction of the new corridor. In 1963,
Charles MacNaughton, minister of the
Department of Highways, announced plans for the Lakehead Expressway to be built on the western edge of the twin cities of
Port Arthur and
Fort William (which amalgamated in 1970 to form Thunder Bay). Work began in August 1965, with a contract for a section of divided highway on the west side of the twin cities. Plans called for a at-grade expressway from South of Arthur Street to meet Highway 11 and Highway 17 northeast of the cities. The first section of the expressway opened on August 29, 1967, connecting Oliver Road (then part of
Highway 130) and Golf Links Road with Dawson Road (
Highway 102). By mid- to late 1969, the route had been extended to
Highway 527 northeast of the twin cities. On the south end, it spanned from Highway 11 and Highway 17 (Arthur Street) to the site of the present intersection of
Harbour Expressway and Golf Links Road. Golf Links Road provided an intermediate connection between the two completed segments. Eventually the segments were linked up, removing the present day Harbour Expressway and Golf Links Road from the expressway. By late 1970, the route had been extended southward from Arthur Street to Neebing Avenue / Walsh Street West. At this time, Highway 11/17 and Highway 61 were rerouted along the completed expressway. The old routes through Thunder Bay were redesignated as
Highway 11B/
17B and
Highway 61B. However, these routes were decommissioned in 1998. In 2003 plans were announced for the Shabaqua, a
bypass of Highways11 and 17 to the north of the existing route along Arthur Street West, spanning from the intersection of Arthur Street and Vibert Road to the intersection of
Harbour Expressway and Thunder Bay Expressway. The new bypass was opened on August17, 2007; as a result, the southernmost of the Thunder Bay Expressway was transferred to Highway61, no longer part of Highway 11 nor Highway 17. In 2025,
City Council ordered a designated truck route, using this corridor and the Harbour Expressway, reallocating truck traffic onto this highway from
Dawson Road. == Future ==