(Redirected from Ontario provincial highway 61)
'Highway 61' is an
Ontario provincial highway, extending for 61
km (38
miles) from a junction with Highways
11 and
17 and the
Harbour Expressway in
Thunder Bay, Ontario to the
Pigeon River Bridge, where it meets
Minnesota State Highway 61 at the
Ontario-
Minnesota border.
In Minnesota, the highway continues as
Minnesota State Highway 61, which eventually becomes
U.S. Highway 61 and extends to
New Orleans, Louisiana. Minnesota Highway 61 was itself once part of the U.S. federal highway, but lost that designation in 1991.
An "outlaw" bridge across the Pigeon River, the international boundary between Canada and the United States, was built by residents of Thunder Bay, Ontario and opened on
August 18,
1917 to permit access to Minnesota. The Canadian road leading to the customs and immigration facilities at the bridge was initially known as the "Scott Highway" after lumberman William Scott. The bridge was later taken over by the provincial Ministry of Transportation, and an upgraded span now exists as the
Pigeon River Bridge.
The northernmost section in Thunder Bay is a 4-lane undivided
expressway, forming the southern half of the Thunder Bay Expressway. The remainder of Highway 61 (in Ontario) is a conventional 2-lane highway.
See also ''
Highway 61''.