Ontario Highway 655
{{short description|Ontario provincial highway}}
{{Infobox road
| province = ON
| type = Secondary
| route = 655
| alternate_name = Kidd Creek (Texas Gulf) Highway
| map =
| length_km = 74.7
| length_ref = {{cite web
| title = Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts
| author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
| author-link = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
| year = 2016
| url = https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Portal/tp/tvSplash.aspx
| access-date = January 1, 2021}}
| direction_a = South
| terminus_a = {{jcon|Hwy|101}} in Timmins
| direction_b = North
| terminus_b = {{jcon|Hwy|11}} near Driftwood
| established = 1965 (Original length)
1979 (Current length)
| cities = Timmins
|previous_type = ON
|previous_route = 654
|next_type = ON
|next_route = 656
}}
Highway 655 is a secondary highway in the Cochrane District in Northern Ontario. The route is {{convert|74.7|km}} in length. It is heavily used by trucks as a critical access road to Timmins. The highway is one of the widest (by lane width), best-maintained secondary highways in the north (more comparable to a Kings Highway), and has the distinction of being Ontario's only secondary highway that features a 90 km/h (55 mph) speed limit, due to its importance and high design standards.
Route description
Highway 655 begins at Highway 101 in Timmins, where it travels north, generally paralleling a high-voltage transmission line. Approximately {{convert|21|km}} north of Highway 101, the route encounters the entrance road to the Kidd Creek Mine, and traffic must turn to remain on the highway. It then travels through a long and straight stretch for {{convert|53|km}}, isolated from any communities or services until it encounters Highway 11, southeast of the community of Driftwood.{{cite map
| title = Ontario Back Road Atlas
| year = 2010
| cartography = MapArt
| publisher = Peter Heiler Ltd
| page = 105
| section = G–H16
| isbn = 978-1-55198-226-7}}
Like other provincial routes in Ontario, Highway{{nbsp}}655 is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. In 2020, traffic surveys conducted by the ministry showed that on average, 8,950{{nbsp}}vehicles used the highway daily along the {{convert|1.0|km|adj=on}} section between Highway{{nbsp}}101 (Algonquin Boulevard) and Ross Avenue in Timmins while 1,200{{nbsp}}vehicles did so each day along the section north of the Kidd Creek Mine at Kidd Creek Mine Road, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.
History
Opened in 1965, it was originally known as the Texas Gulf Highway, and ended at the entrance to the Texas Gulf Mining Complex.{{cite map
| title = Ontario Road Map
| cartography = C.P. Robins
| publisher = Ontario Department of Highways
| year = 1965
| section = H–J30}}{{cite map
| title = Ontario Road Map
| cartography = C.P. Robins
| publisher = Ontario Department of Highways
| year = 1966
| section = F13}}
It was expanded from its original {{convert|7|km|adj=on}} length to its current length in 1979, creating a more efficient link between Timmins and northern communities along Highway 11 such as Smooth Rock Falls, Cochrane and Kapuskasing.{{cite map
| title = Ontario Road Map
| cartography = Cartography Section
| publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications
| year = 1978–79
| section = L–M13}}{{cite map
| title = Ontario Road Map
| cartography = Cartography Section
| publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications
| year = 1980
| section = L–M13}}
Major intersections
{{ONinttop|maint=MTO|division=Cochrane|division_ref=|length_ref=}}
{{ONint
| location_special = Timmins
| lspan = 4
| km = 0.0
| road = {{jcon|Hwy|101|Algonquin Boulevard|town=Wawa|town2=Matheson}}
| notes =
}}
{{ONint
| km = 0.9
| road = Ross Avenue
| notes =
}}
{{ONint
| km = 5.1
| road = Laforest Road
| notes =
}}
{{ONint
| km = 21.1
| road = Kidd Creek Mine Road
| notes = To Kidd Creek mine; Highway 655 traffic must turn at this junction
}}
{{ONint
| location_special = Unorganized North Cochrane District
| km = 74.7
| road = {{jcon|Hwy|11|city=Cochrane|town=Smooth Rock Falls}}
| notes = Trans-Canada Highway
}}
{{jctbtm}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://secondary.onthighways.com/highway_655.htm Highway 655]
- [http://members.aol.com/Hwys/OntHwys/OntHwys636-673.html Ontario Highways 636-673]
{{Ontario Secondary Highways}}