Topic: Longest straight road in Canada?

[si]

Input please.

The longest straight stretch on Vancouver Island is probably only a few kilometers long.  The straightest highway in BC is probably less than a dozen km in the fraser valley.  So BC is a province of twisties.  The praries probably have the longest straight stretches.  I remember years ago driving from Calgary to Edmonton and only a strong cross-wind was pushing the car off course.  Ontario has all the lakes to drive around, although isn't Younge St. the longest street in the Canada?    

Makes me think about just how different general drivers are across Canada: Inexperienced winter drivers around here who can take corners, experienced winter drivers on the praries who never see corners, and drivers like my cousin in Toronto who think an amber light means "hurry up".  Then there's the maritimes, but because the furthest east I've been was Quebec and the fact I sometimes can't understand what they say I'll leave them out.  

But if ever one day someone had to do some top-speed testing, where would they go? - what's the longest straight road you know of.

[wing]

Ontario is fairly straight, there are some twisties around the lakes and such but it seems as a general rule they try to keep the roads straight, if there is any type of bend we get a huge warning sign that's it coming and 90% of the time the bend is barely anything.

Ottawa is spending a few million to remove a TINY kink in one of our overpasses in Kanata, because the road isn't straight

[johngenx]

Every highway in Alberta, Sask and Manitoba from the base of the foothills to the Ontario border.

[chris]

Yup, tons of straight roads, particularly secondary highways, in Alberta that work well for high speed testing.  Just watch the farm equipment as even the straight roads have some dips and crests that hide LARGE equipment!!!

I remember driving through Swan Hills for work and, while I don't remember how straight the road was (it certainly was not twisty) I do remember that there was NOTHING around.  no people, no birds, no wildlife... it was weird.  I believe I hit the speed limiter in the company grand prix that day

[Snowman]

I think the straightest road I ever driven on was the Highway 6 heading north to Thompson Manitoba just past Grand Rapids. Straight and flat, usually the rentals I drove were at the speed limited 180 kph. Distance is measured in hours when you lived in Northern Manitoba….”how many klicks to Winnipeg?...That would be 8 hours”.

The next one was heading west out of Kindersley Saskatchewan when I was driving to Calgary back in ’93. Lots of rolling hills so it distorted the length.

[ovr50]

Roba - although you are correct about most of BC being mountainous, thus no straight roads of length; when you get up to far northern BC and NE BC in the Peace River country, there are some straight roads.  

When I was a U. student, I had a summer job out in Southeastern Alberta and some of the roads down there go for many miles without a hint of a curve. Terribly boring and I can remember almost dozing off to sleep several times ('course it could have been from lack of sleep the night before.. ).

[ktm525]

"The next one was heading west out of Kindersley Saskatchewan when I was driving to Calgary back in ’93. Lots of rolling hills so it distorted the length."

That is one of my favorite speed sections as there is little to no traffic. I was exploring the top speed of the Passat on that stretch last Friday. Happiness is passing a cop going the other way at the beginning of your favorite speed section. Clear sailing.

[ziggy]

In Alberta, Highway 35 north of Peace River.  Very straight and isolated.  I've tested three of my vehicle's top end on this road.  I would regularly cruise at 150-160kph and would sometimes meet RCMP and they would just wave or hit their lights for a second to ask you to slow down.  If they were on the highway they were there for something more important than speeders.

[safristi]

Wot..? WHEAT RUSTLERS?.....GRASSHOPPER GANGSTAS?....SUNFLOWER SNATCHERS?...............DOZEY DOES CLOGGIN' TOO LOUD....??JIMMY "CRACK" CORN....??

[whistler]

Thats true what you said about experienced drivers in one part of the country vs inexperienced drivers in another, not just for twisty roads but for cities and such too.

I have family from the maritimes who have been driving for 30 years but still almost have a nervous breakdown whenever they come visit us and have to drive in Ottawa, anywhere close to downtown (Ottawa! Not Toronto or Montreal). They even get tense as passengers in a downtown drive.

But, then I've only been driving a few years and wouldn't hesitate to drive straight into downtown in the middle of the day if I had to, just because thats the kind of situation I learned to drive in. I also have no big troubles visiting bigger cities like Montreal and Toronto.

[traingirl]

'Go straight for 487 km - and then turn left', direct quote from my audio GPS travelling just outside Saskatoon to somewhere north of Calgary.

I laffed my a** off

[Mdxtasy]

North of Calgary?  There's nothing worth seeing up there.  

[traingirl]

just the sulphur mines and alot of wanna be ranchers who 'heart' alberta beef

[Mdxtasy]

Sounds like it must stink up there.  

Wait a minute....I was born in Edmonton...sh*t.

[safristi]

So Md ya came out of a 'Volvo!!'  "dealership" in Edmonton...hmmmm...ironic eh!!!

[traingirl]

edmonchuk.  Recently travelled 16 from chuck to yorkton - they call it the perogy trail.

BTW - Edmontont to Sasktoon in 4 hours - challenge to all and a testiment to straight roads.

[ovr50]

"just the sulphur mines and alot of wanna be ranchers who 'heart' alberta beef"

And you're taking shots being from Saskatoon?? Brave indeed...

Incidently, sulphur is not mined, it is extracted from natural gas in the process and poured when a hot liquid into huge blocks.  

BTW - I was raised north of Calgary but south of Edmonton - and it's damn fine country.  

[traingirl]

darn it - I knew 'mined' wasn't the right term, thanks for the correction.  As you can tell, no sulfur around toontown.

Yes, good country, close to the mountains, nice rolling topography, great people . But, you do have to admit - some of the largest belt buckles to be found anywhere, not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Drivesideways]

Yeah...don't ya just love those western fashions?

[traingirl]

HiLARious

I'm not even gonna ask whose closet you got that from....