The people have spoken and their feedback on Canada’s worst roads has been compiled and released by CAA.
In the Northern Region, which includes Nipissing, Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Parry Sound District and more, North Bay placed three roads in the top five in voting and local roads claim the top two spots on the list.
- Widdifield Station Road — North Bay
- Chadbourne Drive — North Bay
- Algonquin Boulevard East — Timmins
- Burton Avenue — Greater Sudbury
- Premier Road — North Bay
The top two vote-getters, Widdifield Station Road and Chadbourne Drive intersect and are located northeast of Jack Garland Airport. Chadbourne Drive can be accessed by Four Mile Lake Road and Widdifield Station Road exits to Highway 63 to the east.
How bad are these local roads? BayToday sent a team out to drive Widdifield Station Road and Chadbourne Drive. See the video below, played back at twice the normal speed. The verdict? Beautiful scenery. It's definitely a choppy ride. We encountered two fallen trees that were each blocking one lane. There is some washboard in places. The railway crossings are a bit bumpy. Are they the worst roads in the entire Northern Region? They are according to whoever took the time to vote them as such.
According to the City of North Bay, Widdifield Station Road, a low-traffic rural road, is being converted to a granular road. After completing a section last year, work will continue westward from the east end, by pulverizing sections, and performing base repairs, with work ongoing into 2025. The Chadbourne Drive project will be fully completed this year, including pulverizing the existing road, repairing the base, and paving with two surface treatment layers (asphalt emulsion followed by cover aggregate).
Premier Road, a mainstay on the CAA Worst Roads list in recent years, finished fifth this year as repairs are about to begin on one section of Premier Road. A sidewalk will be added and matched up with the existing sidewalk. Work to repave the rest of the road will continue in 2025. For two consecutive years, Premier Road had been voted North Bay's worst road and in 2023, was named the third-worst in the region.
See related: Relief in sight for North Bay's worst road
CAA’s Worst Roads campaign has measured public sentiment on the state of highways and non-highways since 2003. In Ontario, the campaign allows consumers to vote daily at caaworstroads.com. Voters also have the option to upload photos and explain why the road doesn't meet their standards.
Nominations for the worst road were accepted until April 19. Once voting closed, CAA uses the data to compile a list of the Top 10 Worst Roads in Ontario and the worst roads in regions across the province. Hamilton's Aberdeen Avenue topped that list.
CAA says its research shows that over 84 per cent of members are worried about the state of the roads and 42 per cent have had a vehicle damaged due to road conditions.
A pothole can cause $500 to over $2,000 in damage to a vehicle, with the average repair of people surveyed being $852.
"Our research shows that 65 per cent of members don't feel enough is being done to fix the roads," said Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice president of government and community relations, CAA SCO, in a news release.
"This is causing a variety of concerning driving behaviours, including swerving to avoid potholes, slowing down for bad spots, and some even changing their route altogether to avoid a bad road. We encourage all Ontarians to vote for their Worst Roads and join the community of drivers, cyclists, transit riders and pedestrians committed to improving and actively working to help make our roads safer for all."
