Highway 105

Highway 105 sign, Kings Highway

Surveyors working on
Highway 105, date unknown

Immediately after the announcement of the Red Lake Road work began. Aerial photographs of the area were taken to plan the best routes and then surveyed by land. The Government dismissed several routes to Red Lake before settling on Highway 105’s current location. An existing logging road significantly reduced the area to be cleared. The Government divided the construction of the highway into eight parts and started accepting bids on April 3, 1946. Each of the companies was responsible for the development of 16 km (10 miles) of the highway. After
break-up, 3,500 tonnes of heavy equipment was brought in by water and sent to the eight construction camps.

Each contractor was sent men from the Federal
Government Employment Office to work on the highway.
Many of the workers did not like the hard work and quit. One contractor stated that one worker would stay for every three men that left. By December 1946, the road was passable by trucks, but not cars. On December 5, 1946, Ernest McCullogh drove the first truck (a three-tonne Imperial Oil).
In a town founded by gold mining, Red Lake was without
road access from 1926-1946. All freight and passenger
transportation was by air, ice roads and boats only.
​
For 20 years, the Government had several reasons not to
build a road. Initially, Red Lake was a new gold discovery,
and the Government waited to see if the area would be
prosperous before making a road to such a remote area.
When Howey Gold Mines started producing in 1930, the
depression had started, and the Ontario Government would not put money toward a road in such a remote community. When World War II began, gold production slowed and very little left the area.

In 1945 and early 1946, the community of Red Lake put
pressure on the Ontario government to build a road to Red Lake. Many of the mine managers, like Jack Hammell and Ed Fahlgren and the Red Lake Chamber of Commerce, wrote letters to the Government stressing Red Lake’s need for a road. Red Lake had five producing gold mines, with three potential mines sinking shafts. By the summer of 1946, gold production would be increased with two additional mills being constructed. The Red Lake Inn hosted a public meeting about Red Lake’s need for a road in January 1946. Government representatives, mine
managers and other representatives attended the meeting. One of the main issues raised was that while Red Lake was paying government taxes, it was not receiving any government services. The Ontario Government finally conceded to connect Red Lake to the rest of the province. On February 28, 1946, the Minister of Highways, George H. Doucett announced that Red Lake would get a highway.

WORK BEGINS ON RED LAKE HIGHWAY, 1946

​NEW TIMBER BRIDGE ON RED LAKE
ROAD (HWY 105), 1946

Red Lake Road sign, 1947

Patricia Transportation Co. Truck driving on dirt roads in Red Lake, 1940s
The Minister of Highways George H. Doucett drove to Red
Lake with a convoy of trucks on December 17, 1946. The
Minister led the procession of trucks which included
engineers, officials and a few truck drivers delivering loads to Red Lake. The Minister sent a telegram stating that it took 3 hours and 55 minutes to get to Red Lake. This may or may not have included their stop at Sam’s Portage for lunch.

During the winter of 1946-47, trucks, buses and a few cars
used the road, but it was not actually complete. After the
snow melted, the final work on the road began. The marshy areas were drained, and the road was graveled.

Highway 105 cost $3 million and was a Class “C” highway
with a 7.3 metre (24-foot) wide driving surface. The grade
was built to be adjusted if the steep hills and tight curves
were later modified. Five bridges were constructed using
local timber. In total 900 acres were cleared for the roadbed. 365,760 cubic metres (400,000 cubic yards) of earth and 205, 740 cubic metres (225,000 cubic yards) of rock were excavated. 205.7 cubic metres (225 cubic yards) of gravel was used to surface the road.

Road Ways

Years before Highway 105, the individual communities
within Red Lake area had dirt roads. Cars were brought into the communities even though the streets were not the best. After Highway 105 opened, new problems began. There was an increase in traffic, caused by tourist in Red Lake. The Provincial Government refused to assist with road repairs because Red Lake was not an incorporated municipality. However, as a non-incorporated town, Red Lake had to adhere to government speed limits (48km/hour or 30m/h). Red Lake could not legally reduce the speed limits, even though residents were worried about the speed of cars. Most people walked on the streets as there were no
sidewalks. Another problem was the individual communities were still not joined together by roads.

Highway 618

The first road between Madsen and Red Lake was mainly to transport freight and was very rough. Starting in the summer of 1937 and continuing into the winter, Patricia
Transportation Company spent $3,200 to put in a road. The road was a mix of corduroy road (log) and rock from Madsen Red Lake Gold Mines (Madsen Mine). In the fall of 1937, Madsen Mine spent $11,000 on making improvements and building a road so tractors could use the road to pull in machinery the mine needed to create the mil.

By 1939, Mr. Crayston, Madsen Mine’s superintendent, was
requesting more money from the Ministry of Highways to
improve the road. The recommendation was for culverts,
deeper ditches and rock for the road, to which the Mine
offered their waste rock.

The road continued to Starratt-Olsen Gold Mines
(Starratt-Olsen Mine). The mines used this one-way road to bring in supplies. Although connected to the Highway 105, the road was so rough that businesses driving to Madsen and Starratt-Olsen increased their fees. Trucking
companies hauling supplies to the two mines charged an
additional $1/tonne to cover extra wear to their equipment and fuel used. A year later, the Patricia Transportation Company dropped this extra fee for driving the Madsen-Red Lake Road. The Pitura Brothers had a bus route on the Madsen-Red Lake Road and they also charged an additional fee for driving. The Pitura Brothers charged 55¢ for a single fare one way from Red Lake to Madsen and a $1 round trip, which was higher than the average taxi rate in the
1940s.

​Improvements were made to both Highway 105 and the Madsen-Red Lake Road in the 1960s. The Madsen-Red Lake Road eventually became Highway 618.

​Freshly paved highway 105, September 1962

Red Lake District News, August 20th 1946

Red Lake, where traffic
lights are now, 1957

Road to Madsen, date unknown

Road to Madsen corduroy road
finished by Madsen Mine,
July 17, 1938

Highway 125

In 1946, the Minister of Highways told Red Lake residents a road would be built to the new airport in Cochenour.
However, due to damage to several other Ontario roads in
1948, there was no money left to build another road in the
Red Lake area. Residents and the mines were upset about the delay. This road was vital to not only the communities of Balmertown, Cochenour, McKenzie Island and McMarmac but also the residents within those communities. Without a connection to Highway 105, these mines and communities were still isolated during break-up and freeze-up. In the spring of 1949, the Ministry of Highways approved the Highway 125 to finally connect Highway 105, Balmertown and the now two-year-old airport.

King's Highway

​
​On August 27, 1947, the highway officially opened. Ontario
Premier George A. Drew and Minister of Highways George
H. Doucett came to Perriault Falls for the official ceremony. Minister Doucett broke through the last barrier of the road and then “O’Canada” was played. One of the construction companies gave a bear cub to Minister Doucett for all his work on the highway.
​
The highway not only allowed Red Lake year-round access but opened up the area to timber industry and tourism as well as further mining exploration. The mines expected to save approximately $300,000 per year on shipping costs. The road created new businesses, such as bus, taxi and trucking companies. Krons and Sons, a trucking company from Kenora, soon acquired freighting contracts and opened an office in Red Lake. The Patricia Transportation Company adapted and increased their fleet of trucks to accommodate the new way of shipping to Red Lake. These two companies earned many of the truck freighting contracts and initially charged $18/tonne for freighting to Red Lake in 1947. The rate was only $2/tonne less than the shipping rates by water.
The two companies agreed it was a fair price considering
the condition of the roads and the wear to their trucks.
However, many in Red Lake thought the rates too high given the road was brand new.

​The gravel road was rough and filled with holes, causing lots of damage to cars, but people continued to use the road. The gravel road was graded, but drivers complained that within days it would be filled with holes again. With the increased traffic, the people of Red Lake started to demand a paved road. The project began in 1962 and finished in 1963.

Premier George Drew speaking at opening
of Highway 105, August 27, 1947

Highway 105 opening ceramony,
Murray Fromson, Premier George Drew,
George Campbell, 1947

Premier George Drew detonating
charges at opening of Highway 105, 1947

Taxi & Bus Service

Snowmobile Used as a Taxi
​ in Winter,​ 1936

 Harold Clark boat taxi,
​UNKNOWN Date 

Vick & Westerlund Transportation Co.

​Ivor Vick and Tage Westerlund’s Vick & Westerlund
Transportation Co. was one of Red Lake’s early freight and
transportation businesses. They began delivering supplies
to Madsen Red Lake Gold Mines in the 1930s. Vick and
Westerlund would also bring passengers from Red Lake to Madsen. The company carried mail, supplies for the mine, foods like meat or ice cream and passengers. In 1940, the business’s name changed to the Tage Westerlund Bus Service, but it still provided the same services.

​Pitura Brothers

​Cousins Ed and Pete Pitura began operating a taxi service, Pitura Brothers, in the 1940s (not to be confused by Pitura Taxi run by Joe Pitura and his wife Betty in the 1970s and 1980s). After Highway 105 opened, they were often hired to bring immigrant families from the train station near Vermilion Bay to Red Lake. The Pitura family immigrated from Austria and were able to speak and understand a few languages, which was very comforting to their passengers who could not speak English. Later they started other businesses, such as Pitura Motors.

McLeod Taxi & McLeod Transportation

Started by Ken McLeod in 1946, McLeod Taxi was one of
the popular taxi companies in the Red Lake area. The main office for McLeod Taxi was on Howey Street. McLeod
Transportation secured most of the bus contracts with the mines, in particular, the Griffith Mine near Ear Falls. The area’s mines would pay for their employees to catch a bus to work. Many of the miners who worked at the Griffith Mine would travel from Red Lake to Ear Falls to work. McLeod Taxi and McLeod Transportation also ran a garage. Today, most of the taxi and bus services have closed. Most people have their cars, and the demand for bus services dwindled. There is still a taxi service in Red Lake and the “Miss McKenzie II” has a regular ferry schedule.
Before the opening of Highway 105, there were several
individual taxi and bus services. These passenger services
were boats, bombardiers, tractors, buses or cars depending on the season, community or the taxi/bus routes. These early taxi and bus services would not only carry passengers but freight between the communities.
Some of the taxi and bus services throughout Red Lake’s
history include:

​Stan’s Taxi

Stan Demchuk operated Stan’s Taxi and drove a taxi-truck
to Madsen Red Lake Gold Mines, similar to a bus service.
His wife, Mary Demchuck, said “he drove a ‘taxi-truck’
instead of a taxi car, because Red Lake then was torture for cars, as the roads were mud and sand and rocks. He took the Madsen miners who lived in Red Lake to work every day, where he was also employed.”

McKenzie Island
​Water Taxis

Since McKenzie Island was a thriving community between the late 1930s to mid-1960s, there were water taxi services in summer. Some of the early water taxi owners were Harold Clark and Albert Kay. Albert, a McKenzie Island storekeeper, would charge 25¢ to cross the lake from McKenzie to Cochenour. The water taxis would also go between other communities in the area. Even after the roads connected the communities, there was still a need for water taxis. Harry Pidlubny operated a water and land taxi service from 1948-1952. Eventually, the "Miss McKenzie", a scheduled ferry service replaced water taxis.

Miss McKenzie docked
at freeze-up, 1981

McLeod Transportation, ​1960S  

McLeod TRANSPORTATION Bus Ticket
​for Mines, January 1979 

  McLeod bus
RED LAKE, 1950S