Dead Battery or Flat Tire on the Thunder Bay Expressway? Start With Your Cross Street

If your car dies on the Thunder Bay Expressway, get as far off the lanes as you can, turn on your hazards and stay inside with the doors locked. Then give your last cross street, not just "the expressway." The road has no exit numbers. Its stoplights at Arthur Street, the Harbour Expressway, Oliver Road, John Street, Red River Road and Balsam Street are the landmarks your driver needs.

Why isn't "I'm on the expressway" enough?

Thunder Bay has two roads called expressways, and neither works like a freeway. The Thunder Bay Expressway runs 15.3 km up the west side of the city. The Harbour Expressway runs east from it through Intercity. Both have traffic lights. Say "the expressway" and your driver still has to guess which one.

The Thunder Bay Expressway also changes highway numbers partway along. From Arthur Street to the Harbour Expressway, it carries Highway 61. North of that light, it carries Highways 11 and 17, the Trans-Canada. So a road sign near you may say 61, or it may say 11/17. Both can be correct.

There are no exit numbers to read off a sign. What you have are crossroads with signals, rivers and the odd stretch of bush. Those are your address.

What are the landmarks along the Thunder Bay Expressway?

Here are the crossroads from south to north. The distances are rough kilometers from the south end at Arthur Street.

About km	Cross street	What it helps to know
0	Arthur Street West	South end. Highway 61 keeps going south toward the airport and Minnesota.
3	Harbour Expressway	Signal. Highways 11 and 17 head west from here on the Shabaqua Highway. Highway 61 ends.
4.6	Oliver Road	Signal. North of here the road runs through forest for a while.
7.7	John Street	Signal, with Jumbo Gardens and River Terrace close by.
8.9	Red River Road east, Dawson Road west	Signal. Dawson Road becomes Highway 102 just to the west.
10.9	Huron Avenue	A one-way ramp off the eastbound lanes, not a full crossing.
11.2	Balsam Street	Last signal. The grass median starts just past it.
15.3	Hodder Avenue	The only interchange. Copenhagen Road goes north, Hodder Avenue south.

When you call, give three things: the last cross street you passed, the next one ahead, and your direction. "Northbound, past John Street, before Red River Road" puts your driver on the correct side of the road the first time.

What if you stop between cross streets?

Some gaps are long, and nothing nearby has a street name. Use what you can see instead.

• Near the south end. Between Arthur Street and the Harbour Expressway, the road crosses the Neebing River. Parkdale and Northwood homes sit on either side.
• Oliver Road to John Street. This is the longest gap with signals at both ends. The road passes through bush and crosses a branch of the McIntyre River at McIntyre Falls. Then it runs alongside Golf Links Road.
• Red River Road to Balsam Street. The road crosses McVicar Creek.
• Balsam Street to Hodder Avenue. This is the forest stretch with a grass median. The road follows the Current River, then crosses it just before the Hodder Avenue interchange.

A bridge or a river is a good marker. Say "just past the Current River bridge, heading east" and your driver can work with that. If your phone shares your location, send it by text too.

Where should you stop when the car starts to quit?

Ontario's driver handbook says to start pulling over at the first sign of trouble. Don't wait for the car to stall in a lane. Check your mirrors, turn on your hazards, ease off the gas and get onto the shoulder. The handbook says never to stop in the driving lanes.

The Highway Traffic Act says the same thing another way. You can't stop on the roadway when it's practical to stop off it. If you have no choice, your car must be visible from at least 125 meters in both directions. So avoid stopping on a curve or just over a rise if the car will roll a little farther.

From Arthur Street to Balsam Street, the road has four lanes and no median. Oncoming traffic is right across a painted line. If the car is still rolling, a lit crossroads with a side street or a lot past it beats a narrow shoulder.

Once you stop, the handbook has a few clear rules:

• Get out through the door away from traffic, and only if you must.
• Don't raise the hood.
• Stay in the car with the doors locked while you wait.

If anyone is hurt, or your car is stuck in a live lane, call 911 first. Sentinel is not an emergency service.

Is it a dead battery, and can it be jumped right there?

Thunder Bay cold is hard on batteries. Environment Canada's 1991 to 2020 normals put the average January low at minus 19.2 C. Wind chill drops below minus 30 on about 28 days a year. A battery that turned the engine over fine on the drive in may not do it after a stop.

Signs it's the battery: the engine cranks slowly or just clicks, and the dash lights go dim. If the engine stalled while driving and the lights stayed bright, it may be something else. Tell us what you saw and heard.

A jump start needs room for a second vehicle beside or in front of yours. On a wide shoulder or at a lot near a cross street, your driver can often do it where you are. On a tight shoulder with traffic going by, your driver decides what is safe. That may mean a tow to a lot nearby first. If the battery is done, the next step is a tow to a shop you choose.

What about a flat tire on the expressway?

If a tire blows, the handbook says to take your foot off the gas and steer firmly where you want to go. Slow down and stop off the road.

A flat on the traffic side is the worst spot. On the undivided part of the road, that side faces passing cars. Don't kneel by that wheel to change it yourself. Stay in the car and call.

A flat tire change means your driver puts on your spare. That only works if the spare has air and you have the wheel lock key, if your car uses one. No spare, or a spare that's flat too? Then it's a tow to a tire shop.

Is there road work on the expressway right now?

Yes, on parts of it. Ontario's 2025 to 2028 Northern Highways Program lists resurfacing and intersection work on Highways 11 and 61 in Thunder Bay. The project runs from east of Balsam Street south to the Harbour Expressway and down Highway 61, about 15.7 km. The province lists it as underway, with a 2027 target.

Work zones can mean narrow lanes and no shoulder. If you stall in one, stay belted with your hazards on. Before you drive, check Ontario 511 for lane closures, or dial 511 hands-free.

What do other drivers have to do when the tow truck arrives?

Ontario's Highway Traffic Act says drivers on your side of the road must slow down and pass with care when a tow truck is stopped with amber lights flashing. With two lanes their way, they must move over a lane when it's safe. That covers most of the Thunder Bay Expressway. Drivers who break this rule face a fine, and they can lose their license for up to two years.

Even so, stay in your car until your driver tells you where to stand.

How does Sentinel help on the expressway?

Sentinel Towing is a towing and roadside network. A vetted local partner tow company does the job. Tell us your cross street, your direction and what went wrong. We text your price before anyone is sent, and that price is the most you pay for the job. Then we check on you by text until help arrives. That's our Stay-With-You Promise. You also get your driver's name, photo and truck by text, so you know who is pulling up behind you.

For the rest of the city, from Westfort to Current River, see the Thunder Bay towing page.

Stuck right now? Call 1-888-TOW-1213, or request help online.

Thunder Bay Expressway Questions

Rules change, so check the official source before you rely on it. Sources: MTO driver's handbook: emergencies, MTO driver's handbook: bad weather, Ontario Highway Traffic Act, Ontario Northern Highways Program 2025 to 2028, Ontario 511, Environment Canada climate normals, Thunder Bay Expressway route.