Secondary Highway 654, commonly referred to as Highway 654, is a
secondary highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. The highway is in length, connecting
Highway 534 south of
Nipissing with
Highway 11 in
Callander. The route was designated in 1964, and has remained unchanged since then. It is sparsely travelled, but paved throughout its length.
Route description
Highway 654 begins immediately south of the community of Nipissing at a junction with Highway 534. This intersection, just north of the Wolfe Creek crossing on Highway 534, features a
stop sign for traffic on Highway 654.
The highway travels north from there through Nipissing, crossing the
South River and passing the
Nipissing Township Museum. As it leaves the community, the highway turns east and travels straight for several kilometres before making a broad ninety degree curve to the north while passing several pastures.
The highway travels north straight-as-an-arrow towards
Lake Nipissing, with forests to the east and a mix of forests and pastures to the west.
It turns east and crosses a
muskeg approximately two kilometres (1.25 miles) south of the lake, then enters the municipality of
Callander.
As it travels eastward towards
Callander Bay, the highway serves numerous residences and the occasional farm.
It dips south to avoid the bay then encounters the southern terminus of
Highway 94 before ending at an
interchange with
Highway 11. The road continues beyond Highway 11 as Lake Nosbonsing Road for several more kilometres, but this segment is not classified as a provincial highway.
The highway is in length. Near its southern terminus it is lightly travelled, with an average of 1,000 vehicles using it per day. Traffic increases towards Highway 11, where almost 4,000 vehicles travel on an average day.
History
Highway 654 was designated on July 8, 1964, following an already-paved road between Nipissing and Callander. Minister of Highways
Charles MacNaughton
Charles Steel MacNaughton (May 15, 1911 – November 20, 1987) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1958 to 1973 who represented the central Ontario riding of ...
ceremoniously planted the first
reassurance marker
A reassurance marker or confirming marker is a type of traffic sign that confirms the identity of the route being traveled on. It does not provide information found on other types of road signs, such as distances traveled, distances to other locat ...
on the route on that day.
The route has remained unchanged since then.
Major intersections
References
{{Ontario Secondary Highways
654
Roads in Parry Sound District