Featuring a 100 metres (330 ft) right-of-way sandwiched between residential subdivisions, the four lane undivided road crosses over the Neebing River.

The route intersects Balsam Street before leaving urban Thunder Bay and entering into forests, at which point the opposing lanes become separated by a grass median.

[2][5] In 1963, Charles MacNaughton, minister of the Department of Highways, announced plans for the Lakehead Expressway to be built on the western edge of the twin cities of Port Arthur and Fort William (which amalgamated in 1970 to form Thunder Bay).

[7] Work began in August 1965, with a contract for a 5 kilometres (3 mi) section of divided highway on the west side of the twin cities.

[14][15] In 2003 plans were announced for the Shabaqua extension, a 13-kilometre (8 mi) bypass of Highways 11 and 17 to the north of the existing route along Arthur Street West.

[16] The new bypass was opened on August 17, 2007; as a result, the southernmost 3.0 kilometres (1.9 mi) of the Thunder Bay Expressway became part of Highway 61.

[17] The Thunder Bay Expressway was built originally with the intention to widen it into a full freeway with grade-separated interchanges throughout its length.

[citation needed] The following table lists the major junctions along Thunder Bay Expressway, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.