Ontario Highway 11A

Highway 11A
Avenue Road University Avenue York Street
A map of Highway 11A   Highway 11A   Former route replaced by Highway 401 in 1952
Route information
Auxiliary route of Highway 11
Maintained by City of Toronto
Length	12.4 km[1] (7.7 mi)
Existed	January 21, 1931–April 1, 1997
Major junctions
South end	Highway 2 (Gardiner Expressway) in Downtown Toronto
Major intersections	Highway 5 (Bloor Street) in Yorkville
North end	Highway 401
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Major cities	Toronto
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways Current Former 400-series
← Highway 11 → Highway 11B

King's Highway 11A, commonly referred to as Highway 11A, was the highway designation for an alternate route of Highway 11 in the Canadian province of Ontario. The north-south route paralleled Highway 11 (Yonge Street) within Toronto, serving as a secondary access to Downtown Toronto. It began at the York exit of the Gardiner Expressway (Highway 2) and travelled north on York Street to Front Street, where it transitioned onto University Avenue. It continued north on University Avenue to Queen's Park, where Highway 11A followed Queen's Park Crescent, encircling the Ontario Legislative Building, before continuing along Avenue Road. Highway 11A travelled along Avenue Road to Upper Canada College. It followed Lonsdale Road, Oriole Parkway, and Oxton Avenue around the campus and back to Avenue Road, which resumes north of the school. It continued north along Avenue Road to Highway 401, ending just north of the highway at Bombay Avenue.

Highway 11A was established in 1930, when the province built an extension of Avenue Road north from the city limits of the old

The vast majority of Highway 11A followed University Avenue in downtown Toronto and Avenue Road north of downtown to Highway 401. Short segments followed York Street, Queen's Park Crescent, Lonsdale Road, Oriole Parkway and Oxton Avenue; all but York Street are due to directional diversions or breaks in the primary streets around Queen's Park and Upper Canada College respectively.^[3][4]

University Avenue

University Avenue begins at the intersection of

Avenue Road is the western limit of the former town of Yorkville. At its southern terminus, it runs between two of Toronto's major hotels, the Park Hyatt (on the northwest corner of Bloor and Avenue Road) and the Four Seasons Hotel. On the northeast corner of the intersection with Bloor is the Church of the Redeemer. For much of its length the road is fairly residential, with a mix of small businesses, as well as a few large schools and churches. A notable site along this "lower section" is the Hare Krishna Temple, formerly the Avenue Road Church, opposite Dupont Street and across the street from the Anglican Church of The Messiah. Just north of St. Clair Avenue, Avenue Road is interrupted by Upper Canada College, ending at Lonsdale Road and resuming again at Kilbarry Road. The primary traffic route runs east of the school, following widened sections of Lonsdale Road and Oriole Parkway and returning to Avenue Road via Oxton Avenue.^[3][4]

North of

Prior to the 1920s, Avenue Road ended north of St. Clair, at Upper Canada College. Short disconnected segments existed north of the college near Eglinton and Glencairn, but otherwise the northern part of the present route was farmland.[6] Seeking to remedy the impediment of the deep valley that Yonge Street (Highway 11) dove into at Hogg's Hollow, the Department of Highways (DHO), predecessor to the modern Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), sought to construct a high-level bridge. Construction began in early 1928, with the bridge opening on January 5, 1929, providing a much-needed bypass of the deep ravine. Yonge Boulevard crossed the bridge, connecting to Highway 11 north and south of the valley.^[7] While under construction, the City of Toronto and DHO examined a new route parallel to Yonge Street south to the lakefront. While Bay Street and Duplex Avenue received some consideration, traffic engineers determined that an extension of Avenue Road would provide the most ideal route.^[8] It was initially proposed that Avenue Road cut through Upper Canada College, but this plan was rejected as the city did not have expropriation rights through the property, nor could it afford the price asked by the college.^[9] The city instead opted to construct Oriole Parkway to Eglinton Avenue and Avenue Road north of it. The route was paved as far north as Strathallan Boulevard by the autumn of 1928.^[8][10]

On January 21, 1931, the DHO assumed 2.00 kilometres (1.24 mi) of roadway leading to the bridge, providing a connection between Wilson Avenue at the planned extension of Avenue Road, and Yonge Street south of Sheppard Avenue, which was designated as Highway 11A.^[11] The DHO then began construction on the missing link in Avenue Road between Strathallan Boulevard, near the Toronto city limits, and Wilson Avenue. This section was paved and opened to traffic on October 13, 1932.^[12] Maps, including the Official Ontario Road Map, indicated that Highway 11A continued south into Toronto,^[13] although the segment south of Otter Crescent (the former boundaries of the old city of Toronto) was entirely built and maintained by the city. Through a Connecting Link agreement, almost the entirety of Avenue Road, Queen's Park Crescent, University Avenue, and York Street, as well as the route around Upper Canada College via Lonsdale Road, Oriole Parkway, and Oxton Avenue as was designated as part of Highway 11A for continuity.^[14]

In the late 1940s, planning began on a new bypass of Toronto, which would become Highway 401. Upon its completion between Bathurst Street and Yonge Street in December 1952, Highway 11A was truncated to an interchange with it immediately north of Wilson Avenue.^[15] The Hogg's Hollow Bridge was incorporated in the new freeway and continues to carry the eastbound express lanes.^[5] Following the creation of Metropolitan Toronto on April 15, 1953,^[16] the new upper-tier municipality was given responsibility for most of the provincial highways that passed within its boundaries. Highway 11A was accordingly turned over in its entirety as a Connecting Link on January 15, 1954,^[17] but route signage was removed after its decommissioning.

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 11A, as noted by the Department of Highways.^[1] The entire route was located in Metropolitan Toronto.^[1] 

Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Old Toronto	0.0	0.0	Highway 2 (Gardiner Expressway)	York Street ramp
	0.5	0.31	Front Street
	0.8	0.50	King Street West
	1.2	0.75	Queen Street West
	1.7	1.1	Dundas Street West
	2.3	1.4	College Street	University Avenue becomes Queens Park Crescent
	3.4	2.1	Highway 5 (Bloor Street West)	Queens Park Crescent becomes Avenue Road
	4.1	2.5	Davenport Road
	5.5	3.4	St. Clair Avenue West
	5.9	3.7	Lonsdale Road	Highway 11A turned east onto Lonsdale Road; Avenue Road interrupted by Upper Canada College
	6.1	3.8	Oriole Parkway	Highway 11A turned north onto Oriole Parkway
	6.7	4.2	Oxton Avenue	Highway 11A turned northwest onto Oxton Avenue
	7.0	4.3	Avenue Road	Highway 11A turned north onto Avenue Road
	7.8	4.8	Eglinton Avenue West
	9.9	6.2	Lawrence Avenue West
Wilson Avenue
	12.2	7.6	Highway 401	Highway 401 exit 367
	12.4	7.7	Bombay Avenue
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Sources