Ontario Highway 2

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length0.9 km[1] (0.56 mi; 3,000 ft)
834.56 km (518.57 mi) before 1997[2]
History1794 as the Governor's Road
August 21, 1917, as The Provincial Highway
Major junctions
West endGananoque eastern limits
East end Highway 401 westbound off ramp
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
Major cities(Before 1996) Windsor, Chatham, London, Brantford, Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa Belleville, Kingston, Cornwall
Highway system
← Highway 811→ Highway 3
Former provincial highways
Highway 2A  →

King's Highway 2, commonly referred to as Highway 2, is the lowest-numbered provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, and was originally part of a series of identically numbered highways which started in Windsor, stretched through Quebec and New Brunswick, and ended in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Prior to the 1990s, Highway 2 travelled through many of the major cities in Southern Ontario, including Windsor, Chatham, London, Brantford, Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Belleville, Kingston and Cornwall, and many other smaller towns and communities.

Once the primary east–west route across the southern portion of Ontario, most of Highway 2 was bypassed by

Highway 401, which was completed in 1968. The August 1997 completion of Highway 403 bypassed one final section through Brantford. Virtually all of the 847.3 km (526.5 mi) length of Highway 2 was deemed a local route and removed from the provincial highway system by January 1, 1998, with the exception of a one-kilometre (0.62 mi) section east of Gananoque
. The entire route remains driveable, but as County Road 2 or County Highway 2 in most regions.

The Gananoque welcome arch, facing east towards the remaining provincial portion of Highway 2

Portions of what became Highway 2 served as early settlement trails, post roads and stagecoach routes. While the arrival of the railroad in the mid-19th century diminished the importance of the route, the advent of the bicycle and later the automobile renewed interest in roadbuilding. A 73.7-kilometre (45.8 mi) segment of Highway 2 between Pickering and Port Hope was the first section of roadway assumed by the newly-formed Department of Public Highways (DPHO) on August 21, 1917. By the end of 1920, the department had taken over roads connecting Windsor with the Quebec boundary at Rivière-Beaudette, which it would number as Provincial Highway 2 in the summer of 1925. In 1930, the DPHO was renamed the Department of Highways (DHO), and provincial highways became King's Highways. By this time, it was one of the dominant transportation arteries across southern Ontario and was 878.2-kilometre (545.7 mi) long.[3]

The section of Highway 2 between Hamilton and Toronto along Lakeshore Road became the first paved intercity road in Ontario in 1914. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the DHO began reconstructing several portions of the highway into the new German-inspired "dual highway", including east from Scarborough along Kingston Road. This would be the progenitor to Highway 401, which was built in a patchwork fashion across Southern Ontario throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, often as bypass of and parallel to Highway 2 (except between Woodstock and Toronto). Conversely, the importance of Highway 2 for long-distance travel was all but eliminated, and coupled with the increasing suburbanization of the Greater Toronto Area, it became simply a series of urban arterials street between Hamilton and Oshawa.

Having been replaced in importance by the parallel freeways of Highway 401, the Queen Elizabeth Way, and finally Highway 403, the province gradually transferred sections of the route back to the municipal, county and regional governments that it passed through, a process known as downloading. In 1997 and 1998, the province downloaded 391.6 kilometres (243.3 mi) of Highway 2 and rescinded dozens of Connecting Link agreements, reducing the route to its current length.

Route description

Since 1998, Highway 2 has remained in the provincial highway system solely as a connection between westbound Thousand Islands Parkway and eastbound Highway 401. Highway 2 begins at the eastern town limits of Gananoque, and travels east a short distance before gently curving northward. It meets an interchange with the Thousand Islands Parkway—once referred to as Highway 2S,[4] prior to becoming a temporary part of Highway 401 in 1952[5][6]—and ends at the westbound Highway 401 offramp (Exit 648).[1] The roadway continues as Leeds and Grenville County Road 2 both east and west of the remaining highway segment.[7]

Heritage Highway

Before 1997

Before being mostly-decommissioned as a provincial highway in the mid-1990s, Highway 2 was a continuous route from Highway 3 in Windsor to the Quebec border.[2] Prior to the arrival of Highway 401 in the 1950s and early 1960s, Highway 2 was the primary east–west route across the southern portion of Ontario.[8] At one time it connected with Quebec Route 2, which was renumbered in 1966 as multiple highways,[9] and onwards to New Brunswick Route 2 and Nova Scotia Trunk 2 to end in Halifax. New Brunswick reassigned Route 2 to a new freeway running between Fredericton and Moncton in 2007,[10][11] while Nova Scotia kept its portion of Highway 2 intact, numbering its bypass as Highway 102 and Highway 104.[citation needed]

In 1972, the Ontario and Quebec governments designated Highway/Route 2 from Windsor to

Heritage Highway (Route des Pionniers), a tourist route which continued eastward to the Gaspé Peninsula on what is now Quebec Route 132.[12][13]
This tourist route included various side trips, such as highways to Ottawa and Niagara Falls.[14] While this signage is maintained in some counties, others have promoted local tours, including the Apple Route between Trenton and Brighton,[15] the Arts Route in Hastings County,[16] and the Chemin du Roy (The King's Way, now Route 138) between Montreal and Quebec City.[12][13]

Windsor–Mississauga

Within Ontario and prior to 1997,

Huron Church Road), where it also met the northern terminus of Highway 18. It followed the expressway east through Windsor, with the divided highway transitioning to an urban arterial road near Lesperance Road.[17]
It travelled nearby the south shoreline of
Highway 79.[18]

Between Chatham and

Thamesford.[18]

At Woodstock, Highway 2 intersected

Highway 54 branched south from there.[18]

Before 1997, Highway 403 was discontinuous between Cainsville and

Burlington Bay, with Highway 2 turning northeast into Burlington, encountering an interchange with the Queen Elizabeth Way at North Shore Boulevard. North Shore becomes Lakeshore Road, which the highway followed through Oakville and Mississauga along the shore of Lake Ontario towards Toronto.[18]

Toronto–Quebec

An unremoved Highway 2 reassurance marker in Toronto

At the

Scarborough.[18]

The original alignment of Highway 2 through Downtown Toronto
The original alignment of Highway 2 through Downtown Toronto

Prior to the construction of the Gardiner and Lakeshore Boulevard, the original alignment of Highway 2 through Downtown Toronto split into three separate routes to disperse traffic through the core. The northernmost route ran along Queen Street until Kingston Road. Another route split from Queen on both ends and ran along the entire length of King Street. The southernmost route consisted of streets which are now partially or wholly absorbed into Lake Shore: Fleet, Cherry, and Keating Streets; as well as short sections of Leslie Street and Eastern Avenue until meeting with the Queen Street route at Kingston Road.[20][21] All three routes rejoined at and followed Kingston Road along the newest pre-1998 alignment.,[22] although after the construction of Lake Shore, the aforementioned later branches along Coxwell and Woodbine Avenues were created.

After crossing the Highland Creek valley, Highway 2 and Kingston Road followed an off-ramp at the Highland Creek Overpass since the main road defaulted to Highway 2A, travelling parallel to and north of Highway 2A (the latter route being a short freeway connecting directly Highway 401). Highway 2 continued along Kingston Road as it passed under Highway 401 and then crossed the Rouge River into Pickering and Durham Region, initially alongside Highway 401 before departing farther north. It bisected Pickering Village and passed through Ajax. Entering Whitby—where it intersected Highway 12 at Brock Street—Kingston Road became Dundas Street, while in Oshawa it became King Street. Highway 2 then split into a one-way pairing within the latter, with westbound traffic following the adjacent Bond Street. It continued eastward through Courtice, Bowmanville and Newcastle as it drifted closer to Highway 401 and Lake Ontario; an interchange with Highway 35/115 was encountered immediately west of Newcastle.[18]

Former Highway 2 facing southwest into downtown Trenton

After passing through

Salem. At the town of Brighton, where it intersected the southern end of Highway 30, the highway entered Hastings County and moved inland from Lake Ontario. In Trenton, the route crossed the Trent–Severn Waterway, intersected Highway 33, and began to travel along the northern shoreline of the Bay of Quinte.[18]

Continuing northeast, Highway 2 passed south of

Westbrook before entering Kingston.[18]

Within Kingston, Highway 2 followed

Summerstown. At Lancaster—the final notable community along Highway 2—the route met Highway 34, and shortly thereafter crossed into Quebec.[18]

Current routes

Despite being decommissioned as a provincial highway in the 1990s, almost the entirety of the former highway remains driveable, and is now maintained by the various counties, regions, and cities through which it passes. The various sections have the following designations, from west to east:[2]

Location Name Notes
Windsor E. C. Row Expressway Dougall Avenue to Banwell Road
Essex County Essex County Road 22, Essex County Road 42
Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent Road 2 A 6.1 km (3.8 mi) of the route follows the extant Highway 40
Middlesex County Middlesex County Road 2, Longwoods Road, Dundas Street
London Longwoods Road, Main Street,
York Street
, Florence Street, Dundas Street
Oxford County Oxford Road 2
County of Brant Brant County Highway 2
Brantford Paris Road, Brant Road, Colborne Street East
Hamilton Wilson Street,
King Street, Dundurn Street, York Boulevard
 One-way pairing; eastbound traffic follows Main Street and Dundurn Street, westbound traffic follows King Street and Paradise Road
Halton Region Plains Road, King Road, North Shore Boulevard, Lakeshore Road
Peel Region (Mississauga) Southdown Road, Lakeshore Road
Toronto Lake Shore Boulevard, Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard, Woodbine Avenue, Kingston Road 1950s maps pre-Gardiner Expressway show
Queen Street as parallel alternate routes[citation needed
]
Durham Region
Durham Regional Highway 2
 Kingston Road within Pickering and Ajax, Dundas Street within Whitby, King Street/Bond Street (one-way pair) within Oshawa, King Street within Bowmanville
Northumberland County Northumberland County Road 2
Hastings County Hastings County Road 2
Quinte West Quinte West Municipal Road 2, Dundas Street
Belleville Old Highway 2, Dundas Street A 1.0 km (0.62 mi) section follows the extant Highway 62 over the Moira River
Lennox and Addington County Lennox and Addington County Road 2 County Rd 2 West, also known as "Highway 2 West"
Kingston Kingston Road 2 Princess Street, Queen Street, La Salle Causeway, Ontario Street
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville Leeds and Grenville County Road 2 Excluding section from Gananoque east to Highway 401, which remains Highway 2
Cornwall Vincent Massey Drive, Brookdale Avenue, Ninth Street West, Marleau Avenue, Boundary Road, Montreal Road
United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 2 Continues into Quebec as Quebec Route 338 towards Montreal

History

Highway 2 was the first roadway assumed under the maintenance of the

Department of Public Highways (today's Ministry of Transportation of Ontario). The 73.5-kilometre (45.7 mi) section from the Rouge River to Smith's Creek, now Port Hope, was inaugurated on August 21, 1917, as The Provincial Highway. On June 7, 1918, the designation was extended east approximately 379 kilometres (235 mi) to the Quebec border.[23]

Footpaths

A painting of Kingston Road east of Toronto in the 1830s.

The forerunners to Highway 2 are numerous paths constructed during the colonization of Ontario. While some portions may have existed as trails created by Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years, the first recorded construction along what would become Highway 2 was in late October 1793, when Captain Smith and 100 Queen's Rangers returned from carving The Governor's Road 20 miles (32 km) through the thick forests between Dundas and the present location of Paris. John Graves Simcoe was given the task of defending Upper Canada (present day Ontario) from the United States following the American Revolution and with opening the territory to settlement. After establishing a "temporary" capital at York (present day Toronto), Simcoe ordered an inland route constructed between Cootes Paradise at the tip of Lake Ontario and his proposed capital of London. By the spring of 1794, the road was extended as far as La Tranche, now the Thames River, in London. In 1795, the path was connected with York. Asa Danforth Jr., recently immigrated from the United States, was awarded the task, for which he would be compensated $90 per mile.[24]

Beginning on June 5, 1799, the road was extended eastwards. Danforth was hired once more, and tasked with clearing a 10-metre (33 ft) road east from York through the bush, with 5 metres (16 ft) (preferably in the centre) cut to the ground. It was carved as far as Port Hope by December,

statute labour to maintain the path.[25] Danforth agreed, but the province insisted otherwise and only four settlers took up residence along the road between Toronto and Port Hope;[26]
like many other paths of the day, it became a quagmire.[27]

Kingston Road at the Rouge River, c. 1909

Danforth's road did not always follow the same path as today's Kingston Road. Beginning near

Cobourg,[28][29] as well as within Grafton.[30] Otherwise the two roads more or less overlap until they reach the Trent River; beyond this point Danforth's road is continued (1802) on a more southern route to reach the Bay of Quinte at Stone Mills (now Glenora).[31] As the route straying through Scarborough avoided many of the settlers who had taken up residence near the lake, Danforth's road was bypassed by 1814 by William Cornell and Levi Annis. The Cornell Road (as it was known for a short time) shortened the journey from Victoria Park to West Hill, but remained mostly impassible like Danforth's route to the north. Finally succumbing to increasing pressures, the government raised funds to straighten the road and extend it through Belleville to Kingston. The work was completed by 1817 and the road renamed The Kingston Road
.

Downriver from Kingston, roads built along the St. Lawrence for War of 1812 military use became a popular means to avoid rapids on the river by travelling overland.

steam navigation from the lakes, it must soon increase in extent, as it will rise in importance.

— George Henry Hume, 1832[32]

Stagecoach and mail road

1839 milestone near Odessa
Original milestone marker in Kingston

The creation of a post road extended year-round communication which had already existed on the Chemin du Roy from Quebec City-Montreal westward, with the first stagecoaches reaching York (Toronto) in January 1817.[33] This link proved economically vital to enterprises such as the Bank of Montreal, established 1817 with branches in Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Toronto. The original coaches left Montreal every Monday and Thursday, arriving in Kingston two days later; the full Montreal-York run took a week.[34]

As with earlier routes (such as the

Danforth Road),[35] coaching inns prospered in every wayside village as the stagecoaches made frequent stops for water, food or fresh horses.[36]

The original York Road (from Kingston) aka Kingston Road (from York) was initially little more than a muddy horse path. In 1829, a ferry crossing on the

Cobourg and Port Hope the Cobourg Star on October 11, 1848, expressed "surprise and deep regret, that the Cobourg and Port Hope Road Company have placed a tollgate on their road, although only just gravelled" adding a week later "On Sunday night last, the Toll House and Gate on the Port Hope Road were burned to the ground. We regret to say that there is no doubt as to its having been done designedly as a very hard feeling has grown up against the Company, from their having exacted Toll before the road was properly packed. They might have known that no community would quietly submit to drive their teams and heavy loads through six inches of gravel and pay for the privilege. But we would not be understood to sanction the lawless proceeding which has taken place."[38]

Despite these issues, this road would remain the principal means of winter travel until the Grand Trunk Railway connected Montreal and Toronto in 1856. As intercity traffic formerly carried by the various stagecoach operators migrated to the iron horse, stagecoach roads faded to primarily local importance, carrying regional traffic.

This changed as the 20th century and the invention of the motorcar quickly made evident a need for better roads in the young but growing Dominion. The macadamised Lake Shore Road between Toronto and Hamilton, in poor condition with ongoing erosion, was the first section to be upgraded with concrete. The Toronto–Hamilton Highway, proposed in 1914, was opened along the lakeshore in November 1917.[39] The Cataraqui Bridge, a toll swing bridge, was replaced by the La Salle Causeway that same year.

In 1918, the province subsidised the county and municipal purchase of various former toll roads (

Brantford, Cobourg-Port Hope and Cobourg-Baltimore) to be improved and incorporated into the provincial highway system.[40][41]
Later acquisitions included a road from Cobourg to Grafton. As the roads became publicly owned, toll gates were removed.

In 1925, the Galipeault Bridge and Taschereau Bridge, both adjacent to 1854 Grand Trunk Railway bridges which were the first fixed mainland links to Montreal, brought Route 2 onto Montreal Island.

Provincial highway

Lake Shore Boulevard, winter 1925

Ontario has published an official highway map since at least 1923, an era when many provincial highways were still gravel or unimproved road. To accommodate the passenger cars of the

steel rails
which crossed the region now had a credible rival in southern Ontario.

Beginning in 1935, Highway Minister

grading and bridge construction neared completion between Highland Creek and Ritson Road in September 1939, World War II broke out and gradually money was siphoned from highway construction to the war effort.[43]

Highway 2 near Brockville, 1952

The wartime rationing of the 1940s soon gave way to the fifties neon era of growing prosperity, increased vehicle ownership and annual paid vacations. Service stations, diners, motels and tourist-related establishments were proliferating on long strips of highway such as Toronto's Lakeshore Boulevard and Kingston Road to accommodate the growing number of travellers.

Increased traffic initially led to a construction boom, but soon the most congested sections were among the first candidates to be bypassed by

Oshawa
.

A portion of the highway in the area of

The Lost Villages for a number of communities in the area.[49]

Countless roadside motels from Windsor to Montreal were bypassed in the 1960s, with the 401 freeway completed in 1968. Growing hotel chains built new facilities near the 401 offramps, saturating the market in some areas. By the 1980s, Toronto's portion of the Kingston Road was in steep decline.[50] Some motels were used to shelter homeless or refugee populations,[51] others were simply demolished.[52]

Highway 2 being widened to four lanes through Oshawa, 1965

The section of Highway 2 between Woodstock and Ancaster (today a part of Hamilton) was not bypassed by 401 (which followed a more northerly corridor to serve Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph), but was ultimately bypassed by Highway 403. As the main street in many communities Highway 2 remained busy with stop-and-go local traffic, sustaining countless shopkeepers and restaurateurs but offering little comfort to independent tourist motels. Outside urban areas, numerous former service stations were converted to other uses,[53] demolished or abandoned.

The last section from Ancaster to

municipalities. The route lost its King's Highway designation in the process, along with much of its visibility on printed Ontario maps. Many Ontario highways which originally ended at Highway 2 (as the backbone of Ontario's highway system) were truncated or simply decommissioned
, most often becoming county roads.

One token provincially maintained section of Highway 2 remains east of Gananoque; this section remains provincially maintained because the Thousand Islands Parkway does not have a complete interchange with Highway 401, meaning that some drivers must use the Highway 2 interchange to transfer between the two roads.

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 2.[55] Based on the c. 1998 routing but using present-day roadway designations.[56] While the route remains drivable for its entire length, officially only a 1.1 km (0.7 mi) stub currently remains under provincial control. 

DivisionLocation[57]km[55]miDestinationsNotes
Huron Church Road)
Former Highway 2 western terminus; Highway 2 follows E. C. Row Expressway east; formerly Highway 18 south
See E. C. Row Expressway § Exit list
12.77.9 County Road 43 south (Banwell Road)
 
County Road 22
begins		E. C. Row Expressway eastern terminus; Essex County Road 22 western terminus
County Road 42
west		Essex County Road 22 eastern terminus; former Highway 2 follows Essex County Road 42 east
51.632.1 Highway 401 – Windsor, LondonHighway 401 exit 56
Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 2
begins
Chatham-KentTilbury53.733.4 Municipal Road 1 (Queen Street)
 58.836.5 Highway 401 – Windsor, LondonHighway 401 exit 63
Chatham
80.950.3 Highway 40 north (St. Clair Street)Former western end of Highway 40 concurrency
84.652.6 Highway 40 south (Communication Road)
 Municipal Road 30 north (Prince Albert Road)		Former eastern end of Highway 40 concurrency
Municipal Road 21 (Victoria Road)
Formerly Highway 21
Highway 79
north
Middlesex County Road 14
(Clachan Road)
Woodgreen; formerly Highway 76
south
138.385.9 County Road 80 west –
Strathburn; formerly Highway 80
west
Sarnia, London
Highway 402 exit 86
County Road 2
breaks		London city limits
178.4110.9
Colonel Talbot Road
Formerly Highway 4 south; former western end of Highway 4 concurrency
180.5112.2Bostwick Road / Exeter RoadFormerly Highway 135 east
180.9112.4 
Wharncliffe Road
187.6116.6
York Street
194.7–
195.0		121.0–
121.2
Highway 126
; former Highway 2 followed Highbury Avenue for 300 m (980 ft) to Dundas Street; western end of Dundas Street concurrency
197.3122.6
Highway 100
south
County Road 2
resumes		London city limits
Oxford County Road 2
begins		1.2 km (0.75 mi) concurrency
Thamesford; formerly Highway 19
; intersections offset and 200 m (660 ft) concurrency
County Road 59 north (Vansittart Avenue)
Formerly Highway 59 north; former western end of Highway 59 concurrency
233.2144.9 County Road 54 north (Huron Street)
 
County Road 59 south (Wilson Street)
Formerly Highway 59 south; former eastern end of Highway 59 concurrency
238.5148.2 
Toronto, London
Highway 401 exit 238
239.7148.9 
County Road 55 east
Formerly Highway 53 east
Brant County Highway 2
begins		14.1 km (8.8 mi) concurrency
County Highway 24 south (Rest Acres Road)
To Highway 24 south
264.6164.4 
Highway 24A
north
266.3165.5 County Road 55 north (Green Lane)
 
Governors Road East)
Formerly Highway 5 east; eastern end of Dundas Street concurrency
County Highway 2
breaks		Brantford city limits
271.9169.0 Highway 403 – Hamilton, LondonHighway 403 exit 33; present-day Highway 403 / Highway 24 concurrency; no eastbound access to Highway 403 west
274.8170.8St. Paul AvenueFormerly Highway 24 north; former western end of Highway 24 concurrency
276.3171.7Colborne Street WFormerly
County Highway 53
west
Highway 54
east; western end of County Highway 2 / County Highway 53 concurrency
Brant County Highway 53 ends
Hamilton city limits; former Highway 2 / Highway 53 follows Wilson Street and Main Street
296.1184.0 
City Road 52
Formerly Highway 52 north
297.6184.9Garner Road WestFormerly Highway 53 east; former eastern end of Highway 53 concurrency
299.5186.1 
Brantford
Highway 403 exit 58
330.2205.2 
City Road 8 west (Cootes Drive)
Formerly Highway 8 west; former western end of Highway 8 concurrency; former Highway 2 follows present-day City Road 8 east
299.5186.1 
Brantford
Highway 403 exits 69 & 70; one-way transition where eastbound follows Main Street and westbound follows King Street; present-day Highway 403 / Highway 6 concurrency
335.6208.5 
City Road 8 east (Main Street W) / Dundurn Street
Formerly Highway 8 east / Highway 6 south; former eastern end of Highway 8 concurrency; former western end of Highway 6 concurrency; former Highway 2 follows Dundurn Street
336.6209.2York BoulevardFormer Highway 2 follows York Boulevard
337.0209.4
Thomas B. McQuesten High Level Bridge crosses Desjardins Canal
338.3210.2 
Toronto
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound exit and eastbound entrance from Highway 403; Highway 403 exit 73
HaltonBurlington339.6211.0Plains Road WFormerly Highway 6 north; former eastern end of Highway 6 concurrency; former Highway 2 follows Plains Road W
345.7214.8Plains Road W / King RoadFormer Highway 2 follows King Road and North Shore Boulevard
348.2216.4 
Toronto, Niagara
Queen Elizabeth Way exit 97; former Highway 2 continues on Lakeshore Road
Regional Road 25
north
Mississauga
382.3237.6Hurontario StreetFormerly Highway 10 north
Brown's Line to Highway 427
north
396.5246.4 Gardiner ExpresswayGardiner Expressway exit 145; former Queen Elizabeth Way Toronto terminus; former Highway 2 followed Gardiner Expressway
See Gardiner Expressway § Exit list (exits 145-157)
408.0253.5 Don Valley Parkway
Lake Shore Boulevard		Gardiner Expressway eastern terminus; former Highway 2 follows Lake Shore Boulevard and Woodbine Avenue; ramps to Lake Shore Boulevard closed August 31, 2021[58]
412.8256.5Woodbine Avenue / Kingston RoadFormer Highway 2 follows Kingston Road
418.6260.1Danforth AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; formerly Highway 5 west
430.3267.4 Highway 2A east to Highway 401 east / Lawson Road
432.3268.6 Highway 401 westHighway 401 exit 390; eastbound exit and westbound entrance from Highway 401
Durham Regional Highway 2
begins
Regional Road 29
(Liverpool Road)
Regional Road 44
(Harwood Avenue)
Whitby449.3279.2 Highway 412 northHighway 412 exit 1; southbound exit and northbound entrance from Highway 412; constructed after Highway 2 was downloaded
450.1279.7 
Regional Highway 2
breaks
Fothergill Court
452.2281.0Brock StreetFormerly
Regional Highway 12
north
Regional Road 2
north (Simcoe Street)		One-way pair
Regional Highway 2
resumes
 Regional Road 55 (Townline Road)
Clarington
467.1290.2 Highway 418Highway 418 exit 3; constructed after Highway 2 was downloaded
472.2293.4 
Bowmanville
479.3297.8  Highway 35 / Highway 115 – Lindsay, PeterboroughNewcastle
Northumberland County Road 2
begins
Toronto
Highway 401 exit 461
507.6315.4 
County Road 28 north (Mill Street)
Formerly Highway 28 north
County Road 45 north (Division Street)
Formerly Highway 45 north
County Road 30 north (Young Street)
Formerly Highway 30 north
Quinte West Municipal Road 2
begins
Municipal Road 33 south (Dufferin Avenue)
Formerly Highway 33 south; former western end of Highway 33 concurrency
570.6354.6 
Municipal Road 33 north (Division Street)
Formerly Highway 33 north; former eastern end of Highway 33 concurrency
Quinte West Municipal Road 2
ends
Wallbridge Loyalist Road
Belleville587.3364.9 Highway 62 south (Baybridge Road)Former western end of Highway 62 concurrency
588.3365.6 Highway 62 north (Pinnacle Street)Former eastern end of Highway 62 concurrency
Hastings County Road 2
begins		Hasting County Road 2 western terminus
Marysville; formerly Highway 49
north north; former western end of Highway 49 concurrency
County Road 2
breaks		Territorial boundary; Highway 49 northern terminus
616.2382.9 
County Road 2 resumes
 Highway 49 south – Picton
Former eastern end of Highway 49 concurrency
County Road 10
north (Deseronto Road)
County Road 41 north / County Road 8 south (Centre Street)
Formerly Highway 41 north
Highway 133
Kingston Road 2
begins		Kingston city limits
662.1411.4 Road 38 north (Gardiners Road)Formerly Highway 38 north
667.3414.6 
Road 33 (Bath Road)
Formerly Highway 33 west
670.8416.8La Salle Causeway crosses Cataraqui River
672.2417.7 
Road 15 north
Formerly Highway 15 north
Leeds and Grenville County Road 2
begins		Kingston city limits
County Road 2
breaks		Gananoque city limits
699.0434.3Stone StreetFormerly Highway 32 north
Leeds and GrenvilleLeeds and the Thousand Islands0.0
725.8		0.0
451.0		 Highway 2 beginsGananoque city limits; present-day Highway 2 western terminus
0.3
726.1		0.19
451.2		 Thousand Islands Parkway to Highway 401 west – Kingston
1.1
726.9		0.68
451.7		 Highway 2 ends
 
County Road 2 resumes
 Highway 401 east – Cornwall
Westbound exit and eastbound exit from Highway 401; Highway 401 exit 648; present-day Highway 2 eastern terminus is at the offramp from westbound Highway 401; continues as Leeds and Grenville County Road 2
Elizabethtown-Kitley764.5475.0 Highway 401 – Cornwall, KingstonHighway 401 exit 687
County Road 29 north (Courthouse Avenue) / Broad Street
Formerly Highway 29 north
Elizabethtown-Kitley
No major junctions
County Road 18
north (Edward Street)
Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 2
begins
County Road 31 north / Ottawa Street
Morrisburg; formerly Highway 31 north
County Road 2
breaks		Cornwall city limits
868.1539.4 Highway 138 north (Brookdale Avenue) – HawkesburyFormer western end of Highway 138 concurrency
868.5539.7 Highway 138 ends / Brookdale Avenue / 9th Street WestHighway 138 southern terminus; to Seaway International Bridge
County Road 2
resumes		Cornwall city limits
897.5557.7 
County Road 34 north
Lancaster; Highway 401 exit 814; formerly Highway 34 north
908.9564.8 
County Road 23 north
To Highway 401 (exit 825)
912.1566.8
Vaudreuil-Dorion
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 2 eastern terminus; continuation into Quebec; formerly Route 2 east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  • Heritage Highway

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2025). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Government of Ontario. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0825-5350
    . Retrieved October 11, 2022 – via Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  3. ^ "Ontario Sessional Papers, 1932, No.27-47". 1932.
  4. ^ "A Forest of Highway Signs". The Ottawa Journal. September 21, 1948. p. 4. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Shragge & Bagnato 1984, pp. 89, 93.
  6. ^ Woodsworth, Charles J. (October 17, 1952). "Tasteless Names For Ontario Roads". The Evening Citizen. Vol. 110, no. 93. Ottawa: Southam Newspapers. p. 40. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  7. ^ MapArt 2011, p. 37, section C59.
  8. ISBN 9780771002236
    . Retrieved October 15, 2022. Take Ontario Highway 2, for example. The road was once the main east-west artery of Southern Ontario ... But most of its route was bypassed by the 401, a wider highway with a faster speed limit.
  9. Montreal Gazette
    . p. 17. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  10. ^ "The Four Lane Trans-Canada Highway In New Brunswick: Route numbers, names and exits changes" (Press release). New Brunswick Department of Transportation. 2007. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick open to traffic" (Press release). New Brunswick Department of Transportation. November 1, 2007. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Canadian Heritage Highways...Route of the Pioneers". The Times Herald. February 11, 1973. p. 2C. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  13. ^ a b Corbett, Bill (May 6, 1979). "The Heritage Highways Span 400 Years of Canadian History". Hartford Courant. p. 11F. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  14. ^ Fitzgerald, G. J. (July 26, 1975). "Heritage Highway Link Between Early Settlements". Montreal Gazette. p. 23. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  15. The Windsor Star
    . p. ES5. Retrieved October 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Arts Route". Artsroute.ca. April 10, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  17. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map) (1994 ed.). Cartography by Cartographic Unit, Surveys and Design Office. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Windsor inset. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Archives of Ontario.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ontario Road Map (Map) (1994 ed.). Cartography by Cartographic Unit, Surveys and Design Office. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. §§ E1-O20. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Archives of Ontario.
  19. CityMedia Group
    . December 2012 – January 2013. p. 11. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "Aerial photo of the now-defunct Keating St, with Leslie St. and Eastern Ave. collectively designed to carry through-traffic in 1947 (Upper left)". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.). Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  21. ^ "Aerial photo of the former eastern section of Fleet St. and section of Cherry St. and the now-defunct Keating St. (north of ship turning basin with median section at far right) in 1957". City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.). Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  22. Department of Highways, Ontario. 1955 – via Archives of Ontario
    .
  23. ^ Shragge p.73
  24. ^ Shragge p.11
  25. ^ a b Shragge p.13
  26. ^ Armstrong, Alvin (March 15, 1973). "Historic Kingston (Part 53): Danforth the Road Builder". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Vol. 47, no. 87. p. 3. Retrieved October 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Brown p. 93
  28. ^ "Danforth Road near Port Hope" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  29. ^ "Danforth Road near Cobourg" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  30. ^ "Old Danforth Road in Grafton" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  31. ^ William Canniff, Great Britain. Army. King's Royal Regiment, 2nd Battalion (1869). History of the settlement of upper Canada (Ontario): with special reference to the bay Quinté. Dudley & Burns.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ISBN 9780665451003
    .
  33. ^ "History of the Bank of Montreal" (PDF). Bank of Montreal. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  34. Westmount
    . Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  35. ^ Margaret McBurney; Mary Byers (Oct 1, 1987). Tavern in the town: early inns and taverns of Ontario. University of Toronto Press. p. 66.
  36. ^ Emogene Dymock Van Sickle (1937). The Old York road and its stage coach days. pp. 66–71.
  37. ^ Armstrong, Alvin. Buckskin to Broadloom - Kingston Grows Up. Kingston Whig-Standard, 1973.
  38. ^ "Shameful and Disgraceful Conduct (October 11) and Burning of Toll House and Gate (October 18)". Cobourg Star. 1848. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  39. ^ "Toronto–Hamilton Highway Proposed". The Toronto World. Vol. 34, no. 12125. January 22, 1914. p. 14. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  40. ^ Toll road purchased, page 6, The Toronto World - Jul 22, 1918
  41. ^ Government buys old toll road, The Toronto World - Dec 31, 1918
  42. ^ Official Road Map of Ontario, Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1926. Promotional text on map attributed to "S. L. Squire, deputy minister".
  43. ^ a b Shragge, John G. (2007). "Highway 401 - The story". Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  44. ^ a b ""Dual Highway" 2 east from Woodstock" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  45. ^ a b "Highway Conditions In Eastern Ontario". The Ottawa Citizen. Vol. 94, no. 127. November 13, 1936. p. 29. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  46. ^ Brown p. 105
  47. ^ Shragge pp. 93–94
  48. ^ Towns along the superhighways (backpage editorial), Ottawa Citizen, page 56, May 27, 1955
  49. ^ "The Lost Villages". The Lost Villages Historical Society. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  50. ^ Dave LeBlanc. "It's check-out time for Scarborough's storied motel strip". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  51. ^ "AT ISSUE: Displaced families continue to call Kingston Road motels home". Inside Toronto. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  52. ^ "Motel gives way to mews". Toronto Star. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  53. ^ Betty Stapleton; Jim Potts (1999). "Old B/A station, Newtonville". oldgas.com.
  54. ^ "Highway 403 extension opens Friday". The Toronto Star. August 15, 1997. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  55. ^ "Ontario Highway 2" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  56. ^ Ontario Official Road Map [Carte Routière] (Map) (1994 - 1995 ed.). 1:700000. Ontario Ministry of Transportation; Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation. January 1, 1994.
  57. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (February 7, 2024). "Ontario Highway 2" (Map). OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap. Retrieved February 7, 2024.[self-published source]
  58. ^ "Lake Shore Boulevard East Project Archives". Waterfront Toronto. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
Bibliography

Interprovincial Highway 2
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