Ontario Highway 21

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wyoming
Major intersections Highway 8 in Goderich
 Highway 9 in Kincardine
North end   Highway 6 / Highway 10 / Highway 26 in Owen Sound
Location
Country
Grand Bend, Goderich, Kincardine, Southampton, Port Elgin, Owen Sound
Highway system
← Highway 20→ Highway 23
Former provincial highways
Highway 22  →

King's Highway 21, commonly referred to as Highway 21, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that begins at Highway 402 midway between Sarnia and London and ends at Highway 6, Highway 10 and Highway 26 in Owen Sound. The roadway is referred to as the Bluewater Highway because it remains very close to the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron.

Highway 21 was first designated by the

Department of Highways
(DHO) between Highway 3 and Highway 7 in mid-1927 and extended to Goderich in 1934. A year later, a final extension completed the route to Owen Sound. In 1997 and 1998, the portion of the route south of Highway 402 was transferred to the counties in which it laid. This segment is also known as Oil Heritage Road.

Highway 21 is often subject to winter closures due to lake effect caused by

Emergency Detour Routes
have been established further inland to guide drivers around such closures. Care should be taken during the winter months, as the storms can progress rapidly and unexpectedly.

Route description

wrong-way concurrency
in the provincial highway network.

Highway 21 is a long lakeside route through Southwestern Ontario, which serves numerous communities along the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron. Once over 100 kilometres (62 mi) longer than it is today, the highway now begins at Highway 402 near the community of Warwick, where it progresses north through the towns of Forest, Grand Bend, Goderich, Point Clark, Kincardine, Tiverton, Port Elgin, and Southampton. At Southampton, the highway veers away from the Lake Huron shoreline and travels east to Owen Sound.[3]

The route is generally smoothly-flowing, but can be somewhat congested through towns during the summer from

tourists and cottagers.[4]
Highway 21 is often subject to closures at various points as it lies on the lee shore of Lake Huron. Lake effect snow squalls frequently subject motorists to poor visibility and slippery conditions, leading to whiteout conditions. The Ontario Provincial Police claim that the road is the most-commonly closed in the province.[5][6]

Highway 21 and Highway 6 descend the Niagara Escarpment into Owen Sound.

The highway begins at Exit 34 and progresses north towards Lake Huron. The mostly-straight section of the route lies within

The Pinery Provincial Park prior to entering Grand Bend. North of that village, the highway crosses into Huron County and intersects former Highway 83. Between there and Goderich, the west side of the highway is dominated by roads providing access to shoreline cottages.[3]

At Goderich, the route encounters

Bruce County to align with the surveying grid and proceeds out of Amberley towards Kincardine.[3]

wrong-way concurrency
in the Ontario highway network.

Between Amberley and

Underwood and North Bruce.[3]

As it approaches the southern end of the

wrong-way concurrency east to Owen Sound.[3]

History

Highway 21 in Port Franks at the junction of what was then Highway 82

Highway 21 was the first King's Highway in

oil seep in the village of Black Creek. Instead of encountering water, Williams hit a shallow oil deposit. As a result of the ensuing oil boom, which would begin the petroleum industry in North America, Williams laid out the village and changed its name to Oil Springs. Two competing plank road companies were formed, the Black Creek Plank Road Company (of which Williams was a principal investor) and the Sarnia to Florence Plank Road Company, both of which aimed their roads through Oil Springs. Although both roads were constructed, the former company was more prosperous in its endeavours; in 1886, a significant portion of the Sarnia to Florence Plank Road was closed up and turned over to local property owners. The Black Creek Plank Road Company meanwhile had transformed the muddy quagmire of a path into a well-maintained road. By 1863, three miles of road south of Wyoming had been paved, and the remainder south to Oil Springs planked (the Sarnia Road followed two years later). However, as the oil boom faded, so too did improvement to the road.[8]

Highway 21 near Petrolia. A Bowstring Arch bridge was constructed to replace the existing county-built bridge shortly after the department designated Highway 21.

On May 25 and June 1, 1927, the

Department of Highways assumed the unpaved road between Highway 7 at Reece's Corner and Highway 3 at Morpeth, via Dresden, Thamesville and Ridgetown as Provincial Highway 21,[1][9]
which was changed to the current King's Highway 21 in 1930.[10] That year, the department set out to improve the new highway. Concrete slabs were laid between Petrolia and Highway 7, as well as along a 7.25-kilometre (4.50 mi) section between Thamesville and Dresden. The following year, the route was paved between Dresden and Edys Mills before the effects of the Great Depression forced the department to concentrate on paving Highway 22.[11] The election of a new government in mid-1934 led to the resumption of work in June as a depression relief project. New equipment (namely a Caterpillar Excavator), as well as the expertise of Andy Newman, an engineer who was hired when he demonstrated his abilities with the machinery upon passing a construction site on his drive home. Newman, who helped design the machine that nobody else could operate, allowed work to proceed at a much faster rate than before. The machinery could dig quicker than 50 men, and the effort showed when the gap between Petrolia and Edys Mills and the remaining gaps between Dresden and Thamesville were graded and paved by the end of the summer.[12] On October 19, 1934, Highway 21 was officially opened by Robert Mellville Smith, deputy minister of the Department of Highways.[13]

On April 4, 1934, Highway 21 was assumed through Huron County as far north as Goderich, which was followed by the assumption of a section through Bosanquet Township on April 18, creating a 40.6 kilometres (25.2 mi) concurrency with Highway 7 from Reece's Corners to Thedford. From there, the route travelled through Thedford to Port Franks, where it merged into the present highway.[14] A final 137.4-kilometre (85.4 mi) extension to Owen Sound was assumed on May 15, 1935,[15] bringing the highway to its greatest length of 333.1 kilometres (207.0 mi).[16]

Excavation work to bypass Highway 21 north of the Maitland River near Goderich

Meanwhile, on April 11, 1934, the department assumed control of a road connecting Highway 7 with Forest as Highway 21A.[14] It was later extended to connect with Highway 21 at Port Franks on August 19, 1936.[17] By 1938, Highway 21A had been renumbered as Highway 21, and Highway 21 through Thedford renumbered as Highway 82.[18]

Beginning in 1960, a small bypass of Highway 21 was constructed on the north side of Goderich,[19] avoiding a nearby hairpin turn.[20] The 160 m (520 ft) curving structure over the Maitland River was completed in mid-1961 at a cost of C$1.39 million and opened ceremoniously on July 17, 1962.[21][22]

During the early 1980s, the construction of Highway 402 east from Sarnia resulted in a shift in the route of the highway. The route was extended north from Reece's Corners to Exit 25, while the section from Highway 7 north to Exit 34 was "downloaded", or transferred to the local municipality in which it resided. With Highway 402 as the connecting provincial link between the two segments of Highway 21, the two parclo interchanges each include a directional ramp to facilitate traffic.[23]

Highway 401 south to Morpeth was transferred to Kent County.[24]
On January 1, 1998, the section between Highway 401 and Highway 402 was transferred to Kent and Lambton counties.[25]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 21, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[2] 

DivisionLocationkm[2]miDestinationsNotes
Municipal Road 3 – Leamington, St. Thomas
Former southern terminus; formerly Highway 3; former Highway 21 follows Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 17
Municipal Road 21
begins		Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 17 northern terminus; Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 21 southern terminus; Highway 401 exit 109
Municipal Road 2 (Thameswood Road)
Formerly Highway 2
Municipal Road 78 west (McCreary Line)
Formerly Highway 78 west
County Road 21
begins		Chatham-Kent Municipal Road 21 northern terminus; Lambton County Road 21 southern terminus
Oil City; formerly Highway 80; near Oil Springs
Petrolia−21.6−13.4 County Road 4 (Petrolia Line)
County Road 22 (London Line)
Reeces Corners; formerly Highway 7
−9.3−5.8 
County Road 30
north		Former southern end of Highway 402 concurrency; Highway 402 exit 25; Lambton County Road 21 northern terminus
County Road 8
south (Forest Road)		Southern terminus; former northern end of Highway 402 concurrency; Highway 402 exit 34
6.74.2 County Road 11 west (Aberarder Line)
Lambton Shores
(Forest)		10.46.5Hickory Creek BridgeBeginning of Forest Connecting Link agreement
12.77.9 County Road 12 (Townsend Line)
14.08.7End of Forest Connecting Link agreement
County Road 6
east (Thomson Line)
20.812.9 County Road 7 east (Lakeshore Road)
Kettle Point
30.819.1 
Highway 79
south
38.123.7 County Road 5 east (Greenway Road)
Lambton Shores
(Grand Bend)		43.827.2Pinetree DriveBeginning of Grand Bend Connecting Link agreement
46.228.7Main StreetTo
County Road 81 south; formerly Highway 81
Lambton – Huron boundaryLambton Shores – South Huron boundary46.428.8End of Grand Bend Connecting Link agreement
County Road 83 (Dashwood Road) – Exeter
Formerly Highway 83 east
Highway 84
east
74.346.2 County Road 3 east (Mill Road) – SeaforthBayfield
Central Huron
78.148.5 County Road 13 east (Bayfield Road) – Clinton
84.352.4 County Road 18 east (Cut Line Road)
Goderich92.057.2Huckins StreetBeginning of Goderich Connecting Link agreement
93.758.2 Highway 8 east (Huron Road) – Clinton
94.858.9Gloucester TerraceEnd of Goderich Connecting Link agreement
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
95.959.6 County Road 31 east (Saltford Road) – Saltford
98.461.1 County Road 25 (Blyth Road) – Blyth
118.073.3 County Road 20 (Belgrave Road) –
Belgrave
Kintail
Highway 86
east; cosigned as Huron County Road 86 and Bruce County Road 86
Huron-Kinloss
136.584.8 County Road 6 east
Kincardine145.190.2 Highway 9 east (Broadway Street) – Walkerton
157.197.6 County Road 15 west – InverhuronTiverton
162.1100.7 County Road 15 east
166.3103.3 County Road 20
Kincardine – Saugeen Shores boundary173.0107.5 County Road 11 eastNorth Bruce
Saugeen Shores
177.1110.0 County Road 40 east
179.2111.3 County Road 25 west
Saugeen Shores
(Port Elgin)		179.9111.8Beginning of Port Elgin Connecting Link agreement
183.1113.8 County Road 17 east (Gustavus Street)
184.1114.4End of Port Elgin Connecting Link agreement
Burgoyne
Saugeen Shores
(Southampton)		186.8116.1South StreetBeginning of Southampton Connecting Link agreement
190.1118.1 
County Road 13
north (Turner Street)
192.1119.4Craig StreetEnd of Southampton Connecting Link agreement
Arran-Elderslie
203.9126.7 County Road 14 north – Sauble Beach
207.3128.8 
County Road 10 south – Tara
Alvanley; formerly Highway 6
north; cosigned as Bruce County Road 10 and Grey County Road 10
Jackson
221.4137.6 
wrong-way concurrency
Owen Sound224.1139.2 County Road 17B north / 9th Avenue WestBeginning of Owen Sound Connecting Link
225.4140.1 County Road 1 north (2nd Avenue West)
226.8140.9  Highway 6 / Highway 10 south – Chatsworth
 Highway 26 east – Collingwood		Northern end of Highway 6 wrong-way concurrency; northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former
  •       Concurrency terminus

References

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Ontario Highway 21
KML is from Wikidata
Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Whipp 1983, p. 31.
  2. ^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2016). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7
    .
  4. ^ Wright, Heather (September 12, 2011). "Looking for Traffic Solutions in Grand Bend". Sarnia and Labton County This Week. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  5. ^ Dadson, Liz (January 2, 2011). "MTO needs to make winter improvements along Highway 21". Saugeen Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  6. ^ LeBlanc, John. "Talkback: Your Picks for Canada's 10 Most Dangerous Roads". MSN Auto. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Whipp 1983, p. 1.
  8. ^ Whipp 1983, pp. 9–13.
  9. ^ "Appendix No. 6 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of Sections of the Provincial Highway System for the Years 1926 and 1927". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1928. pp. 59–61. Retrieved February 2, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ A.A. Smith (March 31, 1932). "King's Highways, Ontario". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. p. 15.
  11. ^ Whipp 1983, p. 32.
  12. ^ Whipp 1983, pp. 33–35.
  13. ^ Whipp 1983, p. 35.
  14. ^ a b "Appendix 4 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1935. p. 119.
  15. ^ "Appendix 4 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1936. p. 49.
  16. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Ontario Department of Highways. 1938–39. § Mileage Tables.
  17. ^ "Appendix 4 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1937. p. 51.
  18. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1938–39. § F9–G10.
  19. ^ "Operations Branch - Construction - Southwestern Area". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1961. p. 27.
  20. ^ Google (August 1, 2011). "Original Highway 21 Alignment North of Goderich" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  21. ^ "District No. 3—Stratford - Construction". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1962. p. 77.
  22. ^ Information Section (July 16, 1962). "New Route of Highway 21 at Goderich" (Press release). Department of Highways.
  23. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1982–83. § G–H19, L18.
  24. ^ Highway Transfers List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. April 1, 1997. p. 5.
  25. ^ Highway Transfers List - "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. pp. 7–8.
Bibliography
  • Whipp, Charles (1983). Road to Destiny: A History of Highway 21. Petrolia, Ontario: Lambton Editorial Associates.

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