Ontario Highway 420
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East end | NY 384 / NY 104 at the Rainbow Bridge to United States | |||
Location | ||||
Country | Canada | |||
Province | Ontario | |||
Major cities | Niagara Falls | |||
Highway system | ||||
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King's Highway 420, commonly referred to as Highway 420, is a
Originally constructed as a divided four-lane road with two roundabouts, the route of Highway 420 formed part of the QEW in 1940 initially as the southeastern terminus, but after the QEW extension from Niagara Falls to Fort Erie opened in 1941, this bypassed highway became a spur route designated as the Rainbow Bridge Approach. It was assigned a unique route number as part of the 400-series after being upgraded into a freeway in 1972, including construction of a large interchange with the QEW. In 1998, the section of Highway 420 east of Stanley Avenue was transferred to the responsibility of the Regional Municipality of Niagara and redesignated as Regional Road 420.
Route description
At 3.3 km (2.1 mi), Highway 420 is the shortest
Highway 420 begins in the west at a signalized intersection with Montrose Road (Regional Road 98),[6] beyond which it continues as Watson Street through the residential neighbourhood of Greens Corners to Beaverdams Road (Regional Road 53).[2] East of Montrose Road, the highway is a four lane roadway divided by a raised paved
East of the QEW, Highway 420 encounters an interchange with Dorchester Road as both cross the Queenston-Chippawa Power Canal.[7] This interchange was originally a
Now separated by a landscaped median, the route progresses eastward, intersecting MacDonald Avenue and providing access to several residential and retail properties that adjoin the road. The route travels within a concrete trench and abruptly curves to the southeast as it passes beneath Victoria Avenue, with which there is a simple interchange.[7] East of this point, the road was named Newman Hill until March 2012. Palmer Avenue and Ontario Avenue pass over the route as it descends a hill towards the Niagara Gorge. At the bottom, the route curves to the southwest, where it provides access to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing into the United States as well as the tourist district of the city.[9]
Owing to its association with the number 420 in cannabis culture, Highway 420 is also the location for the annual Cannabis Conference and Protest, usually taking place sometime around April 20. The event includes a march beginning near Niagara Falls and travelling to Highway 420.[11][12]
History
Rainbow Bridge Approach
The history of Highway 420 predates its designation by nearly 75 years, tied in with the crossing of the Niagara Gorge between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The first level crossing between the two cities was the
On May 16, 1940, Samuel Johnson, the vice-chair of the NFBC, and McQuesten, who along with his parliamentary role was chair of the commission, ceremonially turned the first sod for the new bridge using a two-handled shovel.[14] Construction had begun two weeks earlier on May 4.[15] The new bridge was assembled over the following 18 months; the design was prepared by New York engineering firm Waddell & Hardesty and supervised by the Edward Lupfer Corporation, the latter the designers of the Peace Bridge.[16] The new structure was located 167 m (548 ft) downstream from the Honeymoon Bridge, as the gorge is slightly wider at that point, resulting in a 288 m (945 ft) span.[17]
Meanwhile, McQuesten was overseeing construction of the QEW between Toronto and Fort Erie. The new
TheOn November 1, 1941, the Rainbow Bridge was officially opened during a simple ceremony. The oldest living couple known to have wed in Niagara Falls, a pair from Pennsylvania, were the first to cross, followed by a newlywed couple from Georgia. This symbolically tied the history of the two bridges together, and was followed by McQuesten and Johnson walking towards the centre of the structure from the Canadian and American sides, respectively, and shaking hands at the centre. Several pyrotechnic explosions at both ends capped the ceremony, and the bridge was opened to traffic.[14]
Work continued on the four lane bridge approach throughout 1941, and by mid-1942 it was possible to drive directly from the bridge onto the QEW. The new link featured a traffic circle at Dorchester Road as well as at the QEW.[16] At the time the new link was designated temporarily as part of the QEW[20] (decades before receiving its own unique route number of Highway 420), as a result it was referred to by several names including the Queen Elizabeth Way Extension (and known by locals for decades as the "Queen E Extension")[21] and the Rainbow Bridge Approach.[16]
At the same time construction on QEW between Niagara Falls and Fort Erie, was underway, but the ongoing war delayed its completion. As an interim measure, four gravel lanes of the highway was opened during the summer of 1941, then two lanes of pavement were laid in 1946, and the four-lane extension was fully paved and opened on October 14, 1956. Bypassed by the new QEW extension to Fort Erie in 1941, the Niagara Falls bridge approach became a spur route that was no longer part of the QEW so it was officially named the Rainbow Bridge Approach for the next three decades.[22]
Upgrade to freeway
During the mid-1960s, the
In 1998, the Niagara Falls Transportation Study was released, recommending that Roberts Street be rebuilt as a gateway to the city as opposed to a freeway. Highway 420 east of Stanley Avenue was transferred to Niagara Region.[23] In the early 2000s, Highway 420 from the QEW interchange to Drummond Road was reconstructed with high-mast lighting poles and an Ontario tall-wall concrete median
On September 23, 2010, Highway 420 was designated as the Niagara Veterans Memorial Highway.[28] On January 31, 2012, Niagara Regional Council approved the renaming of Roberts Street and Newman Hill as an extension of Falls Avenue, beginning March 1. Prior to this, Falls Avenue curved into Newman Hill at the Rainbow Bridge.[10]
In 2016, the flyovers of the Highway 420-QEW interchange were rehabilitated.[1]
Exit list
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 420, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] The entire route is located in the Regional Municipality of Niagara.[9] All exits are unnumbered.
Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |
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Regional Road 98 (Montrose Road) | At-grade; western terminus of Highway 420; continues as Watson Street | ||||
0.4 | 0.25 | Toronto | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; QEW exit 30 | ||
1.1 | 0.68 | Dorchester Road | |||
2.2 | 1.4 | Drummond Road | |||
3.3 | 2.1 | Regional Road 102 (Stanley Avenue) Regional Road 420 begins (Falls Avenue) | At-grade; present-day eastern terminus of Highway 420; continues as Regional Road 420 (Falls Avenue), maintained as a Connecting Link[3] | ||
4.8 | 3.0 | Rainbow Bridge Border Crossing | |||
Rainbow Bridge[29] | |||||
Continuation into New York (state); former Highway 420 eastern terminus | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Notes
- ^ Cootes Drive in Hamilton is also claimed as the first dual highway in Canada, although the QEW was the first divided highway designed for long-distance travel.
References
- ^ a b c Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2012). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-88640-767-4.
- ^ a b Contract Management and Operations Branch (2011). Highway Connecting Link List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
- ^ Google (July 13, 2016). "View from Drummond Road showing standard luminaires to the west and 'ER' luminaires to the east" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ The History of Toronto's Unfinished Expressway System (Report). Energy Probe. April 5, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ a b Google (January 30, 2012). "QEW / Highway 420 interchange" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ a b c Google (January 30, 2012). "Highway 420 length and route" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ OCLC 19222948.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7.
- ^ a b Forsyth, Paul (February 2, 2012). "Roberts Street to Become Falls Avenue". Niagara This Week. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
- ^ "Home". Highway 420 Anti-Prohibition Rally. n.d. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Law, John (April 20, 2014). "420 Rally Urges Need For Legal Weed". Niagara Falls Review. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- OCLC 26930343.
- ^ a b c Stamp (1992), pp. 124–125.
- ^ a b Berketa, Rick (February 20, 2012). "Bridges Over Niagara River". Niagara Falls Thunder Alley. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c Stamp (1992), pp. 126–127.
- ^ Stamp (1992), p. 128.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth Roadway to Open". Evening Courier. Prescott, Arizona. August 23, 1940. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- ^ Stamp (1992), p. 129.
- ^ Stamp 1987, pp. 33–36.
- ^ A.A.D.T. Traffic Volumes 1955–1969 And Traffic Collision Data 1967–1969. Ontario Department of Highways. 1970. p. 4.
- ^ Stamp 1987, p. 49.
- ^ a b Conradi, Peter (August 17, 2008). "Roberts Street Gateway to be Renamed Falls Avenue". Bullet News Niagara. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ Cartography Section (1977). Ontario Road Map (Map). 1:800,000. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. South-Central Ontario inset.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth Way – Hamilton to Fort Erie". Highway Construction Program 1972–73 (Report). Ministry of Transportation and Communications. April 1972. p. xv.
- ^ Walter, Karena (February 21, 2014). "Search Engine: Highway Mysteries Solved". Niagara Falls Review. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ Stamp (1987), pp. 31–34.
- ^ Ricciuto, Tony (September 23, 2010). "Niagara Veterans Memorial Highway now official". Niagara Falls Review.
- ^ "Toll Cost & Vehicle Definitions". Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Retrieved June 8, 2014.