fbpx
Wikipedia

Ontario Highway 7

King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At its peak, Highway 7 measured 716 km (445 mi) in length, stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 17 west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. However, due in part to the construction of Highways 402 and 407, the province transferred the sections of Highway 7 west of London and through the Greater Toronto Area to county and regional jurisdiction. The highway is now 535.7 km (332.9 mi) long; the western segment begins at Highway 4 north of London and extends 154.1 km (95.8 mi) to Georgetown, while the eastern segment begins at Donald Cousens Parkway in Markham and extends 381.6 km (237.1 mi) to Highway 417 in Ottawa.

Highway 7

Location of Highway 7 in Southern Ontario.
     Current route      Former route
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length535.7 km[1] (332.9 mi)
Existed1920–present
Western segment
Length154.1 km (95.8 mi)
West end Highway 4Elginfield
Major intersections Highway 23
 Highway 8Kitchener
 Highway 6Guelph
East endHaltonPeel boundary (near Norval)
Eastern segment
Length381.6 km (237.1 mi)
West end Regional Road 48 (Donald Cousens Parkway) - Markham
Major intersections Highway 412Whitby
Highway 7A – Port Perry
 Highway 12Sunderland
 Highway 35Lindsay
 Highway 115Peterborough
 Highway 28Peterborough
 Highway 62 - Madoc
 Highway 37Actinolite
 Highway 41Kaladar
 Highway 15Carleton Place
East end Highway 417Ottawa
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
DivisionsMiddlesex, Oxford County, Halton, York, Durham, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Hastings, Lennox and Addington, Frontenac, Lanark
Major citiesStratford, KitchenerWaterloo, Guelph, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Pickering, Peterborough, Ottawa
TownsHalton Hills (Acton, Georgetown, Norval), Richmond Hill, Whitby, Lindsay, Perth, Carleton Place
Highway system

Highway 7 was first designated in 1920 between Sarnia and Guelph and extended to Brampton the following year. Between 1927 and 1932, the highway was more than doubled in length as it was gradually extended eastward to Perth, where Highway 15 continued to Ottawa via Carleton Place. In the early 1960s, that section of Highway 15 was renumbered as Highway 7. In that same decade, the Conestoga Parkway through Kitchener and the Peterborough Bypass were constructed. During the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of Highway 7 were widened from the initial two lane cross-section to four or six lanes. Within part of York Region, the route was upgraded to a limited-access expressway in preparation for the construction of Highway 407.

Soon thereafter, that new tollway would act as justification for transferring the section of Highway 7 through the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to regional governments. The sections became Peel Regional Road 107 Bovaird Drive West to Highway 410 and Queen Street East from east of 410 respectively) and York Regional Road 7. In the west, the construction of Highway 402 between Sarnia and London provided an uninterrupted alternative to Highway 7, resulting in the transfer of the section west of Highway 4. A third transfer took place in Peterborough, briefly separating the route into three discontinuous segments, but has since been rectified by renumbering a section of Highway 7A. From 2007 to 2012, the section of Highway 7 between Carleton Place and Ottawa has been widened to a divided freeway. In addition, work is underway to extend the Conestoga Parkway to New Hamburg as well as to build a new freeway between Kitchener and Guelph.

Route description

Western segment

The western segment of Highway 7 travels from Elginfield in Middlesex County in the southwest to the Halton - Peel border at Norval near Brampton; a distance of 152.6 kilometres (94.8 mi). A 23.4 km (14.5 mi) portion of this segment, from Waterloo Regional Road 51 south of Baden to Highway 85 in Kitchener is a freeway, forming part of the Conestoga Parkway. Plans to build a freeway bypass of Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph are currently underway.

At one point Highway 7 travelled as far west as Sarnia, being the main route to the Blue Water Bridge. Upon entering Sarnia from the east on London Line, drivers encountered a plethora of motels and restaurants, the Sarnia Airport, and attractions such as Hiawatha Racetrack and Waterpark, earning the stretch between Modeland Road and Airport Road the nickname of the "Golden Mile".[2] At the interchange with Highway 40, Highway 7 transitioned into the Highway 402 freeway which continued westwards to the Bluewater Bridge at the American border. Highway 402 was completed between Sarnia and Highway 401 in 1982,[3] resulting in the redundancy of Highway 7 west of London as traffic shifted to the high-speed alternate. This work involved the realigning of Highway 402 to a new interchange with Highway 40, just north of the existing Highway 7/Highway 40 interchange where Highway 7 would continue to a redirected Exmouth Street. Nonetheless, Highway 7 remained provincially maintained until the segment west of Highway 4 was transferred to county jurisdiction on January 1, 1998; a process referred to as downloading. The former highway is now known as Lambton County Road 22 (London Line) and Middlesex County Road 7 (Elginfield Road).[4]

The current route begins at Highway 4, approximately 20 km (12 mi) north of London and immediately southeast of the village of Lucan; the former routing continued west along Elginfield Road through Parkhill and Arkona. Though the highway changes direction several times between Elginfield and Kitchener, it is mostly straight and two lanes wide, except east of New Hamburg where it widens to four lanes. Proceeding east-northeast through farmland, the highway meets the southern terminus of Highway 23 just 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) later. It continues, serving as the boundary between Lucan Biddulph to the north and Middlesex Centre to the south, and later as the boundary between Perth County to the north and Middlesex and Oxford counties, with the tripoint of the three at County Road 120A south of St. Marys. Southeast of St. Marys, Highway 7 curves northeast into Perth County until it reaches downtown Stratford, where it meets Highway 8.[4][5]

The two highways travel east concurrently for 45.1 kilometres (28.0 mi), passing through the town of Shakespeare as it travels in a straight line through farmland. Southwest of New Hamburg, the route curves northeast into Waterloo Region, eventually widening into the four-lane Conestoga Parkway east of Nafziger Road. It follows this divided freeway past interchanges at Waterloo Regional Road 51 (Foundry Street) south of Baden, Waterloo Regional Road 12 (Queen Street/Notre Dame Drive) south of Petersburg, and Waterloo Regional Road 70 (Trussler Road) north of Mannheim, where it enters Kitchener and becomes surrounded by residential subdivisions. Within Kitchener, Highway 7 encounters interchanges at Waterloo Regional Road 58 (Fischer-Hallman Road)(at which point it widens to six lanes), Waterloo Regional Road 28 (Homer Watson Boulevard), Waterloo Regional Road 53 (Courtland Avenue), Waterloo Regional Road 15 (King Street)/Highway 8 (at which point it widens to eight lanes), Waterloo Regional Road 14 (Ottawa Street) and Waterloo Regional Road 55 (Victoria Street). The Highway 8 concurrency ends at the King Street interchange, with it diverging southeast onto the Freeport Diversion. Highway 7 exits at Victoria Street (four-lane arterial) while the parkway continues north into Waterloo as Highway 85.[4][5] Construction began in June 2015 on a future freeway between Kitchener and Guelph that will make use of a reconfigured Wellington Street interchange, just north of Victoria Street, and tie in with the northern end of the Hanlon Expressway.[6]

Highway 7 exits Kitchener after crossing the Grand River, where it enters farmland again for the brief 10-kilometre (6 mi) journey to Guelph along Victoria Street and Woodlawn Road. Midway between the two cities, the route enters Wellington County. Within Guelph, it meets Highway 6 at the northern end of the Hanlon Expressway. The two routes travel southeast along the expressway to Wellington County Road 124 (Wellington Street, former Highway 24), where Highway 7 branches northeast into downtown Guelph. It exits the city along York Road after crossing the Speed River, travelling parallel to and south of the Goderich–Exeter Railway. At Rockwood, the highway enters Halton Region and begins to zig-zag through several communities in Halton Hills. These include Acton, where the route intersects former Highway 25, and Georgetown. Just east of Norval, the western section of Highway 7 ends at the Halton–Peel boundary. The road continues into Brampton as Peel Regional Road 107 (Bovaird Drive).[4][5] The former highway then followed Highway 410 south, where it continued east along Queen Street (also Peel Road 107).

 
Highway 7 (York Regional Road 7) at intersection of Warden Avenue (York Regional Road 65) in Markham, in 2008 prior to widening to accommodate Viva Rapid Transit.

The western segment was separated from the rest of Highway 7 on June 7, 1997, when the section from Brampton to Markham was downloaded due to the opening of Highway 407.[7] Part of that segment through Vaughan and Richmond Hill was relocated on a new alignment (as a 6 lane at-grade expressway) in 1987 in order to make way for the future toll route (where the two highways were forced to share a narrow corridor due to development) and to eliminate a jog along Bathurst Street; which also resulted in a section from west of Dufferin Street becoming a westerly extension of Centre Street. Sections of the original road still remain between Bathurst Street and Bayview Avenue, but have been renamed as Langstaff Road. Highway 7 through York Region, despite being a suburban arterial and no longer a provincial highway, is still officially named "Highway 7", but otherwise has no street name, and received the number York Regional Road 7, displacing Islington Avenue which was redesignated as Regional Road 17. Parts of the Markham portion were once called Wellington Street as well as sideroad allowance (before 1925 when Highway 7 reached the area[8]), stub of the old road exists today west of Markham Road that was a result of re-alignment of Highway 7. The Toronto Star ran a series of articles in 2013 depicting the urbanization of the former route. Among the issues was a proposed name change to "Avenue 7".[9]

 
Until 2015, Highway 407 merged into Highway 7 in Pickering; this section was rebuilt as Highway 407E, opening on June 20, 2016

Eastern segment

The eastern segment of Highway 7 runs from Donald Cousens Parkway (York Regional Road 48) in Markham to Highway 417 in Ottawa, a length of 381.6 km (237.1 mi). Between Brooklin and north of Sunderland, Highway 7 assumes a north–south routing and is concurrent with Highway 12. The section from Sunderland to the eastern terminus of the highway is designated as part of the Central Ontario Route of the Trans-Canada Highway.[10][11]

Travelling east from Donald Cousens Parkway, Highway 7 exits the urbanized portion of Markham and enters the Greenbelt, a large tract of land north of the GTA restricted from development. It curves north at the community of Locust Hill along an alignment that eliminated a jog, then curves back to the east as it crosses into Durham Region. It travels north of and parallel to Highway 407 to Brougham, curving to cross the former eastern terminus of the freeway near Brock Road (Durham Regional Road 1). East of the Highway 407 overpass, Highway 7 widens to four lanes and curves around the community of Greenwood and the hill that it stands on. The route crosses the northern end of Pickering, entering Whitby at Lakeridge Road (Durham Regional Road 23). Between Lakeridge Road and Highway 12, the route was rebuilt for the new Highway 407E and West Durham Link, with an overpass constructed at Cochrane Road. East of that, the route enters Brooklin and meets Highway 12.[10][11]

Highway 7 and Highway 12 travel north concurrently from Brooklin through Durham Region to Sunderland, with Highway 7 eventually departing to the east and entering the City of Kawartha Lakes. Despite its name, the highway passes through a mostly-rural landscape in Kawartha Lakes, bypassing south of Lindsay in the middle of the "city" along a brief concurrency with Highway 35. East of Lindsay, the route meanders southeast towards Peterborough, encountering the divided freeway Highway 115 southwest of the city. The two routes travel east concurrently along the southern edge of the city. Highway 115 and the divided freeway end at Lansdowne Street, onto which Highway 7 turns.[10][11]

 
Highway 7 near Omemee, in the City of Kawartha Lakes

The segment between Peterborough and Perth was built in the 1930s during the Great Depression, as a public works employment project. It was constructed parallel to a CP Rail corridor (now abandoned east of Peterborough) that was built in the 1880s, and used hand-power to dig and build the road whenever possible.[12] From Peterborough to Norwood, the route travels in a straight line through the Peterborough Drumlin Field, connecting to the southern terminus of Highway 28 and crossing the Indian River while otherwise passing through farmland. At Norwood the route suddenly begins to meander as it approaches the undulated Canadian Shield. The section east of Havelock to Perth, unlike the rest of the highway, travels through a relatively isolated area, with few services or residences along the route outside of the several towns that it connects. In contrast to the surroundings west of there, this section is located in dense forest with numerous lakes and muskeg dotting the landscape. It services the villages of Marmora, where it connects with the northern terminus of former Highway 14, Madoc, where it intersect Highway 62, Actinolite, where it meets the northern terminus of Highway 37, and Kaladar, where it intersects Highway 41.[10][11]

East of Kaladar, Highway 7 begins to serve cottages along the shores of several large lakes that lie near the highway. It intersects the northern terminus of former Highway 38 near Sharbot Lake and later passes south of Maberly before exiting the Canadian Shield and reentering farmland. On the outskirts of Perth, the route meets former Highway 43 and curves northward. It travels around the western and northern shorelines of Mississippi Lake before passing directly south of Carleton Place. Just east of there, Highway 7 widens into a four lane freeway for the remainder of the distance to Highway 417. This section, completed by early 2012,[13] was built by "twinning" the existing two lane highway with a second parallel carriageway to serve as the eastbound lanes. Highway 7 ends at an interchange with Highway 417, where drivers can proceed east to Ottawa or north to Arnprior.[10][11]

 
Highway 7 in Central Frontenac; this section passes through the sparsely developed terrain of the Opeongo Hills

History

The route which would later become Highway 7 was first established by the Department of Public Highways as part of the initial provincial highway network on February 26, 1920. This route connected Sarnia to Guelph.[14] On April 27, 1921, the route was extended east to the Wellington–Halton boundary. Several days later, on May 4, the highway was extended further east to Hurontario Street in Brampton.[15]The Great Northern Highway, as it was known at the time, was numbered as Highway 7 during the summer of 1925.[16] Assumptions on June 22 and July 2, 1927 extended Highway 7 from Brampton to Peterborough. A portion of the original routing of Highway 12 between Sunderland and Lindsay was renumbered in this process and a concurrency established between Brooklin and Sunderland.[17]

During the early 1930s, the DHO decided that Highway 7 would ultimately serve as an alternative route between Toronto and Ottawa; at that time the only option was via Highway 2 and Highway 16. The first step in this undertaking was to extend Highway 7 as far as Madoc along existing settler routes. This section was assumed on September 17, 1930.[18] On November 18, 1931, construction was accelerated between Madoc and Perth as a major depression-relief project when eight contracts were set to build the new route. Over 2700 men blasted rock, dredged muskeg and endured a constant barrage of blood-sucking insects in order to construct this new link. The majority of it followed along a Canadian Pacific right-of-way (now abandoned past the town of Havelock) which had been cleared in 1881, deviating at times to provide a better alignment, avoid large muskeg or to lessen excavation work, most of which was performed by hand.[12] On February 10 and February 17, the route, still incomplete, was surveyed and assumed as an extension of Highway 7. The new highway was opened to traffic on August 23, 1932.[19]

Between the 1930s and 1960s, Highway 7 connected Sarnia with Perth; Highway 15 continued from Perth to Ottawa. By the mid-1950s, the well established highway network had changed travel characteristics, and the numbering of Highway 15 between Perth and Ottawa was confusing motorists. The Ottawa Board of Trade petitioned the Department of Highways to renumber several highways surrounding the city.[20] The department performed a series of renumberings similar to these recommendations following the extension of Highway 43 on September 8, 1961. Highway 15 was rerouted between Smiths Falls and Carleton Place to travel concurrently with Highway 29; Highway 7 was extended along the former routing from Perth to Carleton Place and signed concurrently with Highway 15 eastward to Ottawa.[21] This brought the highway to its peak length of 700 kilometres (430 mi).

Transfer of portions to lower governments (downloading)

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) "downloaded" (i.e., transferred responsibility for) several sections of Highway 7 to regional and county governments. There are three separate issues that led to these downloads.

Due to budget cuts instituted by the Mike Harris government, many highways deemed to serve a local or regional function were downloaded to local jurisdiction. The sections of Highway 7 west of London were transferred to Lambton County and Middlesex County, largely supplanted by the completion of nearby Highway 402 in 1982.[3][7] On April 1, 1997, the section from Sarnia to Thedford was transferred to Lambton County.[7] The section from Thedford to Elginfield was transferred to Lambton and Middlesex counties on January 1, 1998.[22]

As the construction of Highway 407 progressed across the northern end of the Greater Toronto Area, the MTO transferred sections of Highway 7 to the regions of Peel and York. On June 7, 1997, the section between Highway 410 and Highway 404 was transferred to the regions of Peel and York;[7] the section from Highway 404 to McCowan Road was transferred to York Region on April 1, 1999. Several months later, on September 1, a short section between McCowan Road and Markham Road was transferred. Finally, on January 25, 2007, the section between Markham Road and 185 m (607 ft) east of Donald Cousens Parkway, where the highway narrows to two lanes today, was transferred. Within Peel Region, Highway 410 and Highway 7 ran concurrently north–south between Bovaird Drive and Queen Street. The Queen St. portion of the route was numbered Peel Regional Road 21 on July 10, 1997,[23] but renumbered as Peel Regional Road 107 on March 26, 1998.[24] To make the former highway easier to follow through Brampton, the Bovaird Drive portion of the route was subsequently also numbered Regional Road 107, after the highway was transferred to the Region of Peel on November 28, 2001.[25] The non-Highway 7 portions of Queen Street and Bovaird Drive west and east of Highway 410 are designated as Regional Roads 6 and 10 respectively.

In the Peterborough area, Highway 7 was rerouted from travelling through the city to bypassing it along Highway 115. This situation took over six years to set in place. On April 1, 1997, the sections of Highway 7 entering the western edge of Peterborough along North Monaghan Parkway and Sir Sanford Fleming Drive were transferred to the county and city, creating a gap between Springville and the Peterborough Bypass. This situation was rectified on May 1, 2003, when the section of Highway 7A that until then was a continuation of the road south from Springville to Highway 115 was renumbered as Highway 7. The concurrency with Highway 115 was extended southwest to remove the discontinuity entirely.[26]

Recent work

York Region

In 2005, Highway 7 was made the second main arterial for York Region's Viva Rapid Transit service (after Yonge Street), leading to the expansion of the CN MacMillan Bridge and Highway 400 overpass.[27][28][29]

Carleton Place

On August 22, 2006, work officially began on a project to expand Highway 7 between Ottawa and Carleton Place into a freeway through a process known as twinning,[30] in which a second carriageway is built parallel to an existing road and grade-separated interchanges constructed.[31] Plans for this expansion were first conceptualized in 1979 when a planning study was undertaken. However, budgetary constraints forced an early end to this study in 1981. In 1988, the project was reinstated. A study released that year recommended that Highway 7 be widened to five lanes with a centre turning lane south of Carleton Place as an interim measure; this was carried out in 1993.[32] Full planning on the four-laning of the route began in 1993.[33]

In mid-2005, the Government of Ontario announced the project to the public. The work was carried out over three contracts: from Highway 417 to Jinkinson Road, from Jinkinson Road to Ashton Station Road, and from Ashton Station Road to Highway 15. In July 2007, a C$45 million contract was awarded to R.W. Tomlinson for the first phase of the route west from Highway 417.[34][35] Bot Construction was awarded the $73.2 million contract for the second phase, which included two interchanges, four overpasses and service roads, in early 2008.[36] The first phase was opened to traffic on July 31, 2008[37] Towards the end of 2009, the $25.8 million contract for the third phase was awarded to Aecon Group.[38] The second phase was completed ahead of schedule on December 3, 2008, bypassing south of the former route at Ashton Station Road and merging to two lanes west of Dwyer Hill Road.[39] The third phase was completed in late 2011/early 2012, connecting to Carleton Place.[13]

Future

On March 23, 2007, the Government of Ontario announced the approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment for a four-lane controlled-access highway between Kitchener, and Guelph, as traffic on Highway 401 is growing steadily and approaching capacity, along with the current two-lane alignment of Highway 7. This would connect to the Conestoga Parkway via an expansion of the existing Wellington Road interchange, the new junction would be a four level interchange; the government's eventual plan is to have a Highway 7 freeway running from Stratford to Guelph.[citation needed] The eastern end of the proposed Highway 7 freeway would terminate at, and interline with, the Hanlon Expressway (Highway 6), which is also scheduled for upgrades to a full freeway beginning in June 2015.[6][40]

In early 2011, Ontario Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli hinted at possible plans to extend the four-laning of Highway 7 west from Carleton Place to Perth.[41]

In July 2020, the Ford government announced that it would fund the highway project linking Guelph and Kitchener and building a new bridge for the highway over the Grand River. It is expected to cost 764 million dollars for the 18-kilometre freeway.[42]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 7, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] In addition, it includes some minor junctions. Highway 7 is maintained under a Connecting Link agreement within Stratford, Guelph, Acton, Georgetown, Omemee, Havelock and Marmora.[43] 

DivisionLocationkm[1]miExitDestinationsNotes
MiddlesexElginfield0.00.0   Highway 4London
1.20.75  Highway 23 north – Mitchell
Middlesex CentreLucan Biddulph10.16.3  County Road 50 north (Prospect Hill Road)
PerthMiddlesexPerth SouthThames Centre12.47.7North Thames River crossing
17.610.9County Road 123 north – St. Marys
Perth SouthZorra24.014.9County Road 118 north
  County Road 119 south – Thamesford
PerthStratford36.022.4Perth 29th LineBeginning of Stratford connecting link agreement
40.024.9  Highway 8 west – GoderichWestern end of Highway 8 concurrency
43.326.9End of Stratford connecting link agreement
PerthWaterloo boundaryShakespeare52.032.3County Road 107Formerly   Highway 59
WaterlooNew Hamburg60.237.4Regional Road 1New Hamburg Bypass
63.539.5Regional Road 4 west (Peel Street)
Wilmot64.440.0Regional Road 4 east (Bleams Road)
65.840.9Regional Road 5 north (Nafziger Road)
67.241.8Western end of Conestoga Parkway
Controlled-access highway begins
68.042.3Regional Road 51 (Foundry Street) – Wilmot Centre
73.145.4Regional Road 12 (Queen Street (south) / Notre Dame Drive (north)) – Petersburg
76.947.8Regional Road 70 (Trussler Road) – Mannheim
Kitchener80.049.7Regional Road 58 (Fischer Hallman Road)
82.451.2Regional Road 28 (Homer Watson Boulevard)Eastbound entrance via Ottawa Street South
83.752.0Courtland Avenue
85.152.9  Highway 8 east (Freeport Diversion)Eastern end of Highway 8 concurrency; no access from Highway 7 to King Street
86.453.7Ottawa Street North
88.354.9
Highway 7 exits Conestoga Parkway at Victoria Street; Conestoga Parkway as   Highway 85
  Highway 85 north (Conestoga Parkway) – St. Jacobs
Regional Road 55 east (Victoria Street)
Westbound entrance via Edna Street, eastbound exit via Bruce Street; beginning of Kitchener connecting link agreement
94.058.4Woolwich StreetEnd of Kitchener connecting link agreement
Woolwich94.458.7Regional Road 17 (Fountain Street)
Guelph103.064.0Imperial RoadBeginning of Guelph Connecting Link agreement
105.965.8  Highway 6 north (Woodlawn Road) – Mount ForestNorthern terminus of Hanlon Expressway; western end of Highway 6 concurrency
109.668.1  Highway 6 south (Hanlon Expressway) – Hamilton
  County Road 124 south (Wellington Street West) – Cambridge
Eastern end of Highway 6 concurrency; Highway 7 exits Hanlon Expressway onto Wellington Street; western end of former Highway 24 concurrency
112.169.7Wyndham Street South
  County Road 124 north (Wellington Street East) – Erin
Highway 7 turns off Wellington Street onto Wyndham Street South; eastern end of former Highway 24 concurrency
116.872.6End of Guelph Connecting Link agreement
WellingtonGuelph-Eramosa
120.074.6  County Road 29 (Eramosa Road) – Eramosa
Rockwood124.177.1  County Road 27 (Gowan Road)
125.277.8  County Road 50
Crewsons Corners131.381.6Milton – Halton Hills Townline
HaltonActon134.483.5  Regional Road 25 northWestern end of former Highway 25 concurrency; beginning of Acton Connecting Link agreement
134.983.8  Regional Road 25 south – MiltonEastern end of former Highway 25 concurrency
136.484.8Churchill RoadEnd of Acton Connecting Link agreement
Halton Hills142.188.3  Regional Road 3 north
Georgetown145.690.5  Regional Road 3 south (Trafalgar Road) – Oakville
147.091.3  Regional Road 32 (Wildwood Road)Beginning of Georgetown Connecting Link agreement
152.094.4Hall RoadEnd of Georgetown Connecting Link agreement
Norval153.695.4  Regional Road 19 (Winston Churchill Road) – Cheltenham
154.195.8Halton–Peel regional boundary; end of western segment; road continues east as   Regional Road 107
Highway 7 is discontinuous for 62.6 kilometres (38.9 mi) between Brampton and Markham
YorkMarkham216.7134.7Beginning of eastern segment lies 185 metres (607 ft) east of Donald Cousens Parkway; road continues west as   Regional Road 7
219.6136.5   Regional Road 30 (York–Durham Line)
DurhamPickering
226.5140.7  Regional Road 1 (Brock Road) – Brougham, Uxbridge
227.3141.2  407 ETR west – MarkhamHighway 7 passes over former eastern terminus of Highway 407
Whitby235.2146.1  Highway 412 southSouthbound entrance and northbound exit
239.1148.6  Highway 12 south (Baldwin Street)Beginning of Highway 12 concurrency; road continues east as Regional Road 3 (Winchester Road East)
243.2151.1  Regional Road 26 south (Thickson Road)
Scugog253.3157.4  Highway 7A east – Port Perry, Peterborough
  Regional Road 21 west (Goodwood Road)
Highway 7A provides a shorter route to Peterborough via Highway 115
256.2159.2  Regional Road 8 (Reach Street) – Uxbridge, Port Perry
260.4161.8  Regional Highway 47 west – Uxbridge, Stouffville
Saintfield266.2165.4  Regional Road 6 east (Saintfield Road) – Seagrave
Sunderland275.4171.1  Regional Road 10 west (River Street)
Brock278.2172.9   Highway 12 north / TCH – Beaverton, OrilliaEnd of Highway 12 concurrency
  Trans-Canada Highway western end
Manilla285.2177.2  Road 2 (Simcoe Street) 
 
Kawartha Lakes
288.3179.1  Road 46 north – Woodville
Fingerboard Road south
Formerly   Highway 46
294.5183.0  Road 6 (Eldon Road) – Little Britain, KirkfieldCommunity of Oakwood
303.2188.4  Highway 35Lindsay, Fenelon Falls
Drop Inn Road
Western end of Highway 35 concurrency and Lindsay Bypass; formerly   Highway 7B east
307.3190.9  Road 4 (Angeline Street South / Little Britain Road) – Little Britain
308.7191.8  Highway 35 south – Newcastle
  Road 15 north (Lindsay Street) – Lindsay
Eastern end of Highway 35 concurrency and Lindsay Bypass; Road 15 formerly    Highway 7B west / Highway 35B north
310.2192.7  Road 36 north – BobcaygeonFormerly   Highway 36
323.4–
326.1
201.0–
202.6
Omemee Connecting Link agreement
334.8208.0  County Road 1 east (Lindsay Road)
  County Road 26 north (Frank Hill Road)
Formerly   Highway 7B east
PeterboroughFowlers Corners
Cavan–Monaghan342.2212.6  County Road 5 (Lansdowne Street)
343.6213.5  County Road 15 east (Monaghan Parkway)
347.2215.745  Highway 115 south – Toronto
  County Road 28 – Port Hope
Highway 7 enters onto freeway; beginning of Highway 115 concurrency; exit numbers follow Highway 115; formerly   Highway 28 south
351.2218.249  County Road 11 (Airport Road)To Peterborough Airport
Peterborough353.6219.751The Parkway
Sir Sandford Fleming Drive
Formerly   Highway 28 north
356.9221.854Bensfort RoadAccess to and from westbound Highway 7/115 via Kennedy Road; no access to eastbound Highway 7/115
358.5222.856Ashburnham DriveAccess to and from eastbound Highway 7/115 via Neal Drive
359.9223.6Lansdowne Street East
  County Road 30 north (Television Road)
End of freeway and Highway 115 concurrency; signalized intersection; formerly   Highway 7B west
PeterboroughOtonabee–South Monaghan367.2228.2   Highway 28 north – Lakefield, BancroftFormerly   Highway 134 north
377.0234.3  County Road 38
Norwood386.8240.3  County Road 45Formerly   Highway 45
Havelock395.9246.0Canadian Pacific Railway crossingBeginning of Havelock Connecting Link agreement
397.7247.1Mary StreetEnd of Havelock Connecting Link agreement
HastingsMarmora414.0257.2Crowe River bridge; beginning of Marmora Connecting Link agreement
  County Road 14 (Forsyth Street)Formerly   Highway 14 south
415.3258.1Maloney StreetEnd of Marmora Connecting Link agreement
Madoc431.6268.2  Highway 62Belleville
Actinolite445.1276.6  Highway 37 south – Belleville
Lennox and AddingtonKaladar467.1290.2  Highway 41 north – Denbigh
  County Road 41 south
FrontenacCentral Frontenac507.2315.2  Township Road 509 north – PlevnaFormerly   Highway 509
508.5316.0  Township Road 38 south – Sharbot Lake, KingstonFormerly   Highway 38
LanarkMaberly519.8323.0  County Road 36 (Bolingbroke Road south / Elphin Road north)
Perth542.5337.1  County Road 511 north – Lanark
543.2337.5  County Road 43 south (Wilson Street) – Smiths FallsFormerly   Highway 43
Lanark Highlands564.0350.5  County Road 15 north (Ferguson Falls Road) – Lanark
Beckwith573.0356.0  County Road 7B (Townline Road) – Carleton Placeformerly   Highway 7B; erroneously signed Lanark County Road 29 on Highway 7
Carleton Place576.8358.4  Highway 15 south – Smiths Falls, Kingston
577.4358.8  County Road 29 (McNeely Avenue)Formerly   Highway 29
Beckwith
Beginning of divided highway
  County Road 17 north (Appleton Sideroad)
  County Road 17 south (Cemetery Sideroad)
584.4363.1Ashton Station Road 
 
Ottawa
588.2365.5  City Road 3 (Dwyer Hill Road)
595.8370.2  City Road 36 (Hazeldean Road) – Ottawa
598.3371.8   Highway 417 / TCH – Arnprior, OttawaHighway 417 exit 145
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2004). . Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  2. ^ http://www.sarnia.ca/documents.asp?DocumentID=74 2015-06-30 at the Wayback Machine p. 7
  3. ^ a b Annual Report (Construction ed.). Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1982–1983. p. 76.
  4. ^ a b c d Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Mapart Publishing. 2022. pp. 14, 21–24. ISBN 1-55198-226-9.
  5. ^ a b c Google (June 21, 2015). "Route of western segment of Highway 7" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Desmond, Paige (May 30, 2015). "Initial Work On New Kitchener–Guelph Hwy. 7 to Start in June". The Record. Waterloo Region: Metroland Media. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d Highway Transfers List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. April 1, 1997. pp. 3, 4, 6–8.
  8. ^ . City of Markham. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  9. ^ Daubs, Katie (February 22, 2013). "Highway 7: The Road That Needs a New Name". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d e Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Mapart Publishing. 2022. pp. 31–32, 43–48, 61–63, 76. ISBN 1-55198-226-9.
  11. ^ a b c d e Google (June 21, 2015). "Route of eastern segment of Highway 7" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Report on Highways". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1932. pp. 16–18.
  13. ^ a b . Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  14. ^ Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-7743-9388-2.
  15. ^ "Provincial Highways Assumed in 1921". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1922. p. 23.
  16. ^ "Provincial Highways Now Being Numbered". The Canadian Engineer. Monetary Times Print. 49 (8): 246. August 25, 1925. Numbering of the various provincial highways in Ontario has been commenced by the Department of Public Highways. Resident engineers are now receiving metal numbers to be placed on poles along the provincial highways. These numbers will also be placed on poles throughout cities, towns and villages, and motorists should then have no trouble in finding their way in and out of urban municipalities. Road designations from "2" to "17" have already been allotted...
  17. ^ "Appendix 6 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of Sections". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1928. pp. 60–61.
  18. ^ "Appendix 5 - Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of Sections". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1932. pp. 76–77.
  19. ^ Staff (August 25, 1932). "Premier Henry Uses the Axe". The Windsor Star. p. 6.
  20. ^ "Ask Sweeping Road Scheme". The Ottawa Citizen. Vol. 113, no. 159. January 6, 1956. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  21. ^ Information Section (September 8, 1961). "[No Title]" (Press release). Department of Highways.
  22. ^ Highway Transfers List - "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. pp. 8–9.
  23. ^ "Council Minutes - JULY 10, 1997 - Region of Peel". www.peelregion.ca. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  24. ^ "By-law Number 26-1998 - March 26, 1998 - Region of Peel". www.peelregion.ca. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. ^ Hunt, Geoff (July 12, 2001). "Council Minutes". Peelregion.ca. Regional Municipality of Peel. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  26. ^ . Milestones. Ontario Good Roads Association. 2 (1). February 2002. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  27. ^ "the expansion of the Highway 400 bridge on Highway 7 West begins « vivaNext". www.vivanext.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  28. ^ http://www.vivanext.com/blog/tag/subway-extension/page/2/[bare URL]
  29. ^ http://www.vivanext.com/blog/2017/07/12/a-look-back-at-the-cn-macmillan-bridge-expansion/[bare URL]
  30. ^ . Ottawa Business Journal. August 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  31. ^ . Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  32. ^ http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/archives/rmoc/Transportation/18Jun97/Hway7fnl.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  33. ^ "HIGHWAY 17 WIDENING - OWNERSHIP TRANSFER OF ACCESS ROADS". Ottawa.ca. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  34. ^ "canada.com - Page Not Found". Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Canada.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  35. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  36. ^ . Ottawa Business Journal. Great River Media. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  37. ^ "Highway 7 Widening Opens". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  38. ^ http://www.cnw.ca/fr/story/535541/aecon-awarded-25-million-mto-contract-to-expand-highway-7[bare URL]
  39. ^ "HIGHWAY 7 EXPANSION FROM HIGHWAY 417 TO ASHTON STATION ROAD - NAMING OF SERVICE ROADS". ottawa.ca. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  40. ^ . newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  41. ^ Devoy, Desmond (19 January 2011). "Highway 7 expansion to Perth could be in new 10-year plan". insideottawavalley.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  42. ^ "Province greenlights funding for Highway 7 widening between Guelph, Kitchener". Global News. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  43. ^ Contract Management and Operations Branch (2011). Connecting Links (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. pp. 2, 3, 5.

External links

  • Highway 7 at thekingshighway.ca

Route map:

KML is from Wikidata
  • Canada NewsWire Press Release

ontario, highway, king, highway, commonly, referred, highway, historically, northern, highway, provincially, maintained, highway, canadian, province, ontario, peak, highway, measured, length, stretching, from, highway, east, sarnia, southwestern, ontario, high. King s Highway 7 commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario At its peak Highway 7 measured 716 km 445 mi in length stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 17 west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario However due in part to the construction of Highways 402 and 407 the province transferred the sections of Highway 7 west of London and through the Greater Toronto Area to county and regional jurisdiction The highway is now 535 7 km 332 9 mi long the western segment begins at Highway 4 north of London and extends 154 1 km 95 8 mi to Georgetown while the eastern segment begins at Donald Cousens Parkway in Markham and extends 381 6 km 237 1 mi to Highway 417 in Ottawa Highway 7Location of Highway 7 in Southern Ontario Current route Former routeRoute informationMaintained by Ministry of Transportation of OntarioLength535 7 km 1 332 9 mi Existed1920 presentWestern segmentLength154 1 km 95 8 mi West end Highway 4 ElginfieldMajor intersections Highway 23 Highway 8 Kitchener Highway 6 GuelphEast endHalton Peel boundary near Norval Eastern segmentLength381 6 km 237 1 mi West end Regional Road 48 Donald Cousens Parkway MarkhamMajor intersections Highway 412 Whitby Highway 7A Port Perry Highway 12 Sunderland Highway 35 Lindsay Highway 115 Peterborough Highway 28 Peterborough Highway 62 Madoc Highway 37 Actinolite Highway 41 Kaladar Highway 15 Carleton PlaceEast end Highway 417 OttawaLocationCountryCanadaProvinceOntarioDivisionsMiddlesex Oxford County Halton York Durham Kawartha Lakes Peterborough Hastings Lennox and Addington Frontenac LanarkMajor citiesStratford Kitchener Waterloo Guelph Brampton Vaughan Markham Pickering Peterborough OttawaTownsHalton Hills Acton Georgetown Norval Richmond Hill Whitby Lindsay Perth Carleton PlaceHighway systemOntario provincial highwaysCurrent Former 400 series Highway 6 Highway 7AHighway 7 was first designated in 1920 between Sarnia and Guelph and extended to Brampton the following year Between 1927 and 1932 the highway was more than doubled in length as it was gradually extended eastward to Perth where Highway 15 continued to Ottawa via Carleton Place In the early 1960s that section of Highway 15 was renumbered as Highway 7 In that same decade the Conestoga Parkway through Kitchener and the Peterborough Bypass were constructed During the 1970s and 1980s many sections of Highway 7 were widened from the initial two lane cross section to four or six lanes Within part of York Region the route was upgraded to a limited access expressway in preparation for the construction of Highway 407 Soon thereafter that new tollway would act as justification for transferring the section of Highway 7 through the Greater Toronto Area GTA to regional governments The sections became Peel Regional Road 107 Bovaird Drive West to Highway 410 and Queen Street East from east of 410 respectively and York Regional Road 7 In the west the construction of Highway 402 between Sarnia and London provided an uninterrupted alternative to Highway 7 resulting in the transfer of the section west of Highway 4 A third transfer took place in Peterborough briefly separating the route into three discontinuous segments but has since been rectified by renumbering a section of Highway 7A From 2007 to 2012 the section of Highway 7 between Carleton Place and Ottawa has been widened to a divided freeway In addition work is underway to extend the Conestoga Parkway to New Hamburg as well as to build a new freeway between Kitchener and Guelph Contents 1 Route description 1 1 Western segment 1 2 Eastern segment 2 History 2 1 Transfer of portions to lower governments downloading 2 2 Recent work 2 2 1 York Region 2 2 2 Carleton Place 3 Future 4 Major intersections 5 References 6 External linksRoute description EditWestern segment Edit The western segment of Highway 7 travels from Elginfield in Middlesex County in the southwest to the Halton Peel border at Norval near Brampton a distance of 152 6 kilometres 94 8 mi A 23 4 km 14 5 mi portion of this segment from Waterloo Regional Road 51 south of Baden to Highway 85 in Kitchener is a freeway forming part of the Conestoga Parkway Plans to build a freeway bypass of Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph are currently underway At one point Highway 7 travelled as far west as Sarnia being the main route to the Blue Water Bridge Upon entering Sarnia from the east on London Line drivers encountered a plethora of motels and restaurants the Sarnia Airport and attractions such as Hiawatha Racetrack and Waterpark earning the stretch between Modeland Road and Airport Road the nickname of the Golden Mile 2 At the interchange with Highway 40 Highway 7 transitioned into the Highway 402 freeway which continued westwards to the Bluewater Bridge at the American border Highway 402 was completed between Sarnia and Highway 401 in 1982 3 resulting in the redundancy of Highway 7 west of London as traffic shifted to the high speed alternate This work involved the realigning of Highway 402 to a new interchange with Highway 40 just north of the existing Highway 7 Highway 40 interchange where Highway 7 would continue to a redirected Exmouth Street Nonetheless Highway 7 remained provincially maintained until the segment west of Highway 4 was transferred to county jurisdiction on January 1 1998 a process referred to as downloading The former highway is now known as Lambton County Road 22 London Line and Middlesex County Road 7 Elginfield Road 4 The current route begins at Highway 4 approximately 20 km 12 mi north of London and immediately southeast of the village of Lucan the former routing continued west along Elginfield Road through Parkhill and Arkona Though the highway changes direction several times between Elginfield and Kitchener it is mostly straight and two lanes wide except east of New Hamburg where it widens to four lanes Proceeding east northeast through farmland the highway meets the southern terminus of Highway 23 just 1 2 kilometres 0 75 mi later It continues serving as the boundary between Lucan Biddulph to the north and Middlesex Centre to the south and later as the boundary between Perth County to the north and Middlesex and Oxford counties with the tripoint of the three at County Road 120A south of St Marys Southeast of St Marys Highway 7 curves northeast into Perth County until it reaches downtown Stratford where it meets Highway 8 4 5 The two highways travel east concurrently for 45 1 kilometres 28 0 mi passing through the town of Shakespeare as it travels in a straight line through farmland Southwest of New Hamburg the route curves northeast into Waterloo Region eventually widening into the four lane Conestoga Parkway east of Nafziger Road It follows this divided freeway past interchanges at Waterloo Regional Road 51 Foundry Street south of Baden Waterloo Regional Road 12 Queen Street Notre Dame Drive south of Petersburg and Waterloo Regional Road 70 Trussler Road north of Mannheim where it enters Kitchener and becomes surrounded by residential subdivisions Within Kitchener Highway 7 encounters interchanges at Waterloo Regional Road 58 Fischer Hallman Road at which point it widens to six lanes Waterloo Regional Road 28 Homer Watson Boulevard Waterloo Regional Road 53 Courtland Avenue Waterloo Regional Road 15 King Street Highway 8 at which point it widens to eight lanes Waterloo Regional Road 14 Ottawa Street and Waterloo Regional Road 55 Victoria Street The Highway 8 concurrency ends at the King Street interchange with it diverging southeast onto the Freeport Diversion Highway 7 exits at Victoria Street four lane arterial while the parkway continues north into Waterloo as Highway 85 4 5 Construction began in June 2015 on a future freeway between Kitchener and Guelph that will make use of a reconfigured Wellington Street interchange just north of Victoria Street and tie in with the northern end of the Hanlon Expressway 6 Highway 7 exits Kitchener after crossing the Grand River where it enters farmland again for the brief 10 kilometre 6 mi journey to Guelph along Victoria Street and Woodlawn Road Midway between the two cities the route enters Wellington County Within Guelph it meets Highway 6 at the northern end of the Hanlon Expressway The two routes travel southeast along the expressway to Wellington County Road 124 Wellington Street former Highway 24 where Highway 7 branches northeast into downtown Guelph It exits the city along York Road after crossing the Speed River travelling parallel to and south of the Goderich Exeter Railway At Rockwood the highway enters Halton Region and begins to zig zag through several communities in Halton Hills These include Acton where the route intersects former Highway 25 and Georgetown Just east of Norval the western section of Highway 7 ends at the Halton Peel boundary The road continues into Brampton as Peel Regional Road 107 Bovaird Drive 4 5 The former highway then followed Highway 410 south where it continued east along Queen Street also Peel Road 107 Highway 7 York Regional Road 7 at intersection of Warden Avenue York Regional Road 65 in Markham in 2008 prior to widening to accommodate Viva Rapid Transit The western segment was separated from the rest of Highway 7 on June 7 1997 when the section from Brampton to Markham was downloaded due to the opening of Highway 407 7 Part of that segment through Vaughan and Richmond Hill was relocated on a new alignment as a 6 lane at grade expressway in 1987 in order to make way for the future toll route where the two highways were forced to share a narrow corridor due to development and to eliminate a jog along Bathurst Street which also resulted in a section from west of Dufferin Street becoming a westerly extension of Centre Street Sections of the original road still remain between Bathurst Street and Bayview Avenue but have been renamed as Langstaff Road Highway 7 through York Region despite being a suburban arterial and no longer a provincial highway is still officially named Highway 7 but otherwise has no street name and received the number York Regional Road 7 displacing Islington Avenue which was redesignated as Regional Road 17 Parts of the Markham portion were once called Wellington Street as well as sideroad allowance before 1925 when Highway 7 reached the area 8 stub of the old road exists today west of Markham Road that was a result of re alignment of Highway 7 The Toronto Star ran a series of articles in 2013 depicting the urbanization of the former route Among the issues was a proposed name change to Avenue 7 9 Until 2015 Highway 407 merged into Highway 7 in Pickering this section was rebuilt as Highway 407E opening on June 20 2016 Eastern segment Edit The eastern segment of Highway 7 runs from Donald Cousens Parkway York Regional Road 48 in Markham to Highway 417 in Ottawa a length of 381 6 km 237 1 mi Between Brooklin and north of Sunderland Highway 7 assumes a north south routing and is concurrent with Highway 12 The section from Sunderland to the eastern terminus of the highway is designated as part of the Central Ontario Route of the Trans Canada Highway 10 11 Travelling east from Donald Cousens Parkway Highway 7 exits the urbanized portion of Markham and enters the Greenbelt a large tract of land north of the GTA restricted from development It curves north at the community of Locust Hill along an alignment that eliminated a jog then curves back to the east as it crosses into Durham Region It travels north of and parallel to Highway 407 to Brougham curving to cross the former eastern terminus of the freeway near Brock Road Durham Regional Road 1 East of the Highway 407 overpass Highway 7 widens to four lanes and curves around the community of Greenwood and the hill that it stands on The route crosses the northern end of Pickering entering Whitby at Lakeridge Road Durham Regional Road 23 Between Lakeridge Road and Highway 12 the route was rebuilt for the new Highway 407E and West Durham Link with an overpass constructed at Cochrane Road East of that the route enters Brooklin and meets Highway 12 10 11 Highway 7 and Highway 12 travel north concurrently from Brooklin through Durham Region to Sunderland with Highway 7 eventually departing to the east and entering the City of Kawartha Lakes Despite its name the highway passes through a mostly rural landscape in Kawartha Lakes bypassing south of Lindsay in the middle of the city along a brief concurrency with Highway 35 East of Lindsay the route meanders southeast towards Peterborough encountering the divided freeway Highway 115 southwest of the city The two routes travel east concurrently along the southern edge of the city Highway 115 and the divided freeway end at Lansdowne Street onto which Highway 7 turns 10 11 Highway 7 near Omemee in the City of Kawartha Lakes The segment between Peterborough and Perth was built in the 1930s during the Great Depression as a public works employment project It was constructed parallel to a CP Rail corridor now abandoned east of Peterborough that was built in the 1880s and used hand power to dig and build the road whenever possible 12 From Peterborough to Norwood the route travels in a straight line through the Peterborough Drumlin Field connecting to the southern terminus of Highway 28 and crossing the Indian River while otherwise passing through farmland At Norwood the route suddenly begins to meander as it approaches the undulated Canadian Shield The section east of Havelock to Perth unlike the rest of the highway travels through a relatively isolated area with few services or residences along the route outside of the several towns that it connects In contrast to the surroundings west of there this section is located in dense forest with numerous lakes and muskeg dotting the landscape It services the villages of Marmora where it connects with the northern terminus of former Highway 14 Madoc where it intersect Highway 62 Actinolite where it meets the northern terminus of Highway 37 and Kaladar where it intersects Highway 41 10 11 East of Kaladar Highway 7 begins to serve cottages along the shores of several large lakes that lie near the highway It intersects the northern terminus of former Highway 38 near Sharbot Lake and later passes south of Maberly before exiting the Canadian Shield and reentering farmland On the outskirts of Perth the route meets former Highway 43 and curves northward It travels around the western and northern shorelines of Mississippi Lake before passing directly south of Carleton Place Just east of there Highway 7 widens into a four lane freeway for the remainder of the distance to Highway 417 This section completed by early 2012 13 was built by twinning the existing two lane highway with a second parallel carriageway to serve as the eastbound lanes Highway 7 ends at an interchange with Highway 417 where drivers can proceed east to Ottawa or north to Arnprior 10 11 Highway 7 in Central Frontenac this section passes through the sparsely developed terrain of the Opeongo HillsHistory EditThe route which would later become Highway 7 was first established by the Department of Public Highways as part of the initial provincial highway network on February 26 1920 This route connected Sarnia to Guelph 14 On April 27 1921 the route was extended east to the Wellington Halton boundary Several days later on May 4 the highway was extended further east to Hurontario Street in Brampton 15 The Great Northern Highway as it was known at the time was numbered as Highway 7 during the summer of 1925 16 Assumptions on June 22 and July 2 1927 extended Highway 7 from Brampton to Peterborough A portion of the original routing of Highway 12 between Sunderland and Lindsay was renumbered in this process and a concurrency established between Brooklin and Sunderland 17 During the early 1930s the DHO decided that Highway 7 would ultimately serve as an alternative route between Toronto and Ottawa at that time the only option was via Highway 2 and Highway 16 The first step in this undertaking was to extend Highway 7 as far as Madoc along existing settler routes This section was assumed on September 17 1930 18 On November 18 1931 construction was accelerated between Madoc and Perth as a major depression relief project when eight contracts were set to build the new route Over 2700 men blasted rock dredged muskeg and endured a constant barrage of blood sucking insects in order to construct this new link The majority of it followed along a Canadian Pacific right of way now abandoned past the town of Havelock which had been cleared in 1881 deviating at times to provide a better alignment avoid large muskeg or to lessen excavation work most of which was performed by hand 12 On February 10 and February 17 the route still incomplete was surveyed and assumed as an extension of Highway 7 The new highway was opened to traffic on August 23 1932 19 Between the 1930s and 1960s Highway 7 connected Sarnia with Perth Highway 15 continued from Perth to Ottawa By the mid 1950s the well established highway network had changed travel characteristics and the numbering of Highway 15 between Perth and Ottawa was confusing motorists The Ottawa Board of Trade petitioned the Department of Highways to renumber several highways surrounding the city 20 The department performed a series of renumberings similar to these recommendations following the extension of Highway 43 on September 8 1961 Highway 15 was rerouted between Smiths Falls and Carleton Place to travel concurrently with Highway 29 Highway 7 was extended along the former routing from Perth to Carleton Place and signed concurrently with Highway 15 eastward to Ottawa 21 This brought the highway to its peak length of 700 kilometres 430 mi Transfer of portions to lower governments downloading Edit In the late 1990s and early 2000s the Ministry of Transportation MTO downloaded i e transferred responsibility for several sections of Highway 7 to regional and county governments There are three separate issues that led to these downloads Due to budget cuts instituted by the Mike Harris government many highways deemed to serve a local or regional function were downloaded to local jurisdiction The sections of Highway 7 west of London were transferred to Lambton County and Middlesex County largely supplanted by the completion of nearby Highway 402 in 1982 3 7 On April 1 1997 the section from Sarnia to Thedford was transferred to Lambton County 7 The section from Thedford to Elginfield was transferred to Lambton and Middlesex counties on January 1 1998 22 As the construction of Highway 407 progressed across the northern end of the Greater Toronto Area the MTO transferred sections of Highway 7 to the regions of Peel and York On June 7 1997 the section between Highway 410 and Highway 404 was transferred to the regions of Peel and York 7 the section from Highway 404 to McCowan Road was transferred to York Region on April 1 1999 Several months later on September 1 a short section between McCowan Road and Markham Road was transferred Finally on January 25 2007 the section between Markham Road and 185 m 607 ft east of Donald Cousens Parkway where the highway narrows to two lanes today was transferred Within Peel Region Highway 410 and Highway 7 ran concurrently north south between Bovaird Drive and Queen Street The Queen St portion of the route was numbered Peel Regional Road 21 on July 10 1997 23 but renumbered as Peel Regional Road 107 on March 26 1998 24 To make the former highway easier to follow through Brampton the Bovaird Drive portion of the route was subsequently also numbered Regional Road 107 after the highway was transferred to the Region of Peel on November 28 2001 25 The non Highway 7 portions of Queen Street and Bovaird Drive west and east of Highway 410 are designated as Regional Roads 6 and 10 respectively In the Peterborough area Highway 7 was rerouted from travelling through the city to bypassing it along Highway 115 This situation took over six years to set in place On April 1 1997 the sections of Highway 7 entering the western edge of Peterborough along North Monaghan Parkway and Sir Sanford Fleming Drive were transferred to the county and city creating a gap between Springville and the Peterborough Bypass This situation was rectified on May 1 2003 when the section of Highway 7A that until then was a continuation of the road south from Springville to Highway 115 was renumbered as Highway 7 The concurrency with Highway 115 was extended southwest to remove the discontinuity entirely 26 Recent work Edit York Region Edit In 2005 Highway 7 was made the second main arterial for York Region s Viva Rapid Transit service after Yonge Street leading to the expansion of the CN MacMillan Bridge and Highway 400 overpass 27 28 29 Carleton Place Edit On August 22 2006 work officially began on a project to expand Highway 7 between Ottawa and Carleton Place into a freeway through a process known as twinning 30 in which a second carriageway is built parallel to an existing road and grade separated interchanges constructed 31 Plans for this expansion were first conceptualized in 1979 when a planning study was undertaken However budgetary constraints forced an early end to this study in 1981 In 1988 the project was reinstated A study released that year recommended that Highway 7 be widened to five lanes with a centre turning lane south of Carleton Place as an interim measure this was carried out in 1993 32 Full planning on the four laning of the route began in 1993 33 In mid 2005 the Government of Ontario announced the project to the public The work was carried out over three contracts from Highway 417 to Jinkinson Road from Jinkinson Road to Ashton Station Road and from Ashton Station Road to Highway 15 In July 2007 a C 45 million contract was awarded to R W Tomlinson for the first phase of the route west from Highway 417 34 35 Bot Construction was awarded the 73 2 million contract for the second phase which included two interchanges four overpasses and service roads in early 2008 36 The first phase was opened to traffic on July 31 2008 37 Towards the end of 2009 the 25 8 million contract for the third phase was awarded to Aecon Group 38 The second phase was completed ahead of schedule on December 3 2008 bypassing south of the former route at Ashton Station Road and merging to two lanes west of Dwyer Hill Road 39 The third phase was completed in late 2011 early 2012 connecting to Carleton Place 13 Future EditOn March 23 2007 the Government of Ontario announced the approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment for a four lane controlled access highway between Kitchener and Guelph as traffic on Highway 401 is growing steadily and approaching capacity along with the current two lane alignment of Highway 7 This would connect to the Conestoga Parkway via an expansion of the existing Wellington Road interchange the new junction would be a four level interchange the government s eventual plan is to have a Highway 7 freeway running from Stratford to Guelph citation needed The eastern end of the proposed Highway 7 freeway would terminate at and interline with the Hanlon Expressway Highway 6 which is also scheduled for upgrades to a full freeway beginning in June 2015 6 40 In early 2011 Ontario Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli hinted at possible plans to extend the four laning of Highway 7 west from Carleton Place to Perth 41 In July 2020 the Ford government announced that it would fund the highway project linking Guelph and Kitchener and building a new bridge for the highway over the Grand River It is expected to cost 764 million dollars for the 18 kilometre freeway 42 Major intersections EditThe following table lists the major junctions along Highway 7 as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario 1 In addition it includes some minor junctions Highway 7 is maintained under a Connecting Link agreement within Stratford Guelph Acton Georgetown Omemee Havelock and Marmora 43 DivisionLocationkm 1 miExitDestinationsNotesMiddlesexElginfield0 00 0 Highway 4 London1 20 75 Highway 23 north MitchellMiddlesex Centre Lucan Biddulph10 16 3 County Road 50 north Prospect Hill Road Perth MiddlesexPerth South Thames Centre12 47 7North Thames River crossing17 610 9County Road 123 north St MarysPerth South Zorra24 014 9County Road 118 north County Road 119 south ThamesfordPerthStratford36 022 4Perth 29th LineBeginning of Stratford connecting link agreement40 024 9 Highway 8 west GoderichWestern end of Highway 8 concurrency43 326 9End of Stratford connecting link agreementPerth Waterloo boundaryShakespeare52 032 3County Road 107Formerly Highway 59WaterlooNew Hamburg60 237 4Regional Road 1New Hamburg Bypass63 539 5Regional Road 4 west Peel Street Wilmot64 440 0Regional Road 4 east Bleams Road 65 840 9Regional Road 5 north Nafziger Road 67 241 8Western end of Conestoga ParkwayControlled access highway begins68 042 3Regional Road 51 Foundry Street Wilmot Centre73 145 4Regional Road 12 Queen Street south Notre Dame Drive north Petersburg76 947 8Regional Road 70 Trussler Road MannheimKitchener80 049 7Regional Road 58 Fischer Hallman Road 82 451 2Regional Road 28 Homer Watson Boulevard Eastbound entrance via Ottawa Street South83 752 0Courtland Avenue85 152 9 Highway 8 east Freeport Diversion Eastern end of Highway 8 concurrency no access from Highway 7 to King Street86 453 7Ottawa Street North88 354 9Highway 7 exits Conestoga Parkway at Victoria Street Conestoga Parkway as Highway 85 Highway 85 north Conestoga Parkway St JacobsRegional Road 55 east Victoria Street Westbound entrance via Edna Street eastbound exit via Bruce Street beginning of Kitchener connecting link agreement94 058 4Woolwich StreetEnd of Kitchener connecting link agreementWoolwich94 458 7Regional Road 17 Fountain Street Guelph103 064 0Imperial RoadBeginning of Guelph Connecting Link agreement105 965 8 Highway 6 north Woodlawn Road Mount ForestNorthern terminus of Hanlon Expressway western end of Highway 6 concurrency109 668 1 Highway 6 south Hanlon Expressway Hamilton County Road 124 south Wellington Street West CambridgeEastern end of Highway 6 concurrency Highway 7 exits Hanlon Expressway onto Wellington Street western end of former Highway 24 concurrency112 169 7Wyndham Street South County Road 124 north Wellington Street East ErinHighway 7 turns off Wellington Street onto Wyndham Street South eastern end of former Highway 24 concurrency116 872 6End of Guelph Connecting Link agreementWellingtonGuelph Eramosa120 074 6 County Road 29 Eramosa Road EramosaRockwood124 177 1 County Road 27 Gowan Road 125 277 8 County Road 50Crewsons Corners131 381 6Milton Halton Hills TownlineHaltonActon134 483 5 Regional Road 25 northWestern end of former Highway 25 concurrency beginning of Acton Connecting Link agreement134 983 8 Regional Road 25 south MiltonEastern end of former Highway 25 concurrency136 484 8Churchill RoadEnd of Acton Connecting Link agreementHalton Hills142 188 3 Regional Road 3 northGeorgetown145 690 5 Regional Road 3 south Trafalgar Road Oakville147 091 3 Regional Road 32 Wildwood Road Beginning of Georgetown Connecting Link agreement152 094 4Hall RoadEnd of Georgetown Connecting Link agreementNorval153 695 4 Regional Road 19 Winston Churchill Road Cheltenham154 195 8Halton Peel regional boundary end of western segment road continues east as Regional Road 107Highway 7 is discontinuous for 62 6 kilometres 38 9 mi between Brampton and MarkhamYorkMarkham216 7134 7Beginning of eastern segment lies 185 metres 607 ft east of Donald Cousens Parkway road continues west as Regional Road 7219 6136 5 Regional Road 30 York Durham Line DurhamPickering226 5140 7 Regional Road 1 Brock Road Brougham Uxbridge227 3141 2 407 ETR west MarkhamHighway 7 passes over former eastern terminus of Highway 407Whitby235 2146 1 Highway 412 southSouthbound entrance and northbound exit239 1148 6 Highway 12 south Baldwin Street Beginning of Highway 12 concurrency road continues east as Regional Road 3 Winchester Road East 243 2151 1 Regional Road 26 south Thickson Road Scugog253 3157 4 Highway 7A east Port Perry Peterborough Regional Road 21 west Goodwood Road Highway 7A provides a shorter route to Peterborough via Highway 115256 2159 2 Regional Road 8 Reach Street Uxbridge Port Perry260 4161 8 Regional Highway 47 west Uxbridge StouffvilleSaintfield266 2165 4 Regional Road 6 east Saintfield Road SeagraveSunderland275 4171 1 Regional Road 10 west River Street Brock278 2172 9 Highway 12 north TCH Beaverton OrilliaEnd of Highway 12 concurrency Trans Canada Highway western endManilla285 2177 2 Road 2 Simcoe Street Kawartha Lakes288 3179 1 Road 46 north WoodvilleFingerboard Road southFormerly Highway 46294 5183 0 Road 6 Eldon Road Little Britain KirkfieldCommunity of Oakwood303 2188 4 Highway 35 Lindsay Fenelon FallsDrop Inn RoadWestern end of Highway 35 concurrency and Lindsay Bypass formerly Highway 7B east307 3190 9 Road 4 Angeline Street South Little Britain Road Little Britain308 7191 8 Highway 35 south Newcastle Road 15 north Lindsay Street LindsayEastern end of Highway 35 concurrency and Lindsay Bypass Road 15 formerly Highway 7B west Highway 35B north310 2192 7 Road 36 north BobcaygeonFormerly Highway 36323 4 326 1201 0 202 6Omemee Connecting Link agreement334 8208 0 County Road 1 east Lindsay Road County Road 26 north Frank Hill Road Formerly Highway 7B eastPeterboroughFowlers CornersCavan Monaghan342 2212 6 County Road 5 Lansdowne Street 343 6213 5 County Road 15 east Monaghan Parkway 347 2215 745 Highway 115 south Toronto County Road 28 Port HopeHighway 7 enters onto freeway beginning of Highway 115 concurrency exit numbers follow Highway 115 formerly Highway 28 south351 2218 249 County Road 11 Airport Road To Peterborough AirportPeterborough353 6219 751The ParkwaySir Sandford Fleming DriveFormerly Highway 28 north356 9221 854Bensfort RoadAccess to and from westbound Highway 7 115 via Kennedy Road no access to eastbound Highway 7 115358 5222 856Ashburnham DriveAccess to and from eastbound Highway 7 115 via Neal Drive359 9223 6Lansdowne Street East County Road 30 north Television Road End of freeway and Highway 115 concurrency signalized intersection formerly Highway 7B westPeterboroughOtonabee South Monaghan367 2228 2 Highway 28 north Lakefield BancroftFormerly Highway 134 north377 0234 3 County Road 38Norwood386 8240 3 County Road 45Formerly Highway 45Havelock395 9246 0Canadian Pacific Railway crossingBeginning of Havelock Connecting Link agreement397 7247 1Mary StreetEnd of Havelock Connecting Link agreementHastingsMarmora414 0257 2Crowe River bridge beginning of Marmora Connecting Link agreement County Road 14 Forsyth Street Formerly Highway 14 south415 3258 1Maloney StreetEnd of Marmora Connecting Link agreementMadoc431 6268 2 Highway 62 BellevilleActinolite445 1276 6 Highway 37 south BellevilleLennox and AddingtonKaladar467 1290 2 Highway 41 north Denbigh County Road 41 southFrontenacCentral Frontenac507 2315 2 Township Road 509 north PlevnaFormerly Highway 509508 5316 0 Township Road 38 south Sharbot Lake KingstonFormerly Highway 38LanarkMaberly519 8323 0 County Road 36 Bolingbroke Road south Elphin Road north Perth542 5337 1 County Road 511 north Lanark543 2337 5 County Road 43 south Wilson Street Smiths FallsFormerly Highway 43Lanark Highlands564 0350 5 County Road 15 north Ferguson Falls Road LanarkBeckwith573 0356 0 County Road 7B Townline Road Carleton Placeformerly Highway 7B erroneously signed Lanark County Road 29 on Highway 7Carleton Place576 8358 4 Highway 15 south Smiths Falls Kingston577 4358 8 County Road 29 McNeely Avenue Formerly Highway 29BeckwithBeginning of divided highway County Road 17 north Appleton Sideroad County Road 17 south Cemetery Sideroad 584 4363 1Ashton Station Road Ottawa588 2365 5 City Road 3 Dwyer Hill Road 595 8370 2 City Road 36 Hazeldean Road Ottawa598 3371 8 Highway 417 TCH Arnprior OttawaHighway 417 exit 1451 000 mi 1 609 km 1 000 km 0 621 mi Closed former Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Route transitionReferences Edit a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario 2004 Annual Average Daily Traffic AADT counts Archived from the original on July 6 2011 Retrieved February 26 2010 http www sarnia ca documents asp DocumentID 74 Archived 2015 06 30 at the Wayback Machine p 7 a b Annual Report Construction ed Ministry of Transportation and Communications 1982 1983 p 76 a b c d Ontario Back Road Atlas Map Cartography by MapArt Mapart Publishing 2022 pp 14 21 24 ISBN 1 55198 226 9 a b c Google June 21 2015 Route of western segment of Highway 7 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved June 21 2015 a b Desmond Paige May 30 2015 Initial Work On New Kitchener Guelph Hwy 7 to Start in June The Record Waterloo Region Metroland Media Retrieved June 21 2015 a b c d Highway Transfers List Report Ministry of Transportation of Ontario April 1 1997 pp 3 4 6 8 Highway 7 Heritage Tour City of Markham Archived from the original on 30 November 2018 Retrieved 9 February 2019 Daubs Katie February 22 2013 Highway 7 The Road That Needs a New Name Toronto Star Retrieved February 23 2013 a b c d e Ontario Back Road Atlas Map Cartography by MapArt Mapart Publishing 2022 pp 31 32 43 48 61 63 76 ISBN 1 55198 226 9 a b c d e Google June 21 2015 Route of eastern segment of Highway 7 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved June 21 2015 a b Report on Highways Annual Report Report Department of Highways March 31 1932 pp 16 18 a b 2011 Completed Projects Ontario Ministry of Transportation Archived from the original on 14 August 2014 Retrieved 30 December 2019 Shragge John Bagnato Sharon 1984 From Footpaths to Freeways Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications Historical Committee pp 74 75 ISBN 0 7743 9388 2 Provincial Highways Assumed in 1921 Annual Report Report Department of Highways March 31 1922 p 23 Provincial Highways Now Being Numbered The Canadian Engineer Monetary Times Print 49 8 246 August 25 1925 Numbering of the various provincial highways in Ontario has been commenced by the Department of Public Highways Resident engineers are now receiving metal numbers to be placed on poles along the provincial highways These numbers will also be placed on poles throughout cities towns and villages and motorists should then have no trouble in finding their way in and out of urban municipalities Road designations from 2 to 17 have already been allotted Appendix 6 Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of Sections Annual Report Report Department of Highways March 31 1928 pp 60 61 Appendix 5 Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of Sections Annual Report Report Department of Highways March 31 1932 pp 76 77 Staff August 25 1932 Premier Henry Uses the Axe The Windsor Star p 6 Ask Sweeping Road Scheme The Ottawa Citizen Vol 113 no 159 January 6 1956 pp 1 7 Retrieved December 15 2011 Information Section September 8 1961 No Title Press release Department of Highways Highway Transfers List Who Does What Report Ministry of Transportation of Ontario June 20 2001 pp 8 9 Council Minutes JULY 10 1997 Region of Peel www peelregion ca Retrieved 7 April 2018 By law Number 26 1998 March 26 1998 Region of Peel www peelregion ca Retrieved 7 April 2018 Hunt Geoff July 12 2001 Council Minutes Peelregion ca Regional Municipality of Peel Retrieved April 7 2018 Signs of the Times Milestones Ontario Good Roads Association 2 1 February 2002 Archived from the original on April 26 2012 Retrieved January 2 2012 the expansion of the Highway 400 bridge on Highway 7 West begins vivaNext www vivanext com Retrieved 7 April 2018 http www vivanext com blog tag subway extension page 2 bare URL http www vivanext com blog 2017 07 12 a look back at the cn macmillan bridge expansion bare URL Work begins to widen Highway 7 west of Ottawa Ottawa Business Journal August 22 2006 Archived from the original on April 2 2012 Retrieved May 25 2012 What is Involved in Constructing a Four Lane Highway Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Archived from the original on June 8 2011 Retrieved October 12 2011 http www ottawa ca calendar ottawa archives rmoc Transportation 18Jun97 Hway7fnl pdf bare URL PDF HIGHWAY 17 WIDENING OWNERSHIP TRANSFER OF ACCESS ROADS Ottawa ca 2008 07 22 Retrieved 2022 03 20 canada com Page Not Found Retrieved 7 April 2018 via Canada com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Cite uses generic title help Archived copy Archived from the original on 2012 04 02 Retrieved 2012 05 25 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Province spending 73M on second phase of Highway 7 expansion Ottawa Business Journal Great River Media 18 April 2008 Archived from the original on 16 June 2012 Retrieved 30 December 2019 Highway 7 Widening Opens www newswire ca Retrieved 7 April 2018 http www cnw ca fr story 535541 aecon awarded 25 million mto contract to expand highway 7 bare URL HIGHWAY 7 EXPANSION FROM HIGHWAY 417 TO ASHTON STATION ROAD NAMING OF SERVICE ROADS ottawa ca Retrieved 7 April 2018 Government of Ontario courtesy of Newswire ca newswire ca Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 7 April 2018 Devoy Desmond 19 January 2011 Highway 7 expansion to Perth could be in new 10 year plan insideottawavalley com Retrieved 7 April 2018 Province greenlights funding for Highway 7 widening between Guelph Kitchener Global News Retrieved 2020 09 20 Contract Management and Operations Branch 2011 Connecting Links Report Ministry of Transportation of Ontario pp 2 3 5 External links EditHighway 7 at thekingshighway ca Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ontario Highway 7 Route map KML file edit help Template Attached KML Ontario Highway 7KML is from Wikidata Canada NewsWire Press Release Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ontario Highway 7 amp oldid 1119741092, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.