Ontario Highway 16

King's Highway 16, commonly referred to as Highway 16 and historically as the Prescott Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway once travelled from near Prescott to Ottawa, traversing the distance between the St. Lawrence River and the Ottawa River. However, its length was truncated significantly when most of the route was twinned with a second roadway, and renumbered as Highway 416. A short stub remains through Johnstown, providing access to the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge across the St. Lawrence River to Ogdensburg, New York, where New York State Route 812 continues south.

Highway 16
Highway 16 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length	3.6 km^[1] (2.2 mi)
Major junctions
South end	NY 812 – Ogdensburg, NY
North end	Highway 416 – Prescott
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Counties	Leeds and Grenville
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways Current Former 400-series
← Highway 15 → Highway 17

The Ottawa–Prescott Road, designated in 1918, was one of the first three highways designated in Ontario. By the time the route was numbered as Provincial Highway 16 in August 1925, it was mostly paved, except for portions south of Kemptville, which were paved by 1930. It immediately became the primary route between Toronto and Ottawa, via Highway 2, and as such saw many improvements and realignments carried out over the next three decades. In the 1960s, plans arose for a controlled-access highway to connect Highway 401 with Ottawa, which resulted in the construction of a complete realignment of Highway 16 north of Johnstown. This two-lane highway, known as Highway 16 New, was built between 1969 and 1983; enough land was purchased to build a second two-lane roadway to twin the highway. The twinned roadway was completed between 1989 and 1999, after which the route was renumbered with a 400-series designation.

Former portions of Highway 16 can be followed north from Johnstown, through Spencerville and Kemptville to the Rideau River along Leeds and Grenville County Road 44. Beyond the River it followed Ottawa Road 5 to North Gower, and thereafter Ottawa Road 73 (Prince of Wales Drive) into downtown Ottawa.

History

Initial designation

 

The Ottawa–Prescott Road, before being improved by the DPHO, was narrow, ungraded, and featured brush fences that intruded into the roadway

Early impetus for a route connecting Ottawa to the St. Lawrence River began with lobbying by automobile clubs in the early 1910s.^[2][3] The Prescott Highway was established as a provincial highway in 1918, shortly after The Provincial Highway (which would become Highway 2). The 92.7 km (57.6 mi) Ottawa–Prescott Highway was assumed by the Department of Public Highways (DPHO) on August 15.^[4] The new route was initially in an unfit condition for traffic. For example, the 1918 DPHO Annual Report noted that in North Gower Township, the road "was in places very narrow and the sides grown up with brush and small trees. The road surface was in very bad shape."^[5] Work began immediately to clear, widen, grade, and gravel the route, which was in many cases only 10 m (33 ft) wide between the overgrown fence lines.^[6] Paving began in 1922, starting at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, and progressing in a southerly direction for approximately 6.5 km (4.0 mi).^[7] By mid-1923, the route was paved through Spencerville and North Gower, and work was underway to pave it within Manotick.^[8]

Until the summer of 1925, Ontario highways were named rather than numbered. When route numbering was introduced, the Prescott Highway became Provincial Highway 16.^[9] That year also saw paving completed through Kemptville to the Rideau River, as well as beyond North Gower in to Ottawa. This left unpaved segments south of Kemptville (except through Spencerville), and from the Rideau River to the village of North Gower.^[10] On October 22, 1928, the pavement between Johnstown and Spencerville was completed and opened to traffic.^[11] Premier Howard Ferguson officially opened the completed highway on October 7, 1929, at a rail overpass south of Kemptville. After cutting a ribbon spanning the bridge, he dubbed the route the Prince of Wales Highway.^[12]

Highway 16 New

Main article: Ontario Highway 416

In 1966 the Eastern Ontario Highway Planning Study was published by the Department of Highways (DHO), the predecessor to today's Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), identifying the need for a controlled-access highway between Ottawa and Highway 401.^[13] Highway 16, which crosses the geologically subdued St. Lawrence Lowlands, was selected over Highway 15, which crosses the undulating Canadian Shield to the west, as the ideal route for the new link.^[14] To overcome the issue of abutting properties established along the Highway 16 corridor, the DHO began purchasing a new right-of-way between Highway 401 and Century Road by late 1967 and constructed a two lane bypass of the original alignment, avoiding all the built up areas that the original Highway 16 encountered.^[15] This route, dubbed "Highway 16 New",^[16] was designed to easily accommodate the eventual upgrade to a freeway when traffic volumes necessitated.^[15]

Construction of the super two bypass took place between 1969 and 1983.^[13] The Spencerville Bypass opened by 1971, connecting with the old highway in the south near Crowder Road and in the north near Ventnor Road.^[17] By the end of 1973 the new highway was completed from immediately north of Highway 401 through Leeds and Grenville United Counties and into Ottawa–Carleton. This included a bypass around Kemptville and a new structure over the Rideau River.^[17] The new highway ended at Dilworth Road (Regional Road 13).^[18]

For nearly a decade, no new construction took place. Then, during the summer of 1982, the MTO awarded a contract to begin constructing the route north from Dilworth Road towards Manotick, bypassing North Gower. Following the completion of this first contract, which extended the route as far north as Roger Stevens Drive (Regional Road 6) and included a structure over Stevens Creek, a second contract was awarded for the remaining distance north to Century Road (Regional Road 8).^[16] The project was completed in 1983,^[13] merging into the original route of Highway 16 northeast of the present Prince of Wales Drive overpass.^[19]

Highway 416

Main article: Ontario Highway 416

With the completion of Highway 16 New, there was sufficient right-of-way to construct interchanges and the southbound lanes in order to create a full freeway corridor. The upgrade to Highway 416 took place between 1989 and 1999 and was created by the twinning of 57 km (35 mi) of Highway 16 New and the construction of an interchange at Highway 401. A short section through downtown Ottawa was not incorporated into Highway 416, instead being redesigned as Ottawa Regional Road 73 (Prince of Wales Drive), North of Prince of Wales Drive, a new freeway alignment was built alongside Borisokane Road and Cedarview Drive to connect with Highway 417 (The Queensway). This left a short stub through Johnstown, which remains designated as Highway 16.

Route description

 

Highway 16 provides access to New York State Route 812 via the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge

Highway 16 is now a very brief route, though it was much longer before the construction of Highway 416 truncated it. The highway begins near the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Johnstown at the former Highway 2, now Leeds and Grenville County Road 2.^[20] From there it travels northwest adjacent to the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, which lies to the southwest. A customs plaza lies at the end of the bridge, north of which the road to the bridge meets the highway; to the northeast is single-detached housing. The highway continues, exiting Johnstown and curving slightly towards the north.^[21]

Immediately after crossing over a Canadian National track, the route encounters an interchange with Highway 401 at Exit 721B. This interchange features full access to Highway 401, including movements not possible at the Highway 416 interchange to the west.^[20] North of the interchange, the road curves gently to the northwest, intersecting Cedar Grove Road. After this, the opposing directions of travel diverge and become ramps to northbound and from southbound Highway 416.^[21]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 16, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.^[1] The entire route is located in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.^[20] 

Location	km^[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Johnstown	0.0	0.0	County Road 2 – Prescott, Cardinal	Access to Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge
Edwardsburgh/Cardinal	1.5	0.93	Highway 401 – Kingston, Cornwall, Montreal	Exit 721B^[20]
	2.1	1.3	County Road 44 north Cedar Grove Road	Old Highway 16 alignment
	3.6	2.2	Highway 416	Northbound access to and southbound access from Highway 416^[20]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2016). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "For Auto Road". The Ottawa Evening Citizen. June 12, 1912. Retrieved July 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Ottawa–Prescott Highway". The Ottawa Evening Citizen. December 14, 1914. Retrieved July 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Department of Public Highways (April 11, 1919). "Appendix F – Provincial Highways". Annual Report, 1918 (Report). The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. p. 51. Retrieved June 23, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
5. Department of Public Highways (April 11, 1919). "II.—Provincial Highway from Prescott to Ottawa". Annual Report, 1918 (Report). The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. pp. 67–69. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
6. Department of Public Highways (April 11, 1919). "Improvement in Ontario – Ottawa–Prescott Highway". Annual Report, 1919 (Report). The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. pp. 15–16. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
7. Department of Public Highways (May 28, 1923). "Improvement in Ontario – Provincial Highways". Annual Report, 1922 (Report). The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. p. 11. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
8. "Decide Prescott Highway is Best Route from Frontier to Capital". The Ottawa Evening Citizen. July 21, 1923. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
9. "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...
10. Department of Public Highways (April 26, 1926). "Report on Provincial Highways". Annual Report, 1923, 1924 and 1925 (Report). The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. p. 68. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
11. "Ottawa-Prescott Highway to Be Completed Next Year, and With No Detour, Says Premier". The Ottawa Evening Citizen. October 23, 1928. p. 15. Retrieved July 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Building Program is Complete For Ottawa-Prescott Highway". The Ottawa Evening Citizen. October 7, 1929. p. 3. Retrieved September 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (June 17, 2010). . Government of Ontario. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
14. Environmental Assessment Board (July 31, 1987). (PDF) (Report). Environmental Review Tribunal. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
15. "New 45-Mile Highway to Link Ottawa with 401". The Globe and Mail. Vol. 124, no. 36, 795. Toronto. November 14, 1967. p. 4.
16. Ministry of Transportation and Communications (April 1982). Provincial Highways Construction Projects 1982–83 (Report). Transportation Capital Branch, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. p. XXVII.
17. Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Photogrammetry Office. Ontario Department of Transportation and Communications. 1971. § G–H30.
18. Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Photogrammetry Office. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1973. § F–H30.
19. Google (September 30, 2011). "Site of merger between Highway 16 and old Highway 16 before the construction of Highway 416" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
20. Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Mapart Publishing. 2022. p. 51. ISBN 1-55198-226-9.
21. Google (September 7, 2014). "Highway 16 length and route" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2014.