Ontario Highway 400A

King's Highway 400A, once known as the Highway 400 Extension, was an unsigned 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The short 1.1-kilometre (0.7 mi) freeway link connected Highway 400 with Highway 11 and Simcoe County Road 93, formerly Highway 93. The highway was created in late 1959 by the opening of Highway 400 to Coldwater, although it has always featured Highway 400 signage in the southbound direction and Highway 11 signage northbound.

Highway 400A
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length1.1 km[1] (0.7 mi)
ExistedDecember 24, 1959[2]–April 1, 1997[3]
Major junctions
South end Highway 400 – Barrie
North end County Road 93 (Penetanguishene Road)
(continues as  Highway 11 – Orillia)
Location
CountiesSimcoe
Highway system
← Highway 400→ Highway 401

Route description

The redesignated highway features a narrow grass median for the majority of its length, and has a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). On average, the highway is used by approximately 11,900 vehicles daily.[1] The route began as Highway 400 exits on the right, with the northbound lanes rising up to cross Highway 400A on an overpass. After the overpass, the highway ascends, with grasslands to the east and an embankment to the west, then gently curves to the northeast. As it crosses Simcoe County Road 93 (Penetanguishene Road), formerly Highway 93, the former highway ended as it continued as Highway 11.[4]

History

Highway 400A formed the original routing of Highway 400 from 1950 to 1959.[5] In 1950, the then-incomplete freeway was extended north through the city of Barrie to the junction of Highway 11 and Highway 93 in Crown Hill; the entirety of Highway 400 would open on Canada Day in 1952.[6] In the late-1950s, the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway prompted the Department of Highways to extend the route north to Highway 12 and Highway 103 (both designated as branch routes of the TCH) in Coldwater, deemed the Highway 400 Extension. This section opened as a super two on December 24, 1959, redirecting Highway 400 southwest of the Crown Hill junction. To remedy this situation, the 1.1 km (0.68 mi) gap between the original terminus and the new turnoff was internally designated as Highway 400A.[7]

The highway has never been signed as Highway 400A. Instead, northbound it is indicated as Highway 11 and southbound as Highway 400.[8][9] Restructuring of the provincial highway system resulted in Highway 11 south of the Crown Hill interchange being transferred, or downloaded, to local municipalities on April 1, 1997.[3] That highway's southern terminus was then shifted to meet Highway 400 by redesignating Highway 400A as Highway 11.

Unusually, traffic to and from the Highway 400 extension enters and exits at the right of the roadway, while traffic to and from Highway 400A/11 simply continues on the same roadway. The interchange is also incomplete; drivers must either use the Forbes Road and Penetanguishene Road interchanges, or continue southbound into Barrie and switch direction at Duckworth Street in order to travel from southbound Highway 400A to northbound Highway 400 or from southbound Highway 400 to northbound Highway 400A.[10]

Exit list

There were only two interchanges along Highway 400A; the start and end termini. The entirety of the highway is now part of Highway 11, and is located within Simcoe County. 

Locationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
 Highway 400 continues south towards Toronto
Springwater0.00.0 Highway 400 – Barrie, TorontoNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
1.10.68 County Road 93 – PenetanguisheneFormerly Highway 93
 Highway 11 continues north towards North Bay
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former

References

KML is from Wikidata
Sources
  1. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2007). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Government of Ontario. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  2. "Open 400 Link to Coldwater". The Toronto Star. December 24, 1959. p. 18. The new, 22-mile extension from south of Crown Hill to Coldwater will be ready for traffic this afternoon.
  3. Highway Transfers List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. April 1, 1997. p. 7.
  4. Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Peter Heiler. 2010. p. 42. § B30. ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7.
  5. Shragge & Bagnato 1984, pp. 89–92.
  6. Shragge & Bagnato 1984, p. 89.
  7. A.A.D.T. Traffic Volumes 1955–1969 And Traffic Collision Data 1967–1969. Ontario Department of Highways. 1970. p. 5.
  8. Google (August 27, 2014). "Streetview Imagery of Northbound Signage at Highway 11/400/400A Split" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  9. Google (August 27, 2014). "Streetview Imagery of Onramp Signage for Southbound Highway 400 at Penetanguishene Road" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  10. Google (May 28, 2011). "Highway 400A route and interchange with Highway 400" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
Bibliography
  • Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. ISBN 0-7743-9388-2.
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