User:Floydian/11

King's Highway 11, also known as Highway 11, is a highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Arguably the most famous highway in the province, Highway 11 has the longest history of any other road in the province. It was first carved through the forest in 1793 under the order of John Graves Simcoe, and named after the good friend of King George, Sir George Yonge. Though Highway 11 no longer incorporates Yonge Street into its route, the two have never-the-less become synonymous. This has led to the once officially recognized but incorrect assertion that Yonge Street is the longest street in the world.

Highway 11 begins at a junction with Highway 400 north-east of the town of Barrie as a four-lane expressway and progresses north through the Canadian Shield. It crosses the Trans-Canada Highway in North Bay and becomes the northern section of the route thereafter. The highway continues into remote regions of northern Ontario, turning west near Hearst. It meets meets with, then shares its route with Highway 17 near Nipigon, parting ways west of Thunder Bay. It passes through a region filled with thick forest and numerous lakes before crossing the International Border in Rainy River and becomes Minnesota State Highway 72.

Route description


Highway 11 begins north-east of Barrie at a junction with Highway 400. Unlike most freeway junctions, the through lanes become Highway 11, while Highway 400 exits and continues north. Alongside the north-western shore of Lake Simcoe towards Orillia, it exists as a Right-In/Right-Out (RIRO) expressway; four-laned, divided, but with access to private establishments to the right. Near Orillia, it meets Highway 12. Both highways travel north concurrent for km 2.4 along the western edge of Orillia, Highway 12 eventually departing to the west at an interchange.

Highway 11 continues north as a

History


Highway 11 was originally planned as a trunk road to the communities of northern Ontario, as a continuous route from Toronto to North Bay. In 1919 Ernest Charles Drury created the Department of Highways, though much of the responsibility for establishing the route was left to the Minister of the new cabinet, Frank Campbell Biggs. As a result, several roads were designated as Provincial Highways on February 26, 1920, comprising Yonge Street, the Penetanguishene Road, the Middle Crossroad and the southern end of the Muskoka Road. Yonge Street spent nearly 78 years as part of Highway 11. However, the history of the route can be traced beyond its time as a provincial highway.

Yonge Street was first carved south from the Holland River to York between February 26 and March 19, 1794, a task performed by Deputy Surveyor General Augustus Jones. Though just a 6 m wide trail at first, the road was constructed by granting land to settlers, in exchange for them clearing 33 feet of frontage on the road. In the summer of 1794, William Berczy was the first to take up the offer, leading a group of 64 families north-east of Toronto to found the town of German Mills, in modern Markham. By the end of 1794, Berczy's settlers had cleared the route around Thornhill. However, the settlement was hit by a series of setbacks and road construction stalled. Berczy was removed from his property for not fulfilling the conditions set forth by Simcoe. With Yonge Street incomplete, Simcoe turned back to Augustus Jones, now a master road builder. Beginning January 4, 1796, Jones led a team of the Queen's Rangers north along the trail. The crew reached Holland Landing on February 16. Four days later, Jones returned to York and informed Simcoe that Yonge Street was opened.

Though opened, it remained in terrible condition throughout most of the first half of the 1800s. However, as the main street of the flourishing colony, Yonge was the first road to be improved as funding became available. By 1850, the road was macadamized. Yonge Street would also be host to the first radial railway, which at its peak extended from Lake Ontario to Newmarket.

The route north of the Severn River was built as a colonization road. Built between 1859 and 1875 and known as the Muskoka Road, it crossed through then-remote regions of central Ontario and ended in North Bay. In June 1923, conservative opposition leader Howard Ferguson promoted a trunk highway between North Bay and Cochrane. The discovery of large gold, silver and cobalt mineral deposits caused a surge of growth in the region in the decade prior, and the growing cries of the isolated northern communities were finally answered in 1925. The gravel highway opened in sections as it was completed, and the Ferguson Highway was fully opened on July 2, 1927. The highway name was eventually applied to the entire section north of the Severn River, and would fall under the jurisdiction of several departments, until April 1, 1937, when the Department of Northern Development merged into the Department of Highways.


 * http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=mLoyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5ewFAAAAIBAJ&dq=north%20bay%20freeway&pg=731%2C3380656

Future

 * http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/Industry-News/transportation/Record-amount-spent-on-northern-highways.aspx - Thunder Bay Expressway
 * http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=38469 Four laning completion south of North Bay
 * http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pubs/highway-construction/northern-highway-2008/partB.shtml general improvements / action plan