Ontario Highway 4
 Highway 4 | |||||||
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| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained byMinistry of Transportation of Ontario | |||||||
| Length | 100.8 km[1](62.6 mi) | ||||||
| Existed | June 24, 1920[2]–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end |  Highway 3–St. Thomas | ||||||
 Highway 401–London Highway 402–London Highway 7–Elginfield | |||||||
| North end |  Highway 8–Clinton | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Major cities | St. Thomas,London | ||||||
| Towns | Exeter,Clinton | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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King's Highway 4,also known asHighway 4,is aprovincially maintained highwayin theCanadian provinceofOntario.Originally much longer than its present 100.8 km (62.6 mi) length, more than half of Highway 4 was transferred to the responsibility of local governments in 1998. It travels betweenHighway 3inTalbotville Royal,north-west ofSt. Thomas,andHighway 8inClinton,passing through the city ofLondoninbetween.
Highway 4 was first designated in 1920, when a 51-kilometre (32 mi) route between Talbotville Royal and Elginfield was assumed by theDepartment of Highways.It was extended in the early 1930s both south toPort Stanleyas well as north toFlesherton.
Route description
[edit]
Highway4 starts at an intersection with Highway3 in Talbotville Royal and continues north as a two-lane undivided highway. For most of its length, the highway bisects agricultural land. It travels along a short 2.7-kilometre (1.7 mi)concurrencywithHighway 401from the community ofTempoto Wonderland Road. It encounters an interchange withHighway 402before enteringLondoncity limits. As Highway4 enters London, it becomes aConnecting Link,known locally as Wonderland Road. Wonderland Road is a 4-lane arterial thoroughfare serving western London, with several big-box stores, a mall, and residential areas. The route turns east onto Sunningdale Road West, which it for a short distance before turning north along Richmond Street.[3][4][5]
Highway4 continues north, passing throughArva,when the surrounding terrain returns to farmland. Highway4 passes throughBirrbefore intersecting with the western terminus ofHighway 7atElginfield,which is also 1 km east of theHighway 23junction with Highway7. The highway then curves slightly west, passing throughLucanbefore continuing north at Clandeboye. From here to its terminus in Clinton, Highway4 is essentially straight for 45 kilometres (28 mi). Continuing to be flanked by farmland, it then passes through the communities ofHuron ParkandExeter.At Exeter, it crosses the former route ofHighway 83.From there, it continues north, passing through the communities ofHensall, OntarioandVanastra, Ontariobefore terminating at Highway8 in the community of Clinton.[3][4][5]
History
[edit]
Highway4 was originally designated in 1920 when the provincial government assumed the road running from Talbotville Royal (St. Thomas) to the Northern Highway (later Highway7) at Elginfield, via London. The portions within Elgin County were assumed on August4, while the portions south of London were assumed on June24. The portions north of and through London were assumed on August6.[2] The 51.2-kilometre (31.8 mi) route featured a concurrency with the Provincial Highway (later Highway2) between Lambeth and downtown London.[6][7]
Until the summer of 1925, Ontario highways were named rather than numbered. When route numbering was introduced, the route between St. Thomas and Elginfield became Provincial Highway4.[8] 1927 saw several new sections of road assumed that would become portion of Highway4. On September14, the route was extended toHighway 8at Clinton. Further north, a new highway was created on June22, 1927, betweenHighway 9atWalkertonandHighway 6atDurham.This latter section was designated as Highway4A.[9]
On March12, 1930, Highway4 was extended to Durham, fully absorbing the route of Highway4A in the process. Two months later, on May11, it was extended south to Bedford Street (now Edith Cavell Boulevard) in Port Stanley.[10]On April11, 1934, the highway was extended east to the intersection ofHighway 10in Flesherton.[11]Highway4 reached its maximum length of 275.6 kilometres (171.2 mi) when it was extended from Flesherton toHighway 24in Singhampton in the mid-1970s.[12][13][14]
Downloads
[edit]
As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premierMike Harrisunder hisCommon Sense Revolutionplatform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to a lower level of government, a process referred to as downloading. Portions of Highway4 were transferred to the counties ofElgin,Huron,BruceandGreyon January1, 1998.[15]
The former portion of Highway 4 south of St. Thomas is now signed asElgin County Road 4.The former northern portion is broken into several different roads:
- Huron County Road 4fromClintonto nearWingham
- Bruce County Road 4(London Road) from near Wingham to Riversdale
- A formerconcurrencywith Highway9 between Riversdale and Walkerton
- Grey County Road 4from Walkerton toSimcoe County Road 124just south of Singhampton
In 2017, theCity of Londonannounced that Highway 4 through London would be re-signed and re-routed via Richmond Street, Sunningdale Road, and Wonderland Road, resulting in a shortconcurrencywith Highway 401 between the Colonel Talbot Road and Wonderland Road interchanges.[16]
Major intersections
[edit]The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 4, as noted by theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario.[1]
| Division | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin | Central Elgin | −19.2 | −11.9 | Edith CavellBoulevard | Port Stanley;former Highway 4 southern terminus |
| −17.3 | −10.7 |  Elgin County Road 4begins County Road 21 west (Warren Street) | |||
| St. Thomas | −7.5– −2.2 | −4.7– −1.4 | 5.3 km (3.3 mi) gap in County Road 4 | ||
| Elgin | Southwold | 0.0 | 0.0 | Elgin County Road 4ends Highway 4 beginsHighway 3east –St. Thomas,Aylmer County Road 3west (Talbot Line) | Talbotville Royal;Highway 4 southern terminus |
| 2.1 | 1.3 |  County Road 11 east (Clinton Line) | |||
| Elgin–Londonboundary | Southwold–Londonboundary | 3.5 | 2.2 |  County Road 18 west (Southminster Borne) | |
| London | 6.0 | 3.7 | Highway 401west –Windsor Colonel Talbot Road | Beginning of Highway 401 concurrency; Highway 401 exit 177 | |
| 8.8 | 5.5 | Highway 401east –Toronto Wonderland Road | End of Highway 401 concurrency; Highway 401 exit 180 | ||
| 15.9 | 9.9 |  Highway 402east toHighway 401–Sarnia | Highway 402 exit 100 | ||
| 18.1 | 11.2 | Exeter Road | FormerlyHighway 135 | ||
| 18.4 | 11.4 | Wharncliffe Road S | Former routing of Highway 4 (before Jan. 2018) andHighway 2along Wharncliffe Rd | ||
| 29.8 | 18.5 | Fanshawe Park Road W | FormerlyHighway 22west | ||
| 34.0 | 21.1 | Richmond St / Sunningdale Rd | Former routing of Highway 4 via Richmond Street south | ||
| Middlesex | Middlesex Centre | 31.6 | 19.6 |  County Road 28 (Medway Road) | Arva |
| 37.2 | 23.1 |  County Road 16 (Ilderton Road) | |||
| Middlesex Centre–Lucan Biddulphboundary | 45.4 | 28.2 |  Highway 7east toHighway 23north –Stratford,Mitchell County Road 7west (Elginfield Road) –Ailsa Craig,Parkhill | Elginfield | |
| Lucan Biddulph | 49.4 | 30.7 |  County Road 47 (Saintsbury Line) | Lucan | |
| 50.1 | 31.1 |  County Road 13 (William Street, Alice Street) | |||
| North Middlesex–Lucan Biddulphboundary | 54.3 | 33.7 |  County Road 20 south (Denfield Road) | Clandeboye | |
| 56.1 | 34.9 |  County Road 24 west (McGillivray Road) | |||
| Middlesex–Huronboundary | North Middlesex–Lucan Biddulph–South Huronboundary | 62.2 | 38.6 |  County Road 5 west (Mount Carmel Road) | Centralia |
| Huron | South Huron | 66.3 | 41.2 |  County Road 10 west (Crediton Road) | |
| 68.4 | 42.5 |  County Road 6east (Kirkton Road) | |||
| 72.4 | 45.0 |  County Road 83(Thames Road) | Exeter;formerlyHighway 83 | ||
| Bluewater | 80.3 | 49.9 |  County Road 84 (King Street) | Hensall;formerlyHighway 84 | |
| Bluewater–Huron Eastboundary | 84.3 | 52.4 |  County Road 12 (Kippen Road) | Kippen | |
| 90.4 | 56.2 | County Road 3 (Mill Road) | Brucefield | ||
| Central Huron (Clinton) | 100.7 | 62.6 | County Road 13 east (King Street) | ||
| 100.8 | 62.6 | Highway 8–Goderich,StratfordHighway 4 endsHuron County Road 4begins | Highway 4 northern terminus; continues as County Road 4 | ||
| North Huron–Morris-Turnberryboundary | 135.8 | 84.4 |  County Road 86(Amberley Road) | Wingham;formerlyHighway 86 | |
| Huron–Bruceboundary | Morris-Turnberry–South Bruceboundary | 143.4– 144.9 | 89.1– 90.0 | Huron County Road 4endsBruce County Road 4begins | 1.5 km (0.9 mi) Huron County Road 4 / Bruce County Road 4 concurrency |
| Bruce | Brockton | 161.8 | 100.5 |  Highway 9west –HarristonCounty Road 20 north | Former southern end of Highway 9 concurrency |
| 175.3 | 108.9 | Highway 9east –Kincardine | Walkerton;former northern end of Highway 9 concurrency | ||
| Bruce–Greyboundary | Brockton–Hanoverboundary | 186.7 | 116.0 | Bruce County Road 4ends Grey County Road 4begins | |
| Grey | Hanover | 187.4 | 116.4 |  County Road 10(7th Avenue) | |
| West Grey | 205.8 | 127.9 |  Highway 6–Owen Sound,Mount Forest | Durham | |
| Grey Highlands | 230.7 | 143.4 |  Highway 10–Owen Sound,Shelburne | Flesherton | |
| Grey–Simcoeboundary | Grey Highlands–Clearviewboundary | 256.7 | 159.5 |   Grey County Road 124/Simcoe County Road 124 | Singhampton;formerlyHighway 24;former Highway 4 northern terminus |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
[edit]
- ^abMinistry of Transportation of Ontario(2008)."Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts".Archived fromthe originalon July 6, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 13,2012.
- ^ab"Report on Provincial Highways".Annual Report(Report) (1920 ed.). Department of Highways. April 26, 1921. pp. 40, 43.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Internet Archive.
- ^abMinistry of Transportation of Ontario(2016)."Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts".RetrievedJanuary 1,2021.
- ^ab"Highway 4 – Length and Route"(Map).Google Maps.RetrievedOctober 12,2021.
- ^abOntario Back Road Atlas(Map). Cartography byMapArt.Mapart Publishing. 2022. pp. 13–14, 20.ISBN1-55198-226-9.
- ^Ontario Road Map(Map). 24 mi: 1 in. Ontario Department of Public Highways. 1923.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Archives of Ontario.
- ^Ontario Road Map(Map). 16 mi: 1 in. Ontario Department of Public Highways. 1925. Mileage Tables inset.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Archives of Ontario.
- ^"Provincial Highways Now Being Numbered".The Canadian Engineer.49(8). Monetary Times Print: 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 No. 6 – Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions of the Provincial Highway System".Annual Report(Report) (1927 ed.). Department of Highways. March 1, 1929. pp. 59–60.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Internet Archive.
- ^"Appendix No. 5 – Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions".Annual Report(Report) (1930 and 1931 ed.). Department of Highways. October 24, 1932. p. 76.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Internet Archive.
- ^"Appendix No. 4 – Schedule of Assumptions and Reversions".Annual Report(Report) (1934 ed.). Department of Highways. March 18, 1935. p. 119.RetrievedOctober 12,2021– via Internet Archive.
- ^Ontario Road Map(Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1974. § J21.RetrievedOctober 27,2021– via Archives of Ontario.
- ^Ontario Road Map(Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1977. §§ G21–22.RetrievedOctober 23,2021– via Archives of Ontario.
- ^Transportation Capital Branch (1997)."Provincial Highways Distance Table"(PDF).Provincial Highways Distance Table: King's Secondary Highways and Tertiary Roads.Ministry of Transportation of Ontario: 12–14.ISSN0825-5350.RetrievedOctober 13,2021– via Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- ^Highway Transfers List – "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. pp. 5–7.
- ^"Highway 4 Re-Route".City of London.Archived fromthe originalon November 6, 2017.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
