Highway 40 (Ontario)
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| Highway 40 |
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| Length: | 91.8 km |
|---|---|
| Formed: | 1934 |
| Direction: | North/South |
| From: |  Highway 401 in Chatham, Ontario |
| To: |  Higwhay 402 in Sarnia, Ontario |
| Major cities: | Chatham, Wallaceburg, Sarnia |
Highway 40 is the main North-South Provincial highway in Southwestern Ontario, linking Chatham, Ontario to Sarnia, Ontario.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
The road originally connected Kings Highway 2 in Chatham, Ontario to Kings Highway 7/Kings Highway 22 in Sarnia, Ontario. It was created in 1934 in two segments: in Lambton County, Ontario on March 28, 1934, and in Kent County (Now Chatham-Kent) on May 2, 1934. The original length was 87 km, and connected Kings Highway 2 in Chatham, to Highway 7/22 in Sarnia.
[edit] Paving the Road
At the time, the road was originally paved only from Chatham, Ontario to Wallaceburg, Ontario, but work commenced on paving the entire length of the road. By 1938, the road between Wallaceburg and Sombra, Ontario was paved, as was the stretch from Corunna, Ontario to Sarnia, Ontario. Some limited paving took place just north of Courtright, Ontario in 1940, as during the Second World War, supplies were limited due to the devotion of materials for the war effort. Once World War Two was finished, the Department of Highways (Now the Ministry of Transportation) completed paving the rest of the highway, by 1946.
[edit] Re-alignments and upgrades
Construction for the new Sarnia Bypass began in 1962. During construction, the bypass was temporarily named Kings Highway 40A (until the Bypass was completed and open to traffic). When Highway 40 was re-routed along the new four-lane bypass along the south and west of Sarnia, it created a numbering oddity. The small provincially-controlled portion of Old Highway 40 in downtown Sarnia (which linked Kings Highway 402 to the old Highway 40 alignment along Exmouth Street) was re-numbered as Kings Highway 40C in 1963. Two years later, Highway 40 assumed the entire route of Highway 40A along the Sarnia Bypass, and the former alignment of Highway 40 (along Christina Street, Vidal Sreet, and Front Street was renumbered as Kings Highway 40B.
During the early 1970s, the province extended Highway 40 along Kent County Road 11, to meet with Highway 3 in Blenheim, Ontario, adding an additional 17 km to the roadway's distance.
[edit] St. Clair Parkway
Construction began in 1971 on a major realignment of Highway 40 between Wallaceburg and Sarnia. The old alignment of the road was bypassed by a newly constructed (and much straighter) road around 5 km inland from the St. Clair River. This new alignment of Highway 40 opened in stages between 1975 and 1977. From roughly half-way between Kings Highway 80 (now Lambton CR 80) and CR 4, to the Sarnia Bypass, the road was built as a four-lane divided highway. Once this new alignment was created, the road's length was 103 km, as around 44 km of the old alignment was bypassed.
The old alignment was decommissioned from Sarnia to Sombra in 1979, from Sombra to Walpole Island in 1980, and finally from Walpole Island to Wallaceburg in 1984. The old alignment was given the name St. Clair Parkway, and designated as Lambton County Road 33, and Kent County Road 33.
The new (current) alignment of Highway 40 was built with a wide-enough right of way for future twinning and upgrading to become a freeway, if the need ever arises. as such, there are no properties on Highway 40's new alignment, and the only access is at intersecting roads, or at traffic signal-govorned intersections (which may become overpasses and interchanges if upgrading takes place). The entire Sarnia Bypass (along the south and east ends of Sarnia) is also built to this standard for relatively easy upgrading.
[edit] Higwhay 40 Today
April 1, 1997 saw a huge change in the Ontario provincial highway network: over 4000 km of highways were downloaded to county, city, and local authorities. Highway 40 was largely spared, however south of Kings Highway 401, the road was decommissioned, shortening the road by the 17 km it gained in the 1970s.
January 1, 1998 saw further changes to Highway 40. It was rerouted through Chatham, Ontario along the route of Former Kings Highway 2 (along Grand Avenue), instead of its old route through downtown via Third Street, Wellington Street, Lacroix Street, and Park Avenue. The length of Hwy 40 is now 91.8 km.
[edit] African-Canadian Heritage Tour
The African-Canadian Heritage Tour follows part of Highway, from its Interchange with Higwhay 401, to Chatham-Kent CR 29 (Countryview Line) in Oungah, Ontario, where it turns right (eastbound) onto CR 29 (towads Dresden, Ontario). See the main article for more information on the trail's path.
