Ontario Highway 9

Highway 9
Route information
Length:	119.0 km[1] (73.9 mi)
Existed:	February 26, 1920[2] – present
Western segment
West end:	Highway 21 – Kincardine
East end:	Highway 23 / Highway 89 – Harriston
Eastern segment
West end:	Highway 10 – Orangeville
East end:	Highway 400 (near Newmarket)
Location
Towns:	Kincardine, Walkerton, Mildmay, Clifford, Harriston, Orangeville
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways List 400-series Former ←  Highway 8   Highway 10  →

King's Highway 9, commonly referred to as Highway 9, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Often cited as an example of poor planning^[why?], Highway 9 has been divided into two segments since January 1, 1998, when the segment between Harriston and Orangeville was downloaded to the various counties in which it resided. The western segment of the highway begins at Highway 21 in Kincardine, near the shores of Lake Huron. It travels 73 km (45 mi) to the junction of Highway 23 and Highway 89 in Harriston. The central segment is now known as Wellington County Road 109 and Dufferin County Road 109. At Highway 10 in Orangeville, Highway 9 resumes and travels east to Highway 400. The highway once continued east to Yonge Street in Newmarket, but is now known as York Regional Road 31.

Highway 9 was first assumed into the provincial highway system on February 26, 1920 as the Arthur–Kincardine Road. It was extended to Cookstown in the early 1930s via Orangeville and Shelburne, creating a short lived concurrency with Highway 10. In 1937, the road between Orangeville and Schomberg was designated part of Highway 9. The concurrency was discontinued, and the remainder became Highway 89. In 1965, Highway 9 was extended to Newmarket along Davis Drive.

Route description

Highway 9 looking west from Highway 400 over the Holland Marsh

Highway 9 begins at the edge of Kincardine near the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron. The roadway continues west past Highway 21 to the lake as Broadway Street. To the east of Highway 21, the highway travels along a concession road for 40 km (25 mi), through the Saugeen Conservation Lands to the town of Walkerton. Within Walkerton, Highway 9 turns south at a junction with Bruce County Road 4. It travels south to the village of Mildmay, where it curves to the south-east. The highway continues in this direction through the villages of Clifford and Harriston, forming the centre of a thin band of farmland oriented at a 45-degree angle to the surrounding land. In the centre of Harriston, Highway 9 ends at a four way junction. Highway 89 travels north-east from this location, while Highway 23 travels south-west. Highway 9 formerly continued south-west, but is now known as Wellington County Road 109 past this junction.

At Highway 10 in Orangeville, Highway 9 resumes and travels east to Highway 400, crossing the Niagara Escarpment along the way. The highway once continued east to Yonge Street in Newmarket, but this section is known as York Regional Road 31. Highway 9 ends at an interchange with Highway 400. A commuter parking lot is provided for carpooling.

History

The portion of Highway 9 between Kincardine and the junction with Yonge Street in Walkerton was built originally as the Durham Settlement Road or Durham Road for short. The Durham Road was surveyed and constructed between 1849 and 1851. It extended from the border between present-day Grey Highlands, Grey County and Clearview, Simcoe County, south of Singhampton, through Flesherton (on the then Toronto–Sydenham Settlement Road, today Highway 10), Durham (on the Garafraxa Settlement Road, today Highway 6, and one reason the road took its name), Hanover and Walkerton to Kincardine.^[3][4] The western section from Kincardine to Walkerton is today Highway 9, and the other sections to the east were at one point part of Highway 4, and today Bruce County Road 4 and Grey County Road 4.^[5]

On February 26, 1920, the Arthur–Kincardine Road was designated as a provincial highway. It connected what would become Highway 6 with Kincardine, on the shores of Lake Huron. In August 1925, the road was numbered as Highway 9, alongside the other existing provincial highways. The route was extended to Cookstown in the early 1930s. The road between Arthur and Orangeville was assumed as part of Highway 9 on March 12, 1930; the road between Shelburne and Cookstown was assumed on May 27, 1931.^[6] The two roads were connected by creating a concurrency along Highway 10. On February 10, 1937, the road between Orangeville and Schomberg was designated part of Highway 9.^[7] To alleviate the forked path of the highway, the concurrency with Highway 10 was discontinued and the road between Shelburne and Cookstown was renumbered as Highway 89. By October 1963, Davis Drive was built west of Newmarket, across the Holland Marsh to Schomberg. On July 23, 1965, Highway 9 was extended to Newmarket along Davis Drive, bringing its total length to 191.7 km (119.1 mi).^[8]

A long-standing issue through most of the history of Highway 9 is the Orangeville Bypass. In the 1960s, the Highway 10 bypass was constructed. At the same time, Highway 9 was rerouted from its straight route to meet the new bypass, creating Buena Vista Drive as a result. Starting in 1978, numerous plans were formulated for a southern bypass of Broadway, none of which came to fruition.^[9][10] Orangeville eventually resorted to constructing the road themselves, completing several kilometres before local Member of Provincial Parliament and premier Ernie Eves contributed C$7 million of provincial funding to the project.^[11] The 6.8 km (4.2 mi) bypass was finally opened to traffic on August 3, 2005.^[12]

On January 1, 1998, the province transferred sections of Highway 9 between Harriston and Orangeville to Dufferin County and Wellington County, creating a 67.7 km (42.1 mi) gap between sections of the highway. This transfer has been widely contested since it took place, often used as an example for the hastily executed highway transfers in Ontario.^[13][14] On September 1, 1999, the Regional Municipality of York assumed responsibility for the section of Highway 9 between Highway 400 and Yonge Street.^[15]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 9, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.^[1] 

Division	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Bruce	Kincardine	0.0	0.0	Highway 21 – Owen Sound, Goderich
	Kinloss			County Road 1
		26.6	16.5	County Road 4 south County Road 20 north	Formerly Highway 4
		33.8	21.0	County Road 12
	Walkerton	40.0	24.9	County Road 4 north (Yonge Street)	Formerly Highway 4
	Mildmay	48.7	30.3	County Road 28 (Absalom Street)
		59.3	36.8	Huron–Bruce Road
Huron
	Clifford	61.3	38.1	County Road 1 (West Heritage Street)
Wellington
		62.8	39.0	County Road 2 (Mill Street East)
	Harriston	72.8	45.2	Highway 23 south – Listowel  Highway 89 east – Mount Forest
Highway 9 is discontinuous for 67.7 km (42.1 mi) between Harriston and Orangeville
Dufferin / Peel	Orangeville	140.7	87.4	Highway 10 – Brampton, Shelburne
	Mono Mills	149.8	93.1	Regional Road 7 south (Airport Road) – Mississauga County Road 18 north
		151.5	94.1	Mono–Adjala Townline	Highway 9 crosses the Niagara Escarpment
Simcoe / Peel
		158.7	98.6	Regional Road 50 – Palgrave, Bolton County Road 50 – Alliston	Formerly Highway 50
		164.4	102.2	County Road 10 (Tottenham Road) – Tottenham
Simcoe / York	Schomberg	179.7	111.7	Regional Road 27 – Nobleton, Cookstown	Formerly Highway 27
York	King	186.7	116.0	Highway 400 – Toronto, Barrie	Exit 55
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. ISBN 0-7743-9388-2. 

External links

Route map: Google

• Highway 9 Photos
• Google Maps of Highway 9