History
The oldest portion of Highway 12 was originally known as the Coldwater Portage and later the Coldwater Road, connecting the modern sites of Orillia and Coldwater by a 14 mi (23 km) trail. Upper Canada Governor John Colborne surveyed the portage in 1830 and ordered it to be widened for wagon use. As the area was settled and an increasing need for land connection with the south arose, a new road was proposed from Whitby to Sturgeon Bay. In February 1843, the residents formally petitioned the government to construct the route. The Sturgeon Bay Road, from Coldwater to Sturgeon Bay, was opened as a rough wagon road in 1844. The Atherley Narrows, separating Lake Simcoe from Lake Couchiching, were surveyed in the early 1840s and the first causeway and bridge constructed in the years that followed. The portion of the route between Whitby and Orillia, however, was still under construction during the second half of the decade.
Highway 12 was first introduced into the provincial highway system on January 22, 1922, The highway, initially known as the Whitby–Lindsay Road, was not numbered until the summer of 1925. The route followed the present–day Highway 12 from Whitby to Sunderland, then travelled east to Lindsay.
Highway assumptions carried out on June 22 and July 2, 1927, extended Highway 7 east from Brampton to Peterborough. In doing so, it became concurrent with Highway 12 between Whitby and Sunderland. The route of Highway 12 between Sunderland and Lindsay was renumbered as part of Highway 7 at this time. Highway 12 was later extended north to Orillia, via Beaverton. This was accomplished through two assumptions. on August 17, the majority of the route through Brock, Thorah and Mara Townships was assumed. Several more miles were assumed on December 28, 1927, extending Highway 12 as far as Orillia. On August 5, 1931, Highway 12 was extended from Orillia to Midland. The majority of the route paralleled an existing railway that was constructed over a native portage.
Highway 12 remained unaltered for several decades, until the mid 1960s, when the Beaverton Bypass was constructed. On November 4, 1966, the 10.3 km (6.4 mi) bypass opened, routing Highway 12 to the east. Portions of the former route of Highway 12 were renumbered as Highway 48B. The highway again remained unchanged for several decades, until a short portion of the southern end of the highway was decommissioned in the late 1990s. On April 1, 1997, the portions of Highway 12 south of Brooklin were transferred to the Regional Municipality of Durham, which subsequently redesignated the road as Durham Regional Highway 12.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Highway 12
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