Ontario Highway 69 - History

History

Highway 69 has undergone several major changes over the life of its existence, so much so that the first section designated has not been a King's Highway for 60 years and lay approximately 80 km (50 mi) from the current highway. In other places, a minor two lane gravel highway has gradually been upgraded to a four lane paved freeway. On August 5, 1936, the DHO assumed the Rama Road, connecting Highway 12 at Atherley with Highway 11 at Washago. On March 31, 1937, the Department of Northern Development (DND) was merged into the DHO, allowing the latter to extend the provincial highway network north of the Severn River. Subsequently, through August 1937, Highway 69 was extended 77.75 mi (125.13 km) north to the Naiscoot River, midway between Pointe au Baril and Britt. This extension followed DND trunk routes to Nobel, where a munitions and aircraft factory would soon provide an instrumental role in the war effort. In the north, the road connecting Sudbury and Burwash was also assumed as Highway 69 on August&nsbp;11. It was intended to connect these two segments over the next several years; however, the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 halted all non-essential construction due to the short supply of labour and materials.

Work resumed during the 1950s to bridge the 60 km (37 mi) gap between the two sections of highway. In 1954, a further 29 km (18 mi) of roadway north of Britt was assumed as Highway 69. That same year also saw the rerouting of the southern end of the highway; the southern end was moved east from Atherley to Brechin and the Rama Road decommissioned as a King's Highway. The new routing was longer, but gave the southern end of the highway a more significant purpose than as a bypass of Highway 11. The Rama Road has since been known as Simcoe County Road 44.

Once the war ended, construction resumed on Highway 69. Paving and extending the road continued, with the first gap (between Britt and Burwash) being closed in 1951. French River would be linked to the provincial roadway network in 1952. This allowed motorists to take a far more direct route between Severn River and Sudbury, by taking advantage of a detour (via Highway 535 and Highway 64, through the small communities of Hagar and Noëlville).

The biggest gap that remained on Highway 69 was between Alban and Burwash, but this was eventually eliminated from 1952 to 1955, when the road was finally completed to provide a third link from Southern Ontario to Northern Ontario (the other two being Highways 11 and 17).

Until Highway 69 between Parry Sound and Sudbury was completed, drivers from Southern Ontario that wanted to reach Sudbury or Sault Ste. Marie had to travel along a rather out-of-the-way routing on Highway 11 to North Bay, and then take Highway 17 westbound into Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

The year 1976 saw big changes for Highway 69. The portion of highway south of MacTier was shifted onto the routing of former Highway 103, completely absorbing that roadway into its length. The former routing was renamed Highway 169. It was at this time that Highway 69 was at its longest, from Highways 12 and 400 near Port Severn to Sudbury.

Until the early 1980s, Highway 69 continued through Sudbury and into the suburban towns of Valley East and Capreol. Although this route is no longer part of the provincial highway, and is officially designated as a series of Sudbury Municipal Roads, it is referred to locally by some as "Highway 69 North".

Since 1989, Highway 400 has been extended gradually northward towards Sudbury, and now reaches Nobel.

From 2008 to 2012, however, the Highway 69 designation continued to a southerly terminus at MacTier, rather than Nobel — the two highways shared a routing for 32 kilometres between Nobel and Rankin Lake Road, and then followed separate routes between Rankin Lake Road and Highway 69's southern terminus near MacTier. Signs were posted along this route announcing that the segment from Rankin Lake Road to Mactier would be decommissioned as part of Highway 69 in summer 2012. The route's posted name is now Lake Joseph Road, although it remains part of the provincial highway system under an unsigned 7000-series designation.