History
Highway 102 was designated by the beginning of 1972, following the route of the former Highway 11A and Highway 17A. Prior to that, the Dawson Road generally followed the present route of the highway.
The history of the Dawson Road began in 1857 when Henry Hind and Simon Dawson were commissioned to survey the territorial claims of the Hudson's Bay Company, as well as to survey a route between Lake Superior and the Red River. A second set of surveys were carried out by Captain John Palliser that same year. The latter recommended avoiding the Kaministiquia River, but ultimately Hind and Dawson's route was chosen. By 1868, the route was blazed between Shebandowan and what would soon be named Prince Arthur's Landing (later changed to Port Arthur). In 1870, the Wolseley Expedition set out from Toronto to end the Red River Rebellion. When Colonel Garnet Wolseley arrived at the present site of Winnipeg, the rebels had fled. However, the expedition resulted in the construction of a road along Dawson's route. It was further improved in 1871.
In 1935, the Department of Northern Development (DND) began construction on a northern bypass of Port Arthur, mostly following the Dawson Road. This road was designated Highway 17A on April 1, 1937, when the DND merged into the Department of Highways. In 1959, Highway 120 was renumbered as Highway 11, and a 180-kilometre (110 mi) concurrency with Highway 17 between Shabaqua and Nipigon was created to join the discontinuous segments. As the northern bypass of Port Arthur now formed an alternate route to both Highway 11 and 17, it was codesignated as Highway 11A and 17A.
Between January 1971 and 1972, Highway 11A and Highway 17A were redesignated as Highway 102. Work began shortly thereafter to realign several sections of the highway with dangerous curves and steep grades approaching the Kaministiquia River; the highway opened in 1975, featuring a new bridge over the river.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Highway 102
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