Ontario Highway 169 - History

History

The entire route of highway 169 was originally part of the routing of Highway 69, which was itself first designated in 1936. At that time, the route connected Atherley and Washago along the Rama Road, now Simcoe County Road 44. On April 1, 1937, the Department of Northern Development merged into the Department of Highways, opening roads north of the Severn River for assumption by the department. The road between Gravenhurst and Parry Sound and on to Pointe au Baril subsequently became an extension of Highway 69, while the road between Washago and Gravenhurst became a concurrency between it and Highway 11. During the early-1950s, the southern 17.8 kilometres (11.1 mi) of the route was transferred to local municipalities and a new, longer route was designated to the east, merging with Highway 12 north of Brechin.

This routing remained in place until May 15 1976, when the province rerouted Highway 69 along Highway 103 between Waubaushene and Foot's Bay in order to improve the continuity of Toronto to Sudbury routes. The route of Highway 69 between Foot's Bay and Brechin became Highway 169 at this point. The highway remained unmodified throughout its two decades of existence. On January 1, 1998, both sections of Highway 169 were transferred to the municipalities in which they resided; the southern section was transferred to Simcoe County and the northern section to the District Municipality of Muskoka. Both sections are still numbered 169, though they are now county roads.