Ontario Highway 20 - History

History

Highway 20 was first designated on March 12, 1930, with its eastern terminus at the intersection of Highway 8 (Main Street) and Highway 6 (John Street) in downtown Hamilton. It proceeded south along John Street, concurrently with Highway 6, to the foot of the Niagara Escarpment, where the two routes split. Highway 20 climbed the escarpment through the Jolley Cut, while Highway 6 used the Claremont Access. At the top, Highway 20 proceeded east along Concession Street, then south along Upper Gage Avenue to Rymal Road. From there, the route turned east and followed Rymal Road to Elfrida and onwards to its western terminus at the Honeymoon Bridge Niagara Falls.

Soon thereafter, the Department of Highways (DHO) began to excavate a new cut into the escarpment between Elfrida and Stoney Creek. While under construction in 1931, Highway 20 was rerouted onto what would become known as Centennial Parkway, briefly ending at a junction between Highway 8 and Highway 8A (the present day intersection of Queenston Road and Centennial Parkway); the old routing from Elfrida to downtown Hamilton was renumbered as Highway 20A. The highway descended the escarpment along the now-closed Glover Mountain Road, which connected the modern Greenhill Avenue with First Road. Highway 8A meanwhile, proceeded north from Stoney Creek to Burlington via Burlington Beach; it was renumbered as an extension of Highway 20 when the Stoney Creek Cut was completed in 1932. At the same time, the highway was shifted from Glover Mountain Road to the new Centennial Parkway.

Between Welland and Niagara Falls, Highway 3 originally followed the Merritville Highway (later Highway 58) and Lundy's Lane to the Honeymoon Bridge; Highway 3A connected Port Colborne to Fort Erie. In 1929, the two route numbers were switched, as traffic pattern had shifted to make use of the new Peace Bridge. After Highway 20 was designated, the Highway 3A designation was superseded between Allenburg and Niagara Falls.

Between Hamilton and Welland, several major diversions were constructed during the 1930s, including west of Elfrida (the old route followed South Townline Road and Chapel Hill Road), east of Kimbo (the old route now known as Kimbo Road) and around St. Anns (having originally followed Twenty Mile Creek Road and St. Anns Road). In 1938, construction began on a large traffic circle between Highway 20 and the QEW in Stoney Creek and on a cloverleaf with Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls; both were completed prior to the opening of the QEW on August 23, 1940. Highway 20 was now 85.8 km (53.3 mi), its peak length.

Both the QEW and Highway 20 crossed the entrance to Hamilton Harbour utilizing a four lane lift bridge. However, this quickly became one of the two major bottlenecks along the new superhighway. By the early-1950s, traffic lineups often stretched for several kilometres each time the bridge raised. This prompted the DHO to construct a skyway over the canal, which opened on October 30, 1958 and provided four lanes of uninterrupted travel. Subsequently, the use of Highway 20 (now Beach Boulevard) for long distance travel ceased. In 1964, the portion of Highway 20 between Burlington and the Stoney Creek Traffic Circle was transferred to Halton County and Wentworth County, reducing its length to 74.2 kilometres (46.1 mi).

The route remained unchanged until the late 1990s. On January 1, 1998, the province downloaded the majority of the highway to the Regional Municipalities of Hamilton and Niagara. However, a short section remains, connecting Highway 58 to the city boundary of Niagara Falls. It is unclear why this short portion was retained in the provincial highway network.