Ontario Highway 400A

Highway 400A
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length:	1.1 km[2] (0.7 mi)
Existed:	December 24, 1959[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	Highway 400 – Barrie
North end:	County Road 93 (Penetanguishene Road) (continues as  Highway 11 – Orillia)
Location
Counties:	Simcoe
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways 400-series • Former ← Highway 400 Highway 401 →

King's Highway 400A, once known as the Highway 400 Extension, is an unsigned 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The short 1.1-kilometre (0.68 mi) freeway stub connects Highway 400 with Highway 11 and Simcoe County Road 93, formerly Highway 93. The highway was created in late 1959 by the opening of Highway 400 to Coldwater, although it has always featured Highway 400 signage along the southbound lanes and Highway 11 signage northbound.

Route description

Highway 400A is a short highway with a narrow grass median for the majority of its length. It is unsigned and features a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). On an average day, roughly 11,900 vehicles use it.^[2] The route begins as Highway 400 exits on the right, with the northbound lanes rising up on an embankment and crossing Highway 400A. After the bridge, the highway ascends, with grasslands to the east and an embankment to the west, then gently curves to the northeast. As it crosses Simcoe County Road 93 (Penetanguishene Road), formerly Highway 93, the divided highway becomes Highway 11.^[3]

History

Highway 400A formed the original routing of Highway 400 from 1950 to 1959.^[4] In 1950, the freeway was extended north through Barrie to the junction of Highway 11 and Highway 93 in Crown Hill, and deemed fittingly the Highway 400 Extension.^[5] In the late-1950s, the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway prompted the Department of Highways to extend the route north to Highway 12 and Highway 103 in Coldwater. This section opened as a super two on December 24, 1959, redirecting Highway 400 southwest of the Crown Hill junction. To remedy this situation, the 1.1 km (0.68 mi) gap was internally designated as Highway 400A.^[6]

The highway has never been publicly signed as 400A. Instead, northbound it is indicated as Highway 11 and southbound as Highway 400. With the restructuring of the provincial highway system in 1997, Highway 11's entire route south of the Crown Hill interchange was downloaded to the local municipalities. As a result, Highway 11 begins as Highway 400A ends; crossing over Penetanguishene Road.

Unusually, traffic to and from the Highway 400 extension enters and exits at the right of the roadway, while traffic to and from Highway 400A/11 simply continues on the same roadway. The interchange is also incomplete; drivers must either use the Forbes Road and Penetanguishene Road interchanges, or continue southbound into Barrie and switch direction at Duckworth Street in order to travel from southbound Highway 400A to northbound Highway 400 or from southbound Highway 400 to northbound Highway 400A.^[7]

Exit list

There are only two interchanges along Highway 400A; the start and end termini. The entirety of the highway is located within Simcoe County^[2]

Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Continues south as Highway 400 towards Toronto
Springwater	0.0	Highway 400 – Parry Sound, Sudbury	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	1.1	County Road 93 – Penetanguishene	formerly Highway 93
Continues north as Highway 11 towards North Bay
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Sources

1. ^ "Open 400 Link to Coldwater". The Toronto Star: p. 18. December 24, 1959. "The new, 22-mile extension from south of Crown Hill to Coldwater will be ready for traffic this afternoon." 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2007). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Government of Ontario. http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/tvweb?OpenForm&Seq=5. Retrieved May 26, 2011. 
3. ^ Peter Heiler (2010). Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. p. 42, section B30. ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7. 
4. ^ Shragge 1984, pp. 89–92.
5. ^ Shragge 1984, p. 89.
6. ^ A.A.D.T. Traffic Volumes 1955–1969 And Traffic Collision Data 1967–1969. Ontario Department of Highways. 1970. p. 5. 
7. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Highway 400A route and interchange with Highway 400 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=ON-11+N&daddr=ON-11+N&hl=en&geocode=FR7dpQIdfJhA-w%3BFXAFpgIduLtA-w&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=15&sll=44.430531,-79.645514&sspn=0.013852,0.038581&ie=UTF8&ll=44.430562,-79.647274&spn=0.013852,0.038581&t=h&z=15. Retrieved May 28, 2011. 

Bibliography

• Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. ISBN 0-7743-9388-2.