Ontario Highway 59

Highway 59
Route information
Length:	122.8 km[3] (76.3 mi)
Existed:	August 25, 1937[1] – January 1, 1998[2]
Major junctions
North end:	Long Point Provincial Park
South end:	Shakespeare
Location
Counties:	Norfolk, Oxford, Perth
Major cities:	Woodstock
Towns:	Norwich, Tavistock
Villages:	Long Point, Courtland, Delhi, Strathallan, Hickson, Sebastopol, Shakespeare
Highway system
Ontario provincial highways 400-series • Former ← Highway 58 Highway 60 →

King's Highway 59, commonly referred to as Highway 59, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connected Long Point Provincial Park in Norfolk County to the town of Shakespeare in Perth County, passing through the town of Woodstock in Oxford County en route.

Highway 59 was established in 1937 between Highway 3 and Highway 2. During the early 1960s, several highways were renumbered, establishing the final alignment of the route. As part of the mass highway transfers performed during the late 1990s, Highway 59 was decommissioned entirely.

Route description

The route of Highway 59 followed what is now Norfolk Highway 59, Oxford County Road 59 and Perth County Road 107. The majority of this route travels through rural farmland, which dominates southwestern Ontario, although there are several notable towns encountered along the highway, including Courtland, Delhi, Norwich, Woodstock and Shakespeare.^[4]

In the south, the highway begins at the entrance to Long Point Provincial Park, an important bird sanctuary that serves as a migratory waypoint before and after birds cross Lake Erie. Several National Wildlife Areas are also located along the surrounding shoreline. The highway passes through he community of Long Point, then curves northwest. It intersects Norfolk County Highway 24, formerly Highway 24, midway between Long Point and the town of Langton. It encounters Highway 3 approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of Tillsonburg in the community of Courtland where it turns east and travels concurrently with it for 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the town of Delhi. At an intersection just west of that town, the route continues northwest to the community of Summerville, then curves north to pass through the town of Norwich. Five kilometres (3 mi) north of there, the route curves west and bisects the community of Burgessville. It then curves back to the north and travels straight towards Woodstock.^[5]

After crossing Highway 401, the route enters Woodstock, where it is known as Norwich Avenue, Dundas Street and Vansittart Avenue. Dundas Street was also formerly Highway 2, but it was transferred to the County of Oxford at the same time as Highway 59. North of Woodstock, Highway 59 proceeds due north through the communities of Perry Lane, Tollgate, Willow Lake, Huntingford, Strathallan and Hickson before eventually curving northeast near the Oxford–Perth boundary to pass through the town of Tavistock, turning north. Approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Tavistock, the route ends in the town of Shakespeare at an intersection with Highway 7 and Highway 8. North of this intersection, the roadway continues as Perth County Road 107.^[5]

History

Highway 59 was established in 1937 when the Department of Highways assumed the Delhi–Woodstock Road. This 41.0-kilometre (25.5 mi) road was designated on August 25.^[1] The route remained unchanged until the early 1960s, when several highways were renumbered. Highway 19 between Woodstock and Shakespeare was redesignated as Highway 59, while Highway 100 between Thamesford and St. Marys was redesignated as Highway 19. In addition, Highway 59 was extended south from Courtland to Long Point Provincial Park, and a concurrency established along Highway 3 between Courtland and Delhi. These extensions nearly tripled the length of the highway to 120.1 kilometres (74.6 mi).^[6][7] The route remained this way for nearly four decades. However, on January 1, 1998, as part of budget cutbacks, several highways were transferred to local jurisdiction. Highway 59 was transferred the counties of Norfolk, Oxford and Perth, decommissioning the route entirely.^[2]

Major intersections

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 59, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.^[3]

Division	Location	km[3]	Destinations	Notes
Norfolk County		0.0	Old Cut Boulevard	Long Point Provincial Park entrance gate
		8.0	County Road 42 (Lakeshore Road)
		10.7	County Road 22 (1st Concession Road)	Since decommissioned
		16.4	Highway 24 north	Highway 24 decommissioned on April 1, 1997
		21.9	County Road 45
		24.6	County Road 1 (McDowell) – Simcoe
		28.8	County Road 21
		37.8	County Road 38 west (Colonel Talbot Road) – Straffordville	Route of Talbot Trail; community of Ronson
		39.1	Highway 3 west – Tillsonburg	Beginning of Highway 3 concurrency
		40.3	County Road 38 west (Colonel Talbot Road)	Community of Courtland
		46.1	County Road 16 (Rhineland Road) – Rhineland
		50.4	Highway 3 east – Simcoe	End of Highway 3 concurrency; community of Delhi
Oxford	Norwich	56.2	County Road 37 (Potters Road)
		61.0	County Road 19 (Otterville Road) – Otterville
		67.4	County Road 18 (Norwich Road) – Scotland
		72.4	County Road 14
		72.7	County Road 21 (New Durham Road) – New Durham
		79.7	County Road 46 (Salford Road) – Holbrook
		80.0	County Road 13 – Holbrook
		86.1	County Road 40 (Curries Road)
	Woodstock	90.6	Highway 401 – London, Toronto
		91.9	County Road 15 (Parkinson Road)
		93.2	Highway 2 east (Dundas Street) – Paris	Beginning of Highway 2 concurrency; Highway 59 turns south onto Norwich Avenue
		94.4	Highway 2 west (Dundas Street) – London, Ingersoll	End of Highway 2 concurrency; Highway 59 turns north onto Vansittart Avenue
		95.7	County Road 35 (Devonshire Avenue)
		96.2	Thames River crossing
	East Zorra – Tavistock
		97.8	County Road 17 (Road 74)
		100.8	County Road 33 (Road 78) – Embro, Innerkip
		107.1	County Road 8 (Road 88)	Community of Hickson
		113.2	County Road 28 (Road 96)
		115.3	County Road 34 north
		117.1	County Road 24 (Perth–Oxford Road)	Community of Tavistock
Perth	Shakespeare	122.8	Highway 7 / Highway 8 – Stratford, Kitchener
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1938. p. 81. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Highway Transfers List - “Who Does What” (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. pp. 2, 11. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Ministry of Transportation and Communications (April 1, 1989). Provincial Highways Distance Table. Government of Ontario. pp. 68–69. ISSN 0825-5350. 
4. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Highway 59 length and route (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://g.co/maps/prcpf. Retrieved October 31, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Peter Heiler Ltd (2010). Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). pp. 10, 16, 21, section P20–X24. ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7. 
6. ^ Ontario Department of Highways (1961). Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Section T–U31. 
7. ^ Ontario Department of Highways (1962). Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Section T–U31.