King's Highway 103, commonly referred to as Highway 103, was a
provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Located in the
District Municipality of Muskoka
The District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching ...
and
Simcoe County
Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...
, the highway extended from
Highway 12 at
Waubaushene to
Highway 69 at
Foot's Bay. Established in 1944, it was originally a short gravel highway connecting Waubaushene to
Port Severn
Severn is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, located between Lake Couchiching, and the Severn River (both are part of the Trent–Severn Waterway) in Simcoe County.
Communities
The township comprises the communities of Amigo Beach, Ar ...
. In 1950 it was chosen as the future route of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
and extended to Foot's Bay. It existed until 1976, when a series of renumberings eliminated the designation, replacing it with Highway69;
Highway 400 has since been built over the majority of the former route.
Route description
Highway103 followed much of the route that Highway400 now takes between Highway12 at Coldwater and the former Highway69 junction (Exit 189) south of
Mactier. From there it followed what is now the east-west section of Lake Joseph Road to Foot's Bay, where it ended what was
Highway 69, later
Highway 169, and is presently Muskoka District Road169 and the north-south section of Lake Joseph Road. Between Highway 400 and Foot's Bay, it is now designated as both Lake Joseph Road and Muskoka District Road 169.
Between Coldwater and Waubaushene, the route was
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with Highway12 for a brief period in the mid-1960s.
From there, it crossed over
Matchedash Bay
Matchedash Bay is a bay and Ramsar wetland in Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is the "final inland extension of Severn Sound" on Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, and is "situated at the interface between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the ...
and circled around the south and eastern shoreline of
Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay is an arm of Green Bay extending southeastward approximately 10 miles into the Door Peninsula at the city of Sturgeon Bay, located approximately halfway up the Door Peninsula. The bay is connected to Lake Michigan by the Sturge ...
to Port Severn. North of Port Severn, the route travelled through wilderness within the District of Muskoka for . At Foot's Bay, it encountered Highway69, which continued east to
Highway 11 in
Gravenhurst and north to
Parry Sound
Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...
and
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
.
History
Highway103 was first designated during as a stub route of Highway12 from Waubaushene to Port Severn. The highway was assumed on July19, 1944.
The original routing until the late 1950s followed what is now Pine Street, Coldwater Road and Duck Bay Road through Waubaushene. After crossing Matchedash Bay, the route turned onto Quarry Road, then turned north and followed what is now the northbound lanes of Highway400 straight into Port Severn. It turned west along Port Severn Road across the Trent–Severn Waterway and ended at Lone Pine Road. The entire route was gravel surfaced.
Beginning in 1956,
Highway 501 continued west to
Honey Harbour
The Township of Georgian Bay is an area municipality of the District Municipality of Muskoka, in south-central Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Severn River, where it empties into the eponymous Georgian Bay. The municipal offices are at Por ...
.
When Ontario signed the Trans-Canada Highway Agreement on April25, 1950, it had already chosen a Central Ontario routing via Waubaushene and Parry Sound;
Highway 17 through the
Ottawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surroundi ...
was announced as a provincially-funded secondary route of the the following day.
The route of Highway103 was chosen as a jump-off point to connect the two places. Tenders for building the approximately extension from Port Severn to Highway69 at Foot's Bay were called on September25, 1953, and included bypasses of Waubaushene and Port Severn.
Construction was underway by the following year.
The new paved Highway103 was open by September 1958,
although the complex three-bridge Port Severn Bypass did not open until the following spring.
The old portions of the route through Waubaushene and Port Severn were transferred to
Tay Township on January29, 1959.
In order to provide better route continuity for motorists travelling from Toronto to Sudbury, several highways were renumbered in the Muskoka area on May15, 1976. The section of Highway69 between Foot's Bay and its southern terminus of Highway12 at
Brechin
Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...
was redesignated as
Highway 169, while the entirety of Highway103 was renumbered to form the new southern portion of Highway69.
The entirety of the former route (with the exception of the east-west section of Lake Joseph Road/Muskoka Road 169 west of Foot's Bay) has now been superseded by Highway400.
Major intersections
References
External links
Approximate former route of Highway 103on
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
.
Note that this routing is not exact; in several locations, the highway followed roads which are now residential or local in nature and cannot be directly accessed from the current Highway 400 route.
{{Ontario King's Highways
103
Former segments of the Trans-Canada Highway