King's Highway 16, commonly referred to as Highway 16 and historically as the Prescott Highway, is a
provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian 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 C ...
. The highway once travelled from near
Prescott to
Ottawa, traversing the distance between the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
and the
Ottawa River. However, its length was truncated significantly when most of the route was twinned with a second roadway, and renumbered as
Highway 416. A short stub remains through
Johnstown, crossing the St. Lawrence on the
Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge
The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge (also known as the St. Lawrence Bridge and the Seaway Skyway) is a suspension bridge connecting Ogdensburg, New York in the United States to Johnstown, Ontario (a few kilometres east of Pres ...
to
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...
, where it becomes
New York State Route 812
New York State Route 812 (NY 812) is a state highway in the North Country of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 12 and NY 26 in the Lewis County village of Lowvill ...
.
The Ottawa–Prescott Road was one of the first highways designated in Ontario; it was one of three designated by 1918. The highway was numbered in August 1925. By then, it was mostly paved, except for portions south of
Kemptville
Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It is located approximately south of the downtown core of Ottawa and s ...
, which were paved by 1930. It immediately became the primary route between
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and Ottawa, via
Highway 2, and as such saw many improvements and realignments carried out through the next three decades. In the 1960s, plans arose for a
controlled-access highway to connect
Highway 401
King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one,
is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...
with Ottawa, which resulted in the construction of a complete realignment of Highway16 north of Johnstown, known as Highway16 New. This two-lane highway was built between 1969 and 1983; enough land was purchased for a second two-lane road to twin the highway, which was completed between 1989 and 1999, after which the route was renumbered with a
400-series designation.
Former portions of Highway16 can be followed north from Johnstown, through
Spencerville and Kemptville to the
Rideau River along
Leeds and Grenville County Road 44. Beyond the River it followed
Ottawa Road5 to
North Gower
North Gower () is a small village in eastern Ontario, originally part of North Gower Township, now part of the city of Ottawa. Surrounding communities include Richmond, Kemptville, Kars and Manotick
Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-J ...
, and thereafter Ottawa Road73 (
Prince of Wales Drive
Prince of Wales Drive ( Ottawa Road #73) is a road serving Ottawa, Ontario, named after the eponymous road in Battersea, London, U.K. The northern section is a low-speed street running along the west bank of the Rideau River, while southern por ...
) into
downtown Ottawa
Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, ...
.
History
![Ottawa-Prescott Highway prior to 1919](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Ottawa-Prescott_Highway_prior_to_1919.png)
Early impetus for a route connecting Ottawa to the St. Lawrence River began with lobbying by automobile clubs in the early 1910s.
The Prescott Highway was established as a provincial highway in 1918, shortly after The Provincial Highway (which would become Highway2). The Ottawa–Prescott Highway was assumed by the Department of Public Highways (DPHO) on August15.
The new route was initially in an unfit condition for traffic. For example, the 1918 DPHO Annual Report noted that in
North Gower Township
North Gower Township is a former and now geographic township in eastern Ontario, Canada, now located in Ottawa. It contains the communities of Manotick and North Gower.
North Gower (pronounced "North Gor") was located in the southern part of Carl ...
, the road "was in places very narrow and the sides grown up with brush and small trees. The road surface was in very bad shape."
Work began immediately to clear, widen, grade, and gravel the route, which was in many cases only -wide from overgrown fence line to overgrown fence line.
Paving began in 1922, from the
Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa southerly approximately .
By mid-1923, the route was paved through Spencerville and North Gower, and work was underway to pave it within
Manotick
Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-Jock Ward in the rural south part of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a suburb of the city, located on the Rideau River, immediately south of the suburbs Barrhaven and Riverside South, about from ...
.
Until the summer of 1925, Ontario highways were named rather than numbered. When route numbering was introduced, the Prescott Highway became Provincial Highway16.
That year also saw it paved through Kemptville to the Rideau River, as well as beyond North Gower in to Ottawa. This left gaps in the pavement south of Kemptville (except through Spencerville), and from the Rideau River to the village of North Gower.
On October22, 1928, the pavement between Johnstown and Spencerville was completed and opened to traffic.
Premier
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provinci ...
officially opened the completed highway on October 7, 1929, at a rail overpass south of Kemptville. After cutting a ribbon spanning the bridge, he dubbed the route the Prince of Wales Highway.
Highway 16 New
In 1966 the Eastern Ontario Highway Planning Study was published by the Department of Highways (DHO), the predecessor to today's
Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the ...
(MTO), identifying the need for a controlled-access highway between Ottawa and Highway 401.
Highway16, which crosses the geologically subdued St. Lawrence Lowlands, was selected over Highway15, which crosses the undulating
Canadian Shield to the west, as the ideal route for the new link.
To overcome the issue of abutting properties established along the Highway16 corridor, the DHO began purchasing a new right of way between Highway401 and Century Road by late 1967 and constructed a two lane bypass of the original alignment, avoiding all the built up areas that the original Highway16 encountered. This route was designed to easily accommodate the eventual upgrade to a freeway when traffic volumes necessitated.
Construction of the
Super two, dubbed "Highway 16 New",
took place between 1969 and 1983.
The
Spencerville Bypass opened by 1971, connecting with the old highway in the south near Crowder Road and in the north near Ventnor Road.
By the end of 1973 the new highway was completed from immediately north of Highway401 through Leeds and Grenville United Counties and into
Ottawa–Carleton. This included a bypass around Kemptville and a new structure over the Rideau River.
The new highway ended at Dilworth Road (Regional Road13).
For nearly a decade, no new construction took place. Then, during the summer of 1982, the MTO awarded a contract to begin constructing the route north from Dilworth Road towards
Manotick
Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-Jock Ward in the rural south part of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a suburb of the city, located on the Rideau River, immediately south of the suburbs Barrhaven and Riverside South, about from ...
, bypassing
North Gower
North Gower () is a small village in eastern Ontario, originally part of North Gower Township, now part of the city of Ottawa. Surrounding communities include Richmond, Kemptville, Kars and Manotick
Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-J ...
. Following the completion of this first contract, which extended the route as far north as Roger Stevens Drive (Regional Road6) and included a structure over Stevens Creek, a second contract was awarded for the remaining distance north to Century Road (Regional Road8).
The project was completed in 1983,
merging into the original route of Highway16 northeast of the present Prince of Wales Drive overpass.
Highway 416
With the completion of Highway16 New, there was sufficient right-of-way to construct interchanges and the southbound lanes in order to create a full freeway corridor. The upgrade to Highway416 took place between 1989 and 1999 and was created by the
twinning of of Highway16 New and the construction of an interchange at Highway401. A short section through downtown Ottawa was not incorporated into Highway416, instead being redesigned as Ottawa Regional Road 73 (
Prince of Wales Drive
Prince of Wales Drive ( Ottawa Road #73) is a road serving Ottawa, Ontario, named after the eponymous road in Battersea, London, U.K. The northern section is a low-speed street running along the west bank of the Rideau River, while southern por ...
), North of Prince of Wales Drive, a new freeway alignment was built alongside Borisokane Road and Cedarview Drive to connect with
Highway 417 (The Queensway). This left a short stub through Johnstown, which remains designated as Highway 16.
Route description
![Johnstown ON](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Johnstown_ON.JPG)
Highway16 is now a very brief route, though it was much longer before the construction of Highway416 truncated it. The highway begins near the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Johnstown at the former Highway 2, now Leeds and Grenville County Road2.
From there it travels northwest adjacent to the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, which lies to the southwest. A customs plaza lies at the end of the bridge, north of which the road to the bridge meets the highway; to the northeast is single-detached housing. The highway continues, exiting Johnstown and curving slightly towards the north.
Immediately after crossing over a
Canadian National
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN ...
track, the route encounters an interchange with Highway401 at Exit721B. This
interchange features full access to Highway401, including movements not possible at the Highway416 interchange to the west.
North of the interchange, the road curves gently to the northwest, intersecting Cedar Grove Road. After this, the opposing directions of travel diverge and become ramps to northbound and from southbound Highway416.
Major intersections
References
{{Ontario King's Highways
016
HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist".
...