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King's Highway 8, commonly referred to as Highway 8, is a provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
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 ...
. The route travels from Highway 21 in Goderich, on the shores of
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...
, to Highway 5 in the outskirts of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
near
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
. Before the 1970s, it continued east through Hamilton and along the edge of the
Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...
to the American border at the
Whirlpool Bridge The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge (before 1937), is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the international border between Canada and the United States, con ...
in
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
. However, the
Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...
(QEW) replaced the role of Highway8 between those two cities, and the highway was subsequently transferred from the province to the newly formed
Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...
in 1970. In 1998, the remaining portion east of Peters Corners was transferred to the city of Hamilton. Between Stratford and Kitchener, Highway8 is
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 Highway 7. The two highways widen into a four-lane freeway east of New Hamburg, eventually becoming the
Conestoga Parkway The Conestoga Parkway, officially the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway, is a controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress ...
within Kitchener, where it splits with Highway7. It follows a short connector freeway – known as the Freeport Diversion, King Street Bypass, or Highway 8 expressway – south to
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 ...
. The route continues as the locally maintained Regional Road 8 (King Street East) through downtown
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
before resuming as a provincial highway at Branchton Road and soon after that entering the city of Hamilton. Highway8 ends east of Peters Corners at an intersection with Hamilton Road8. Highway8 was one of the first roads assumed when the provincial highway system was established, though it was not numbered until 1925. The routes that predate the highway, including the Huron Road, and the Queenston Stone Road, were established during the settlement of
Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...
between 1780 and 1830. These early trails served as the principal routes in the regions through which they passed and eventually became part of the provincial highway system circa 1918.


Route description

Highway8 is a route that connects the shores of Lake Huron at Goderich with the head of Lake Ontario in Hamilton. Portions of the highway through Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth, Mitchell and Stratford are locally-maintained under a
Connecting Link The Connecting Link program is a provincial subsidy provided to municipalities to assist with road construction, maintenance and repairs in the Canadian province of Ontario. Roads which are designated as ''connecting links'' form the portions of ...
Agreement with the provincial government. Highway8 begins at its western terminus in downtown Goderich, at a junction with Highway 21, within Huron County. It exits the town travelling southeast as a rural two-lane highway running roughly parallel and south of the
Maitland River The Maitland River is a river in Huron County, Perth County and Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river highlighted on a topographic map. The river is in the Great Lakes Basin and empties into Lake Huro ...
, passing through farmland outside of the many small communities it serves. At Holmesville, the river moves northwards while the highway continues southeast, now parallel to and north of the
Goderich–Exeter Railway The Goderich–Exeter Railway is a short line freight railway that operates around of track in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Created in 1992, it was the first short line railway in Canada to be purchased from a class I railway, in this case Ca ...
. Soon after, it passes through Clinton, where it intersects the northern terminus of Highway 4. Highway8 is completely straight for approximately between Clinton and Stratford. After bisecting Seaforth, the highway enters Perth County and passes through the communities of
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...
(where it intersects Highway 23) and Sebringville. Entering Stratford as Huron Street, Highway8 widens to four lanes. It crosses the Avon River, then turns east onto Ontario Street before encountering Highway7 at Erie Street. The two routes become concurrent for the next , between Stratford and Kitchener. East of Stratford, the highway narrows back to two lanes and travels north of and parallel to the CN railway
Guelph Subdivision Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and We ...
. After passing through the village of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, the route enters the
Regional Municipality of Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...
as it widens to four lanes and curves onto the New Hamburg Bypass. It travels south of New Hamburg and crosses the
Nith River The Nith River is a river in Brant, Oxford and Perth Counties and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The Nith River is approximately 125km in length and empties into the Grand River at the town of Paris. ...
before becoming a divided four-lane
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
near
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
. At Trussler Road, the combined Highway7/8 enters the city of Kitchener, where it is known as the
Conestoga Parkway The Conestoga Parkway, officially the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway, is a controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress ...
. The Conestoga Parkway runs through Kitchener, widening to a six-lane freeway near Fischer Hallman Road. At King Street in the city's centre, Highway8 splits off southeastward at an interchange, while Highway7 continues along the Conestoga Parkway. Traffic on Highway8 heading northwest can continue under the Conestoga Parkway onto King Street into downtown Kitchener. Between the Conestoga Parkway and Highway401, Highway8 follows an eight-lane freeway known as the Freeport Diversion or Highway8 Expressway. The expressway initially travels southeast, passing under Franklin Street before swerving slightly south. It crosses over the Grand River at its midpoint, followed by a partial interchange with King Street East that provides access to Highway401 westbound to London. The expressway narrows to six lanes and later to four lanes at Sportsworld Drive. It merges to eastbound Highway401 and from westbound 401. The maintains approximately of King Street and Shantz Hill Road at the Highway401 interchange as an unsigned portion of Highway8. Within Cambridge, the route continues as Waterloo Regional Road 8 along Shantz Hill Road, Fountain Street, King Street, Coronation Boulevard, and Dundas Street. Highway8 resumes at Branchton Road, where it exits urban Cambridge into farmland travelling southeast. After approximately , the route enters Hamilton. It
bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...
the communities of Sheffield and Rockton before eventually reaching Peters Corners, where it meets the western terminus of Highway5 at a multilane
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
. Highway8 ends to the east at an intersection with Hamilton Road8.


History


Predecessors (1780–1918)

While its history as a provincial highway dates back to 1918, significant portions of the roads that would be taken over by the province and eventually designated as Highway8 had existed for nearly a century or longer. These include the Huron Road between Berlin ( renamed Kitchener in 1916) and Goderich, which was built ; the Dundas and the Hamilton Stone Road that were established in 1819 along a trail blazed between Hamilton and Berlin in 1798; and the Queenston Road (later the Queenston Stone Road or the Queenston and Grimsby Stone Road), established along an aboriginal trail at the foot of the
Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...
in the 1780s. When settlers began arriving in the
Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...
following the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
and the signing of the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...
in 1783, natives were non-existent in the area, the local tribe having been ravaged over a century earlier. Trails crisscrossed the peninsula, with the dominant routes favouring an east–west orientation. The most significant of these was the Iroquois Trail that traversed along the foot of the Niagara Escarpment. In the east,
Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponymo ...
provided an ideal crossing of the
Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...
. In the west, the escarpment breaks at Dundas, where the trail continued towards the Grand River at present-day
Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...
, thus providing a
portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The Iroquois Trail was utilised by famous historical figures, including
John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...
in 1793 on his voyage to Detroit, as well as during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. It was widened to accommodate wagon traffic by 1785. Between approximately 1800 and 1820, large numbers of German and Dutch settlers from Pennsylvania travelled west across the Niagara Peninsula and onward to the Waterloo area. A trail cut from Hamilton to the Grand River, at Galt, in 1798 or 1799, was gradually widened to be fit for wagons by 1819. While
Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of On ...
served as the initial focal point of settlement into southwestern Ontario, Hamilton emerged in 1816 at the head of Lake Ontario, and immediately became the new hub for settlers. The route between Hamilton and Waterloo was improved to a stone road circa 1836. Over the years the route was known by various names, including the Waterloo Road, the Galt Road, the Old Dutch Road, the Beverly Road, and most often the Dundas and Hamilton Stone Road. Settlement beyond Waterloo was accomplished by the
Canada Company The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under an act of the British parliament,, ...
, which acquired the
Huron Tract The Huron Tract Purchase also known as the Huron Block, registered as Crown Treaty Number 29, is a large area of land in southwestern Ontario bordering on Lake Huron to the west and Lake Erie to the east. The area spans the counties of Huron, Pert ...
in 1826. In order to implement the grand settlement plan, a trail was surveyed by
Mahlon Burwell Mahlon Burwell (February 18, 1783 – January 25, 1846) was a surveyor and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1783 and came to Upper Canada with his family in 1796. He was largely self-schooled and was employed by ...
and William Dunlop from Guelph to Lake Huron at the mouth of the Maitland River beginning in 1827. After company commissioner
Thomas Mercer Jones Thomas Mercer Jones (1795 – 2 October 1868) was an English-born administrator who arrived in Upper Canada in the 1820s and was employed as a commissioner of the Canada Company based in Goderich. A series of internal conflicts led to his di ...
rode the muddy trail from Guelph to Goderich in June 1829, he recommended that it be widened to four rods (), which was done by the end of that year by Colonel Anthony Van Egmond. The trail was further improved to allow for the passage of wagons by 1832. The Canada Company venture would ultimately fail, but not before establishing the present-day settlement patterns.


Designation and paving (1918–1949)

Until 1918, the majority of the primary roads through southern Ontario formed part of the County Road System. The Department of Public Works and Highways paid up to 60% of the construction and maintenance costs for these roads, while the counties were responsible for the remaining 40%. The Ontario government passed an act in 1917 to permit the newly formed Department of Public Highways (DPHO) to take over (or assume) responsibility and upkeep of a provincial highway system. The initial system, between
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, was bookended by branches to Niagara and
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. The branch to Niagara would become the first provincial highway connection to the United States, and later become the easternmost portion of Highway8. The Hamilton–Queenston Highway was assumed as part of "The Provincial Highway" in August 1918. In 1919, the federal government passed the
Canada Highways Act The ''Canada Highways Act'' was a 1919 act of the Dominion Parliament of Canada. The Act established a fund to support the construction of provincial highways as part of the post-World War I reconstruction program of Robert Borden's Union ...
, which provided C$20,000,000 to provinces under the condition that they establish an official highway network; up to 40% of construction costs would be subsidized. The first network plan was approved on February26, 1920, and included the Queenston Road. Most of the remainder of what would become Highway8 – from Goderich to Hamilton – was assumed by the department throughout July 1920. On October13, several roads were taken over by the province between
St. David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, ,  "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, ...
near Queenston and the
Whirlpool Rapids Bridge The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge (before 1937), is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the international border between Canada and the United States, con ...
in Niagara Falls. The new route followed the present Four Mile Creek Road, St. Paul Avenue, and Portage Road south to Thorold Stone Road, which it followed east to Stanley Avenue, thence south to Bridge Street. However, none of these roads would receive a route number until the summer of 1925. Initially Highway8 was almost entirely unpaved, except within towns and portions between Stratford and Shakespeare as well as between Kitchener and Hamilton. During the initial few years of the existence of the highway network, which were spent rebuilding
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
s, bridges, and ditches, paving took a low priority. The first sections of Highway8 paved by the DPHO were in 1922 between Hamilton and Stoney Creek, as well as between Sebringville and Stratford. The rest of the highway between Hamilton and Niagara Falls, as well as the remaining gaps between Kitchener and Hamilton, were paved the following year. Work was completed between Shakespeare and New Hamburg, as well as on the gaps between Petersburg and Kitchener in 1924. In 1925, paving between Mitchell and Sebringville was completed. At this time, Highway8 was paved from Mitchell to New Hamburg, and from Petersburg to Niagara Falls. In 1926, paving was completed for southeast of Goderich, as well as between Dublin and Mitchell. The following year, it was completed on the remaining gap between Goderich and Clinton, as well as between Seaforth and Dublin. The final unpaved section of Highway8, between Clinton and Seaforth, was completed in 1928.


Bypasses and the Conestoga Parkway (1949–1970)

Highway8 would remain unchanged for approximately 20years until bypasses of several cities and towns along the route were built. The first such bypass was in Kitchener, where until 1949, the highway travelled into and out of the downtown core along King Street and Queen Street before following Highland Road west towards Stratford. By 1950, to divert truck traffic from the King and Queen Street intersection, it was redirected slightly along Ottawa Street and Courtland Avenue. The New Hamburg Diversion opened in 1957, bypassing its namesake as well as the community of
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
. The original route – following Huron Street, Waterloo Street, and Snyder's Street West – met the new bypass at Gingerich Road east of Baden. Farther east, two bypasses were constructed around the villages of Rockton and Sheffield beginning in 1958 that opened the following year. Within Hamilton, growing congestion in the 1950s led the city to hire American traffic engineer
Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints ...
, whom had made a business of consulting for cities to develop one-way street plans. Smith proposed a complete reorganisation of the downtown area, including converting Main Street – which Highway8 followed through the city – to an eastbound one-way. King Street served the opposing direction in the
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...
ing. The switch from two-way to one-way traffic took place on October28, 1956. It immediately drew condemnation from local businesses, which saw a significant reduction in customers. A special council meeting to discuss the matter was held on July15, 1957, which drew a large public audience. At it, alderman Ramsey Evans, a member of the committee that had first suggested the one-way conversion, sought to undo it. The motion was defeated, and Main Street and King Street remain one-way streets. In the fall of 1961, the Department of Highways began construction of the Freeport Diversion, providing a new divided highway crossing of the Grand River. The diversion, connecting with King Street south of the Grand River and at Fergus Street, was completed in 1963. Although the concept of a
ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
around Kitchener and Waterloo originated from the Kitchener-Waterloo and Suburban Planning Board in 1948, actual consideration was not given to it until it was recommended by a 1961 traffic study. By then, the opening of Highway401 was attracting business away from the rapidly growing twin cities. Land was gradually purchased over the intervening years and picked up considerably when plans for the expressway system were first raised in late 1962. The provincial government reached a funding arrangement with Kitchener and Waterloo to cover 75% of the expected C$22 million cost, and officially announced the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway on May21, 1964. The province eventually took over authority for the entire project in August 1965. Construction of the Kitchener–Waterloo Expressway began in February 1966 with the awarding of a C$3 million contract to rebuild of King Street into a four lane divided highway from Fairway Road (renamed from Block Line Road) to Doon Road, including the half cloverleaf interchange that would serve the western and northern legs of the expressway system. In the mid-to-late 1960s, Highway8 was redirected along Fairway Road, Mill Street (now Vanier Drive) and a new road named Henry Sturm Boulevard that travelled east from Ottawa Street and Highland Road to Mill Street. The expressway was renamed the Conestoga Parkway in January 1967, after being chosen by a joint committee from a shortlist of 12 publicly-submitted names. The reconstruction of King Street was completed and opened in November 1967. Construction began several months later in October on a C$3.6 million contract to build a segment of the parkway from King Street to west of Homer Watson Boulevard. This section, which was built along the alignment of Henry Strum Boulevard, was opened to traffic between Courtland Avenue and King Street on November25, 1968, at which point the Highway8 designation was redirected along King Street and the Conestoga Parkway to Homer Watson Boulevard, via Henry Strum Boulevard, and onto Highland Road.


Transfers and expressway extensions (1970–1997)

During the 1960s, the Department of Highways undertook several regional transportation studies to determine traffic patterns, which had changed significantly since the highway network was established in the 1920s. Among these was the Niagara Peninsula Planning Study, released in 1964. It indicated that several highways were no longer provincially significant, and responsibility for them should be transferred to local government. Having largely been supplanted by the
Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...
, opened in the 1940s, the winding route of Highway8 east of Winona was transferred to the new Regional Municipality of Niagara on September1, 1970. The region designated the former highway as Regional Road81. Meanwhile, work continued on the Conestoga Parkway in the early 1970s, with a section between Courtland Avenue and Fischer-Hallman Drive opening on September1, 1971. Around this time, construction was underway on a new two lane alignment of Highway7/8, first announced in 1963, to connect the New Hamburg Diversion with the Conestoga Parkway. It opened on August13, 1973, bypassing Baden; the former alignment east of New Hamburg is now known as Gingerich Road. During the mid-1970s, proposals for a Highway8 bypass of Cambridge were floated, but never gained traction. Although the proposal was shelved in 1988, the bypass idea was briefly revived as a result of recommendations in the Cambridge Area Transportation Study, released in June 1992. It recommended construction of a C$54.5 million bypass of Highway8 around the west side of Cambridge, from Highway401 to south of the city. The proposal faced public backlash due to the cost as well as environmental concerns of crossing the Grand River and five environmentally sensitive areas. Following the completion of an environmental assessment in 1984, construction began by 1985 on a new freeway link between the Freeport Diversion and Highway401, which was known as Highway8 New during construction. Highway8 New was completed by 1988, and received the non-public designation Highway7187, since the Highway8 designation continued along King Street East and Shantz Hill Road towards Cambridge. However, in 2008, Highway8 was rerouted along the freeway segment, while King Street East and Shantz Hill Road were re-designated as Waterloo Regional Road8. The province continues to maintain approximately of Waterloo Regional Road8 at the Highway401 interchange as an unsigned portion of Highway.8. The two lane segment of Highway 7/8 from Fischer-Hallman Road west to Baden was originally slated to be twinned to four lanes in the 1980s, but the project was put off for a decade. Early works tree clearing got underway in 1991 before the project was put on hold for archeological excavations. Construction began to widen the route as far west as Waterloo Regional Road12 (Queen Street), south of Petersburg, on July6, 1992, with a planned completion by August 1993. Budget constraints brought on by a recession in the 1990s resulted in the
Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
provincial government forming the ''Who Does What?'' committee to determine cost-cutting measures in order to balance the budget after a deficit incurred by former premier
Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
. It was determined that many Ontario highways no longer served long-distance traffic movement and should therefore be maintained by local or regional levels of government. The MTO consequently transferred many highways to lower levels of government in 1997 and 1998, which resulted in the removal of a significant percentage of the provincial highway network. As a result of this, the portion of Highway8 east of Highway5 at Peters Corners, through Dundas, Hamilton and Stoney Creek, was transferred to the
Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was a Regional Municipality in Ontario, Canada, that existed between the dates of January 1, 1974, and January 1, 2001, primarily centered on the City of Hamilton. It was proclaimed and created ...
on April1, 1997. A section of King Street in Kitchener, from north of the Highway401 interchange to the Freeport Diversion, was also transferred on that day to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.


Since 1997

In the early 1990s, the provincial government announced plans to widen the Conestoga Parkway and Freeport Diversion, as well as to improve the interchange between the two. The project was broken into several phases, and included rebuilding the Ottawa Street and Franklin Street overpasses. Construction began in August or September 1998 to widen the Conestoga Parkway from four to six lanes between Courtland Avenue and King Street. It was completed, along with widening of the parkway between King Street and Frederick Street, in July 2000. The expansion of Highway8 from four lanes to eight lanes between the Conestoga Parkway and Fergus Avenue was originally scheduled to begin in 2001, but was delayed as businesses along Weber Street fought
expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
. Construction instead began in April 2002, which involved shifting one of the retaining walls further north and a new Franklin Street bridge to accommodate the eight lane cross-section freeway. Included with this project was a reconstruction of the bottle-necked interchange of the Conestoga Parkway and Highway8, including a new flyover ramp from westbound Conestoga Parkway to eastbound Highway8 to replace one of the two loop ramps, and realignment of the northbound to eastbound ramp. Both were completed and opened on June11, 2004. Work began on the next phase, widening Highway8 from four to eight lanes from Fergus Avenue to northwest of the Grand River, in April 2006. This work included rebuilding the Fairway Road interchange. Construction to twin Highway8 over the Grand River and widen it northwest of the Sportsworld Drive interchange began in the summer of 2009, following the relocation of approximately 50
Wavy-rayed lampmussel ''Lampsilis fasciola'', the wavy-rayed lampmussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Appearance and description The wavy-rayed lampmussel is a relatively small mussel ...
, considered a
species at risk The List of Wildlife Species at Risk currently has more than 800 entries for Canadian wild life species considered vulnerable; including 363 classified as endangered species, —190 threatened species, —235 special concern, and 22 extirpated ( ...
in Canada. Both projects were completed and opened, except for one westbound lane over the Grand River, in November 2011; the fourth westbound lane was opened the following year. An operational and safety review of the three intersections at Peters Corners near Hamilton was undertaken in February 2001. Studies, including an
environmental assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
were conducted between 2004 and 2009, and settled upon a
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
as the ideal replacement, with traffic signals at the two intersections with Westover Road. Construction began in the spring of 2012, and the C$6.3 million roundabout was opened on September25, 2012.


Future

The interchange between the Freeport Diversion and Highway401 is incomplete, providing access only between eastbound Highway8 and eastbound Highway401, and between westbound Highway401 and westbound Highway8. Although a detailed design for two additional ramps to provide access to and from the west to Highway8 was prepared in 2010, there is no schedule or funding as of 2021 for this work.


Suffixed routes


Major intersections


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Highway 8 – Length and Route on Google MapsVideo of the King Street Bypass (Highway 8)History of Highway 8 in Niagara (pp. 15–26)
{{Ontario King's Highways
008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...
Roads in Hamilton, Ontario Roads in Kitchener, Ontario Transport in Stratford, Ontario Roads in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo