King's Highway 96, commonly referred to as Highway 96, was a
provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian province of
Ontario on
Wolfe Island and the main street of
Marysville, the island's main village. Together with
Highway 95, the routes were the only King's Highway not connected to the rest of the network by a fixed link. Today it is under the jurisdiction of
Frontenac Islands Township as
Frontenac County does not have a county road system.
Route description
Highway 96 was a short highway that travelled in a generally east–west direction across
Wolfe Island. The route began at 2nd Line Road, immediately west of the ferry connection to
Simcoe Island. From there it travelled east, passing through
Marysville where it connected with Highway 95 and the summer ferry to
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, named the
Wolfe Islander III; the ferry docks further east during the winter months and Dawson Point.
Unlike the private ferry service at the southern tip of the island, the Wolfe Islander III is operated by the
Ministry of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
and can be used free of charge.
From Dawson Point Road, just east of Marysville, the highway continued east across the island. It zig-zagged south and east several times, passing the Wolfe Island Tourist Information Centre and heading towards its eastern terminus at a cul-de-sac facing the
St. Lawrence River.
Beside the ferry services, there is no other link between Wolfe Island and the mainland, making the two routes on the island the only King's Highways that were not connected to the rest of the network by a fixed link.
History
Highway 96 was established on May 22, 1935, when the
Department of Highways assumed several existing concession roads.
Highway 96 was the second King's Highway on Wolfe Island, Highway 95 having been established the previous year.
The route remained generally unchanged, except for the addition of gentler curves, until its decommissioning on January 1, 1998.
It was subsequently transferred to the municipality and designated as County Road 96.
Highways 95 and 96 originally connected to the remainder of the Ontario highway system via ferry crossing to Ontario Street in
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, which was 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 ...
in
Ontario Highway 2. The removal of the local portion of that road from the provincial highway system in 1998 nominally disconnects 95 and 96 from the provincial King's Highway network.
Major intersections
See also
*
List of numbered roads in Frontenac County
References
;Footnotes
{{Ontario King's Highways
096