Ontario Highway 121

Last updated
Ontario 121.svg
Highway 121
Route information
Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
Length133.7 km [1] (83.1 mi)
ExistedMay 25, 1955 [2] –May 2003
Major junctions
South endOntario 35 crown.svg  Highway 35 at Powles Corners
 Ontario 35A crown.svg  Highway 35A in Fenelon Falls
Ontario Highway 503.svg  Highway 503 in Kinmount
Ontario 35 crown.svg  Highway 35 in Minden
Ontario 118 crown.svg  Highway 118 west in Haliburton Village
Ontario Highway 503.svg  Highway 503 west in Tory Hill
East endOntario 28 crown.svg  Highway 28 in Paudash
Location
Towns Fenelon Falls, Minden, Haliburton Village
Villages Burnt River, Kinmount, Essonville, Tory Hill, Cheddar, Cardiff, Paudash
Highway system
Ontario 118 crown.svg Highway 118 Ontario 124 crown.svg Highway 124
Former provincial highways
 Ontario 120.svg  Highway 120   Highway 122  Ontario 122.svg 

King's Highway 121, commonly referred to as Highway 121, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connected several communities in the cottage country region of Central Ontario on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. Between Fenelon Falls and Minden, Highway 121 served as an alternative route to Highway 35, which was severely congested during summer weekends. From Minden, the highway branched east to Haliburton Village and thereafter followed the present route of Highway 118 to Highway 28 in Paudash.

Contents

Highway 121 was established in 1955, connecting to Highway 35 near Fenelon Falls and Minden. It was extended to Tory Hill via Haliburton Village the following year. 1956 also saw the discovery of significant uranium deposits in the Bancroft area, prompting the Department of Highways to construct a new east–west route, Highway 109. It was built to connect Highway 503 (then 500) at Tory Hill with Highway 28 near Paudash; however, in 1964 it would be absorbed into the routing of Highway 121, bringing the highway to its maximum length of 133.7 kilometres (83.1 mi).

The route remained unchanged until the mid-1990s, when government cutbacks led to a mass transferring—or downloading—of a significant portion of the provincial highway network. In 1997, Highway 121 was downloaded between its southern terminus and the community of Fell, north of Fenelon Falls, as well as from north of Kinmount to Highway 35 in Minden. The section between Fell and Kinmount as well as between Highway 35 and the eastern terminus of Highway 118 was downloaded in 1998, resulting in a common terminus with the latter. This was rectified in 2003 by renumbering the remaining length of Highway 121 as an eastern extension of Highway 118.

Route description

Crossing the Burnt River in Kinmount. The steel arch bridge has been rebuilt many times, but retains its historic charm. Kinmount Bridge.png
Crossing the Burnt River in Kinmount. The steel arch bridge has been rebuilt many times, but retains its historic charm.

Highway 121 was a 133.7 km (83.1 mi) route that connected several communities through southcentral Ontario. [1] As it exists today, the former routing begins in the City of Kawartha Lakes at a junction with Highway 35 north of the village of Cameron. It angles northeast as Kawartha Lakes Road 121, travelling through farmland for 5.6 km (3.5 mi) before entering Fenelon Falls, a town centred on a lock on the Trent–Severn Waterway. Within Fenelon Falls, Kawartha Lakes Road 8 and Road 121 travel concurrently for 1.9 km (1.2 mi), crossing the waterway and passing through the downtown area before curving east and exiting the town. [3]

At Northline Road, Kawartha Lakes Road 8 branches to the south, while former Highway 121 curves northeast, then north between Concession I and II of Verulam Township to Fell, at the northern boundary of the township. From here it veers east, then north between lots 18 and 19 of concession I in Somerville Township. The road winds north-east alongside the former Victoria Railway and the Burnt River to the village of the same name, which it bypasses to the southeast. At Somerville Sixth Concession (Hillside Drive, now Kawartha Lakes Road 44), the route again assumes and eastward direction. It turns north and follows the Bobcaygeon Road along the eastern boundary of Kawartha Lakes, north through Kinmount and into Haliburton County. [3]

From the Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes boundary, the route continues north along the Bobcaygeon Road into the undulating Canadian Shield as Haliburton County Road 121 to meet with Highway 35 immediately south of the town of Minden. The two highways travel concurrently along a bypass on the eastern edge of the town. Immediately south of the Gull River crossing, the route diverges east from Highway 35 as Haliburton County Road 21. Throughout the 23 km (14 mi) distance between Minden and Haliburton Village, the highway serves cottages along the northern shore of Kashagawigamog Lake. [3]

In Haliburton, the route encounters Highway 118, which continues east along what was formerly Highway 121 until early 2003. [4] The route passes through a lake-dotted region to Tory Hill, where it encounters the Monck Road (formerly Highway 503), which provides a shorter route between there and Kinmount. Nearly 4 km (2.5 mi) to the east, drivers must turn to remain on the route, as the mainline continues north into Wilberforce as former Highway 648. The highway continues east, now following the Monck Road, through the communities of Cheddar and Cardiff. At the latter, the Monck Road departs to the northeast, while the highway continues east to Paudash, where it ends at Highway 28. [3]

History

Highway 121 was first established in 1955, connecting to Highway 35 at both ends. In the south, the new route began at Powles Corners, and in the north it ended south of Minden, a distance of 56.2 km (34.9 mi). This segment of the route was assumed by the Department of Highways (DHO) on May 25, 1955, the same day that Highway 35 was rerouted along the Fenelon Falls Bypass; the former route of Highway 35 into Fenelon Falls became Highway 121 and Highway 35A. [2] The following spring, the route was extended east to a junction with the newly designated Highway 500 in Tory Hill. A short concurrency with Highway 35 was established around the east side of Minden. The DHO assumed this segment on March 7, 1956, extending Highway 121 to a length of 107.2 km (66.6 mi). [2]

During the mid-1950s, large Uranium deposits were discovered in the hills west of Bancroft. The area experienced a boom between 1956 and 1964, [5] prompting the DHO to construct two new highways east from Highway 28. One of these was Highway 109, which was designated (reusing the short-lived '109' numbering formerly on Eglinton Avenue in Scarborough) then constructed over the next couple years. Highway 109 was designated on March 20, 1958, from Paudash to the Monck Road west of Cardiff. It was extended further west on June 26 and September 25 by 16.5 km (10.3 mi) to meet with Highway 500, which later became Highway 648, south of Wilberforce. [6] [7] On March 1, 1964, Highway 121 was extended east to Highway 28 at Paudash, absorbing the length of Highway 500 from Tory Hill to the Highway 109 junction, as well as the entire length of Highway 109.[ citation needed ] This brought Highway 121 to its maximum length of 133.7 kilometres (83.1 mi); it remained this way until the late 1990s. [1]

As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premier Mike Harris under his Common Sense Revolution platform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to a lower level of government, a process referred to as downloading. On April 1, 1997, sections of Highway 121 between Cameron and Fell (near Fenelon Falls) and between Kinmount and Minden were transferred to the jurisdiction of Victoria County (now the City of Kawartha Lakes) and Haliburton County. [8] Further downloads were performed on January 1, 1998, transferring the sections between Fell and Kinmount as well as between Minden and Haliburton Village. This resulted in Highway 118 and Highway 121 sharing a common terminus. [9] The remainder of the route from Haliburton to Cardiff was renumbered as part of Highway 118 on May 1, 2003 [10]

Today, the former route of Highway 121 is known by various designations: Kawartha Lakes Road 121 in Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton Highlands Road 121 in Haliburton County south of Minden, Haliburton Highlands Road 21 between Minden and Haliburton Village, and Highway 118 between Haliburton village and Cardiff. [3]

Major intersections

A map of Kawartha Lakes, with route 121 highlighted in orange.
(Click to enlarge) KLR121 Route.svg
A map of Kawartha Lakes, with route 121 highlighted in orange.
(Click to enlarge)

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 121, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. [1]  

DivisionLocationkm [1] miDestinationsNotes
Kawartha Lakes Powles Corners 0.00.0Ontario 35 crown.svg  Highway 35 Southern terminus of Kawartha Lakes Road 121
Fenelon Falls 5.63.5West Street SouthKawartha Lakes Road 121 is known as Lindsay Street north-east of this junction
6.33.9RR 8 jct.svg  Municipal Road 8 (formerly Highway 35A)Kawartha Lakes Roads 8 and 121 travel concurrently for the next 1.9 kilometres. [11] The roads are known as Helen Street north-east of this junction.
6.64.1RR 22 jct.svg Municipal Road 22 (Francis Street)
7.44.6Princess Street
 8.05.0RR 8 jct.svg  Municipal Road 8 (Northline Road)End of designation of Short Street; end of Kawartha Lakes Road 8 concurrency
Fell 15.19.4RR 37 jct.svg Municipal Road 37 (Burys Green Road)Formerly Victoria Road 36 [1]
Burnt River 22.514.0RR 44 jct.svg Municipal Road 44 (Burnt River Road)
25.115.6RR 44 jct.svg Municipal Road 44 (Hillside Drive)
 30.719.1RR 49 jct.svg  Municipal Road 49 (Bobcaygeon Road)Former Secondary Highway 649. Kawartha Lakes Road 121 follows the Bobcaygeon Road north of this junction.
Kinmount 40.425.1RR 45 jct.svg  Municipal Road 45 (Monck Road)Kawartha Lakes Roads 45 and 121 run concurrent for the next 200 metres. [12]
40.625.2RR 45 jct.svg Municipal Road 45 (Monck Road)End of concurrency with Kawartha Lakes Road 45
41.926.0Boundary RoadNorthern terminus of Kawartha Lakes Road 121. Road continues north as Haliburton County Road 121
Haliburton Minden Hills 48.129.9County Road 1 north (Gelert Road)
56.234.9Ontario 35 crown.svg  Highway 35 south – Coboconk, Lindsay Beginning of Highway 35 concurrency
58.636.4County Road 16 (South Lake Road)
60.737.7Ontario 35 crown.svg  Highway 35 north – Carnarvon, Dorset End of Highway 35 concurrency
68.142.3County Road 18 (Ingoldsby Road) – Ingoldsby
73.445.6
Allsaw Bridge
Haliburton Village 82.851.4County Road 1 south (Gelert Road)
83.852.1Ontario 118 crown.svg  Highway 118 westEastern terminus of Highway 118 until May 2003; Western terminus of Highway 121 between January 1, 1998 and May 2003
 88.354.9County Road 3 south (Glamorgan Road) – Gooderham
91.656.9Kennaway Road Kennaway
Essonville 102.163.4County Road 4 east (Essonville Line)
Tory Hill 107.266.6Ontario Highway 503.svg  Highway 503Gooderham, Kinmount
Highlands East 111.069.0Highway 648 (Wilberforce Road)
120.775.0Highway 648 (Dyno Mines Road)
122.576.1Highway 648 (Highland Grove Road)
128.980.1County Road 9
Hastings Paudash 133.783.1Ontario 28 crown.svg  Highway 28
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related Research Articles

Kawartha Lakes City in Ontario, Canada

The City of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It is a municipality legally structured as a single-tier city; however, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostly rural. It is the second largest single-tier municipality in Ontario by land area.

King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville and East Gwillimbury, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton. The route is generally rural and straight, passing near several communities within the Regional Municipality of York. The route is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long. Most part of the road has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), except within town limits, where the speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h (37 mph) or 50 km/h (31 mph).

Highlands East, Ontario Township Municipality in Ontario, Canada

Highlands East is a township municipality located in Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada.

Kinmount Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Kinmount is a village with a population of approximately 500, located on the Burnt River in Ontario, Canada. The village is apportioned by three municipalities, they are, City of Kawartha Lakes, Minden Hills and Trent Lakes. The village's hinterland covers large sections of both Haliburton and Peterborough counties for which it is a shopping and cultural centre. Prior to the formation of the City of Kawartha Lakes, Kinmount was the seat of Somerville Township.

Secondary Highway 519, commonly referred to as Highway 519, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway is 30.5 km (19.0 mi) in length, connecting Highway 17 near Obatanga Provincial Park with Dubreuilville station. A private logging road continues east from that point.

King's Highway 64, commonly referred to as Highway 64, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting Highway 69 north of the French River with Highway 11 at Marten River, via Highway 17 west of Sturgeon Falls. The route serves several communities along the north shore of the French River and west shore of Lake Nipissing as it travels from Highway 69 to Highway 17. North of Sturgeon Falls, the highway provides a shortcut between Highway 17 and Highway 11 northwest of North Bay.

Salerno Lake

Salerno Lake, formerly Devil's Lake, is a lake in the municipalities of Highlands East and Minden Hills in Haliburton County in Central Ontario, Canada. The lake is part of the Kawartha Lakes, and lies in the Great Lakes Basin. It is part of cottage country approximately a 2+12-hour drive away from Toronto.

King's Highway 35, also known as Highway 35, is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, linking Highway 401 with Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, and Algonquin Park. The highway travels from west of Newcastle, through Lindsay and the Kawarthas and into Haliburton before terminating at Highway 60 to the west of Algonquin Park. The winding course of the highway, combined with the picturesque views offered along its length, have led some to declare it the most scenic highway in Ontario.

King's Highway 118, commonly referred to as Highway 118, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route travels across South-Central Ontario between Highway 11 near Bracebridge and Highway 28 near Bancroft. Several communities are served by the route, including Uffington, Vankoughnet, Carnarvon, West Guilford, Haliburton Village, Tory Hill, Cardiff and Paudash.

King's Highway 169, commonly referred to as Highway 169, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connected Highway 12 at Brechin, southeast of Orillia, with Highway 69 at Foot's Bay. The 91.40 km (56.79 mi) route included an 18.20 km (11.31 mi) concurrency with Highway 11 between Washago and Gravenhurst. Located within Simcoe County and the District Municipality of Muskoka, the highway also provided access to the community of Bala.

King's Highway 46, commonly referred to as Highway 46, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connected Highway 7 with Highway 48 in Victoria County. The route existed between 1937 and 1997, after which it was decommissioned and transferred to the county. In 2001, Victoria County amalgamated into the city of Kawartha Lakes, and the road became known as Kawartha Lakes Road 46. It is 25.7 kilometres (16.0 mi) long, passing through the villages of Woodville, Argyle and Bolsover.

Kawartha Lakes Road 35, also known as Victoria Road and Fennel Road, is a municipally-maintained road located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The road is mostly straight, running in a north–south orientation throughout its length. It began at the hamlet of Glenarm and travels 30.5 kilometres (19.0 mi) to Uphill.

Secondary Highway 503, commonly referred to as Highway 503, was a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 116.8 km (72.6 mi) route existed between 1956 and 1998. Between 1956 and 1963, the highway stretched from Kirkfield to Sebright, and then along the Monck Road from Sebright to Kinmount, entirely within Victoria County. In 1964, the route was extended to Highway 121 in Tory Hill along the route of Highway 500 through the counties of Peterborough and Haliburton. In 1998, the route was transferred to the various counties in which it resided. Today it is known as Kawartha Lakes City Road 6 and 45, Peterborough County Road 503 and Haliburton County Road 503.

Secondary Highway 649, commonly referred to as Highway 649, was a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Now known as Kawartha Lakes Road 49, and locally as East Street North in Bobcaygeon, it is a municipally-maintained class-3 roadway located mostly along the boundary between the city of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County. The 18-kilometre-long (11 mi) route begins in Bobcaygeon at a junction with former Highway 36, and proceeds north along the boundary between Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County to a junction with former Highway 121 just south of Kinmount.

Secondary Highway 500, commonly referred to as Highway 500, was a secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which was first designated in 1956. Its route was renumbered in 1964, becoming:

Black River (Severn River tributary)

The Black River is a river in Simcoe County, the District Municipality of Muskoka, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a right tributary of the Severn River.

Irondale River

The Irondale River is a river in Haliburton County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a left tributary of the Burnt River.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (April 1, 1989). "Provincial Highways Distance Table". Provincial Highways Distance Table: King's Secondary Highways and Tertiary Roads. Government of Ontario: 84–85. ISSN   0825-5350.
  2. 1 2 3 "Appendix 3 - Schedule of Assumptions of Sections". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1956. pp. 203, 205.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Peter Heiler. 2010. pp. 44, 60–61. § U37–A44. ISBN   978-1-55198-226-7.
  4. Ministry of Transportation (February 11, 2002). "Ontario government improves provincial highway numbering". Newswire. Archived from the original on August 4, 2002. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  5. "History of Uranium Mining in Canada". Canadian Nuclear Association. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  6. "Appendix 3B - Schedule of Designations of Sections". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1958. p. 242.
  7. "Appendix 3A - Schedule of Designations and Redesignations of Sections". Annual Report (Report). Department of Highways. March 31, 1959. p. 238.
  8. Highway Transfers List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. April 1, 1997. pp. 5, 8.
  9. Highway Transfers List - "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. pp. 6, 12, 14.
  10. Millar, Ray Y C (2005). "Highway 121". From Coal Oil Lights to. Trafford. ISBN   978-1-4122-3208-1 . Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  11. Google (October 31, 2009). "Google Maps - Kawartha Lakes Road 8 and Road 121 (length and route of concurrency)" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
  12. Google (October 31, 2009). "Google Maps - Kawartha Lakes Road 45 and Road 121 (length and route of concurrency)" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved October 31, 2009.