Skip to main content

Queen Elizabeth Way; Hamilton to King's Highway 420

By
This past April I drove a portion of Queen Elizabeth Wayfrom Hamilton east to King's Highway 420 in Niagara Falls.


Queen Elizabeth Way ("QEW") is a 139.1 Kilometer/86.4 Mile 400 series freeway in the Province of Ontario.  QEW carries a hidden designation of King's Highway 451, the 400 series Provincial routes denote limited access roadways in Ontario akin to the American Interstate System.  QEW begins in Toronto at the junction of the Gardiner Expressway/KH 427 (note; the Gardiner Expressway was part of QEW) and is aligned in a southeasterly direction ending at Interstate 190 in Buffalo, New York.

Work on what would become QEW began in 1931 as a replacement of Lakeshore Road between Toronto and Hamilton.  At the time construction began this segment of roadway was known as the Queen Street Extension and more so ended up being called the Middle Road.  The original design of the Middle Road was to be a conventional un-divided four lanes.  Before the new roadway could be completed the design plans were altered in 1934 to more closely resemble the German Autobahns which had a grade separation between directions of travel.  The roadway was opened between Toronto and Burlington by 1937 and generally is considered to be the first truly limited access facility in North America.

The segment of QEW east of Hamilton began construction as the New Niagara Falls Highways in 1937.  By 1939 the New Niagara Falls Highway had opened between Stoney Creek (part of eastern Hamilton nowadays) and Jordan.  By June of 1939 during a visit from the British Royal Family the entire combined roadway of the Middle Road and New Niagara Falls Highway was designated as Queen Elizabeth Way.  When QEW fully opened it ended in Niagara Falls on what is now KH 420.  As QEW opened there was large sections of roadway that actually were paved in gravel, the entire route was not fully paved until 1956.   QEW as originally built was not a true freeway and had access roads built directly to it along with at-grade intersections.  Most of the direct access roads and at-grade intersections were mostly removed during the 1950s.

My approach to QEW eastbound was from the terminus of Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton.




Niagara Falls is signed as 56KM away on QEW east of Red Hill Valley Parkway.


Access to Hamilton Road 455 on Fruitland Road is signed from QEW eastbound Exit 83.



QEW eastbound has a trunk inspection station just before Exit 78 for Hamilton Road 450 on Fifty Road.




QEW east enters the Municipality of Niagara and Grimsby.




At Exit 74 QEW eastbound has signed access to Municipal Road 10 on Casablanca Road in Grimsby.


At Exit 71 QEW eastbound accesses Municipal Road 12 in Grimbsy.


At Exit 68 QEW eastbound in Grimsby accesses Municipal Road 14.


East of Grimsby QEW enters the Town of Lincoln.


At Exit 64 QEW eastbound in Lincoln accesses Municipal Road 18.


At Exit 57 QEW eastbound in Lincoln accesses Municipal Road 24.


East of Municipal Road 24 QEW crosses over Jordan Harbor within view of the south shore of Lake Ontario.



At Exit 55 QEW eastbound in Lincoln accesses Municipal Road 26.


QEW eastbound enters St. Catharines traffic is advised that the United States can be accessed via; KH 405, KH 420 and QEW.




At Exit 51 QEW eastbound accesses Municipal Road 34 in St. Catharines.


At Exit 49 QEW eastbound has access to KH 406 towards downtown St. Catharines.


QEW eastbound crosses over Twelve Mile Creek and at Exit 47 QEW eastbound in St. Catharines accesses Municipal Road 42.


At Exit 44 QEW eastbound in St. Catharines accesses Municipal Roads 48 and 77.


QEW eastbound crosses the 1963 Garden City Skyway and the Welland Canal into Niagara-on-the-Lake.













Truck traffic is advised that the route over KH 420 to the United States is inaccessible to large vehicles.




At Exits 38 A/B QEW eastbound accesses Municipal Road 89 and KH 405 at Exit 37.




QEW eastbound enters Niagara Falls.



Traffic on QEW eastbound is directed to take KH 420 to downtown Niagara Falls.


At Exit 34 QEW eastbound accesses Municipal Road 101.


Niagara Falls (the actual falls) is directed to take KH 420.





At Exit 32 QEW eastbound accesses Municipal Road 57.


QEW eastbound reaches KH 420 at Exit 30A, this is where I split eastward towards the falls.




Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...
Post a Comment
Read more