Highway 10 (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
King's Highway 10, commonly referred to as Highway 10 and historically as the Toronto–Sydenham Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian
province of Ontario
. The highway connects the northern end of Highway 410 with the city of Owen Sound on the southern shores of Georgian Bay
, passing through the towns of Orangeville
and Shelburne
as well as several smaller villages along the way.
The highway was established in 1920 as one of the original provincial highways. It was extended south by 1937 to Highway 2
in Port Credit
. That same year, it became the site of the first interchange in Canada at The Middle Road
. Since the late 1990s, the southern end has been truncated to its current terminus north of the Brampton
–Caledon
border.
in 1848. Its route has remained largely unchanged since that time, and the highway still divides many of the towns it serves, with the exception of Orangeville. It acts as the base concession road
for the Regional Municipality of Peel; perpendicular sidelines are divided into East and West halves in several cases by the highway.
Beginning at its southern end in Caledon, Highway 10 passes to the west of Sandalwood, a private community on the suburban fringe of the Greater Toronto Area
. The highway presses north-west and rises gently over the Niagara Escarpment
, a World Biosphere Reserve. Immediately to the west are the Forks of the Credit
, a deep glacial ravine and provincial park
regarded for its scenery. The highway passes between several large quarries and enters Caledon Village. Continuing, it reaches Orangeville at Highway 9. The highway passes to the east of Orangville on a bypass, avoiding the business district. At the north end of the bypass, the highway curves and proceeds directly north towards the village of Primrose at Highway 89.
Highway 10 turns west, becoming concurrent
with Highway 89 for a short distance, into the town of Shelburne. The concurrency ends in the centre of Shelburne, as Highway 10 splits and turns north and then resumes its north-west course. From Shelburne to Owen Sound, the road follows the course of the Toronto–Sydenham Road, a colonization road that predates the division of the land in this area. As such, the road follows a meandering path at an angle to the survey grid.
through Brampton, Orangeville and Shelburne to Owen Sound. It was first designated as a provincial highway on February 26, 1920 when the newly formed Department of Highways assumed the road. It was later extended when the provincial government assumed the road running south to Highway 2
in Port Credit
on the north shore of Lake Ontario
. At that point, the total length of the highway was 166 km.
In 1968, a by-pass around Orangeville was completed.
In 1998, the Mike Harris
government, seeking to balance the provincial budget, off-loaded responsibility for the southernmost 31 km running through Brampton and Mississauga onto their respective municipal governments. This segment became known as Hurontario Street
.
In 2009, Highway 410 was connected to Highway 10 about 500 metres north of Highway 10's southernmost terminus at the border of Brampton. The 500-metre "orphaned" segment is now discontinuous, and while still technically part of the highway, is only linked to the rest of the highway via a suburban road, and is signed "Hurontario Street" rather than "Highway 10".
Also in 2009, a major project to widen single-lane sections of the southern portions of the highway was completed, and the highway is now four lanes wide from Highway 410 north to Shelburne. From Shelburne north to Owen Sound, it remains two-lane highway with several "passing lanes" in hillier regions.
During winter, the northern stretches of the highway that pass through the snowbelt
region of Grey County are subject to poor visibility and road closings during windy conditions or winter storms.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The highway connects the northern end of Highway 410 with the city of Owen Sound on the southern shores of Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
, passing through the towns of Orangeville
Orangeville, Ontario
Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...
and Shelburne
Shelburne, Ontario
Shelburne, Ontario is a town in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada, located at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 89...
as well as several smaller villages along the way.
The highway was established in 1920 as one of the original provincial highways. It was extended south by 1937 to Highway 2
Ontario Highway 2
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
in Port Credit
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...
. That same year, it became the site of the first interchange in Canada at The Middle Road
The Middle Road
The Middle Road was the name for a historic highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which served to link the cities of Toronto and Hamilton...
. Since the late 1990s, the southern end has been truncated to its current terminus north of the Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
–Caledon
Caledon, Ontario
Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
border.
Route description
Highway 10 follows a route originally carved through the virgin forests of Upper CanadaUpper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
in 1848. Its route has remained largely unchanged since that time, and the highway still divides many of the towns it serves, with the exception of Orangeville. It acts as the base concession road
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
for the Regional Municipality of Peel; perpendicular sidelines are divided into East and West halves in several cases by the highway.
Beginning at its southern end in Caledon, Highway 10 passes to the west of Sandalwood, a private community on the suburban fringe of the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
. The highway presses north-west and rises gently over the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
, a World Biosphere Reserve. Immediately to the west are the Forks of the Credit
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Ontario Parks system and is part of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere. The park is on the Bruce Trail. The Credit River runs through the park. Other notable features of the park include a kettle lake,...
, a deep glacial ravine and provincial park
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
regarded for its scenery. The highway passes between several large quarries and enters Caledon Village. Continuing, it reaches Orangeville at Highway 9. The highway passes to the east of Orangville on a bypass, avoiding the business district. At the north end of the bypass, the highway curves and proceeds directly north towards the village of Primrose at Highway 89.
Highway 10 turns west, becoming concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
with Highway 89 for a short distance, into the town of Shelburne. The concurrency ends in the centre of Shelburne, as Highway 10 splits and turns north and then resumes its north-west course. From Shelburne to Owen Sound, the road follows the course of the Toronto–Sydenham Road, a colonization road that predates the division of the land in this area. As such, the road follows a meandering path at an angle to the survey grid.
History
Historically, Highway 10 follows a 19th-century stage coach route known as the Toronto–Sydenham Road that ran north from Highway 5 in CooksvilleCooksville, Ontario
Cooksville is a neighbourhood in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Dundas Street and Hurontario Street.-History:...
through Brampton, Orangeville and Shelburne to Owen Sound. It was first designated as a provincial highway on February 26, 1920 when the newly formed Department of Highways assumed the road. It was later extended when the provincial government assumed the road running south to Highway 2
Ontario Highway 2
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
in Port Credit
Port Credit
Port Credit may refer to:* Port Credit, Ontario, a community in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada* Port Credit GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the community* Port Credit Secondary School, in the Canadian community...
on the north shore of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. At that point, the total length of the highway was 166 km.
In 1968, a by-pass around Orangeville was completed.
In 1998, the Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
government, seeking to balance the provincial budget, off-loaded responsibility for the southernmost 31 km running through Brampton and Mississauga onto their respective municipal governments. This segment became known as Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood.Within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, it is a major urban thoroughfare. Between Caledon and Orangeville, it is part of busy Highway 10, which leaves...
.
In 2009, Highway 410 was connected to Highway 10 about 500 metres north of Highway 10's southernmost terminus at the border of Brampton. The 500-metre "orphaned" segment is now discontinuous, and while still technically part of the highway, is only linked to the rest of the highway via a suburban road, and is signed "Hurontario Street" rather than "Highway 10".
Also in 2009, a major project to widen single-lane sections of the southern portions of the highway was completed, and the highway is now four lanes wide from Highway 410 north to Shelburne. From Shelburne north to Owen Sound, it remains two-lane highway with several "passing lanes" in hillier regions.
During winter, the northern stretches of the highway that pass through the snowbelt
Snowbelt
Snowbelt is a term describing of a number of regions near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores...
region of Grey County are subject to poor visibility and road closings during windy conditions or winter storms.