History of King's Highway 109 (#2):
The second King's Highway 109 was one of two new provincial highways constructed east of Bancroft in the late 1950s to serve the area's quickly-expanding
uranium mining industry. A large uranium deposit had been discovered in the remote hills east of Bancroft, but access was to the site was difficult due to
the lack of suitable roads in the area. Until 1958, the only highway that served this area was Highway 500, which was a meandering and narrow Secondary
Highway which ended 26 km to the east of the uranium deposit in downtown Bancroft. It was decided that better roads would have to be built in order to
improve road access to this region so that the mining sites could be developed more efficiently. The primary goal was to provide a more direct connection
to Highway 28, which was the area's main through route.
Two new King's Highways were constructed as a result of the uranium mining boom near Bancroft. The two new routes were designated as Highways 109 and 111.
The former was the main access route from the mining area to Highway 28, while the latter served as a shorter spur route leading to some on the area's
mines. The proposed route of Highway 109 within Hastings County was first designated as a King's Highway on March 20, 1958. Within Haliburton County,
Highway 109 was designated in two sections. The section within Monmouth Township was designated on June 26, 1958, while the section in Cardiff Township was
designated on September 25, 1958. Construction of the new highway began in 1958 and was apparently opened to traffic in May 1959. However, according to the
bi-monthly road bulletins issued by the Department of Highways, Highway 109 was actively under construction until late 1960. The new route of Highway 109
ran from the Highway 28 Junction at Paudash to the Highway 500 Junction south of Wilberforce. There was a short section where Highway 109 ran concurrently
with Highway 111. The highway was paved from Paudash to Cardiff in 1959 and from Cardiff to the Highway 500 Junction in 1960-1961. The highway's completed
length was 24 km. In 1964, a major route renumbering took place in the Bancroft area which erased Highway 109 from existence. Effective March 1, 1964, the
entire route of Highway 109 was redesignated as King's Highway 121. The Highway 109 designation was never again used for a provincial highway. A different,
unrelated Highway 109 existed in Scarborough in the early 1950s.
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