Ontario Highway 115 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 115 is an important freeway which connects Peterborough to Highway 401 near Newcastle. The highway serves both suburban commuter traffic heading to and from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and cottage country traffic bound for the Bancroft and Kawartha Lakes recreational areas. Highway 115 was first constructed in the early 1950s in order to shorten the highway distance between Toronto and Peterborough. Until the completion of Highway 115, traffic heading to Peterborough had to use a much longer route, via Highway 2 and Highway 28 through Port Hope. Between Highway 401 and Enterprise Hill, Highway 115 has a 19 km concurrent (overlapped) routing with Highway 35. Highway 115 used to enter Peterborough along The Parkway, but the short section between Highway 7 and Highway 7B was downloaded in 1998. In order to simplify the highway route numbering in the Peterborough area, Highway 115 was extended north to the end of the Peterborough Bypass at Lansdowne Street in 2003.

Growing traffic volumes along the highway prompted the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to widen the highway during the 1980s and early 1990s. Highway 115 was widened to four lanes by twinning the existing roadway from Enterprise Hill to Peterborough. Between Highway 401 and Enterprise Hill, Highway 35 & 115 was converted into a RIRO (Right-In, Right-Out) expressway. A continuous centre median barrier was installed along this previously undivided highway, which eliminated all left-turning movements from the highway. Grade separations were constructed periodically along the highway to allow traffic wishing to turn left to exit the highway and turn around so that the desired destination could be accessed by a right turn instead. The highway design proved to be an economical way of increasing the highway's capacity without having to resort to large-scale property expropriation along the existing highway. The new RIRO expressway design also allowed access to remain open to the businesses and homes which line Highway 35 & 115. A similar highway design was employed on Highway 11 between Barrie and Gravenhurst.

Highway 115 is a four-lane divided highway for its entire length. The first 19 km of Highway 115 is a limited-access expressway, but the balance of the highway is a fully controlled-access freeway. Services are very plentiful along the Highway 35 & 115 Expressway, but there are no services available from the Highway 35 Interchange at Enterprise Hill to Peterborough. Services are readily available at most of the interchanges in Peterborough. The speed limit on Highway 115 is 100 km/h (60 mph) from Enterprise Hill to Peterborough and 90 km/h (55 mph) from Newcastle to Enterprise Hill. Exits along Highway 115 are not numbered, but distances along the highway can be calculated by visiting the Highway 115 Mileage Chart page.