Ontario Highway 117 (#1) History - The King's Highways of Ontario

The original King's Highway 117 is a perplexing mystery. The route ran along Bathurst Street from Steeles Avenue northerly to Highway 7 (Centre Street) in York County for most of the 1960s. In December 1959, an Assumption Plan was prepared by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) which showed the proposed assumption of a portion of Bathurst Street southwest of Thornhill. This 2.1 km highway was first assumed by the DHO on February 21, 1961. The route was subsequently designated as a Controlled-Access Highway by an Order-in-Council, effective October 20, 1961. It is not clear at this time what purpose this route was supposed to serve. It is also not certain whether or not the Highway 117 route number was actually posted along the highway. While this route was officially known by DHO as Highway 117 during the 1960s, it is quite possible that this was in fact an unposted, secret route number. The Highway 117 route number seems to have been retired during 1970, when the route was apparently assigned an unposted 7000-series highway number (Highway 7052). That year, DHO mileage tables deleted the listing for Highway 117 and began to describe the highway between Steeles Avenue and Highway 7 as "Bathurst Street". The route also ceased to be marked on the Official Road Map of Ontario starting in 1970. Despite these facts, Highway 7052 continued to be maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications up until the late 1970s. Jurisdiction over the entire route was transferred from the province to the Regional Municipality of York, effective September 27, 1978. A different, unrelated Highway 117 existed between Bracebridge and Dorset in the District Municipality of Muskoka from 1974 up until 1998.