Ontario Highway 12 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 12 is a major trunk highway which runs along the eastern and northern shores of Lake Simcoe, connecting Whitby to Orillia and Midland. For motorists residing in the eastern half of the Greater Toronto Area, Highway 12 is a popular cottage country route to Muskoka and Northern Simcoe County. The highway also serves as an important link in the Central Ontario & Georgian Bay Route of the Trans Canada Highway between Sunderland and Waubaushene.

The history of Highway 12 dates back to 1922, when a new provincial highway was designated across Ontario and Victoria Counties. The new highway began at Highway 2 in Whitby, ran north to Sunderland and then east to Lindsay. In 1927, the Sunderland-Lindsay portion of Highway 12 was redesignated as Highway 7. Highway 12 was then extended north from Sunderland to Orillia. In the early 1930s, Highway 12 was extended west from Orillia to Midland. In the mid-1950s, two new bypasses were built around Orillia. The South Orillia Bypass was constructed as a two-lane highway diversion which began near Atherley Narrows and continued westerly to the Highway 11 Bypass. The Highway 11 Orillia Bypass was built as a four-lane freeway to allow all through traffic on Highway 11 and Highway 12 to bypass Orillia entirely. Bypasses were also built around Coldwater, Waubaushene, Victoria Harbour, Port McNicoll and Midland during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In 1997, a section of Highway 12 was lost to downloading in Whitby. The section of Highway 12 from the Highway 7 Junction in Brooklin to Highway 401 in Whitby was downloaded on March 31, 1997. The former highway was renamed as Durham Highway 12 and Brock Street. In 1998, a section of Highway 12 was rerouted onto Highway 400 between Exit #141 at Coldwater and Exit #147 at Waubaushene. The old section of Highway 12 through Fesserton was downloaded to Simcoe County, who renamed the former highway as Simcoe Road 16. Apparently, the overlapped route of Highway 400 and Highway 12 between Coldwater and Waubaushene was discontinued recently, as there are no longer any Highway 12 route markers posted along Highway 400. The gap in Highway 12 is now signed by "TO 12" signs along Simcoe Road 16 and at the two Highway 400 Junctions.

Highway 12 traverses a predominantly rural portion of Central Ontario, although it does pass through several towns along its route. The principal towns located along the highway are Whitby, Beaverton, Orillia and Midland. Services along Highway 12 appear quite frequently. Most sections of Highway 12 are two lanes, but some undivided four-lane sections exist through towns along the highway's 146 km route. The 2.4 km portion of Highway 12 which is signed concurrently with Highway 11 along the Orillia Bypass is a four-lane freeway with a posted speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph). The speed limit on other portions of Highway 12 is 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. Please visit the Highway 12 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 12.

Winter Driving Tip: Highway 12 is occasionally closed during periods of poor winter weather north of Beaverton, due to blowing and drifting snow. Blowing snow will often result in zero-visibility conditions. The weather conditions on this highway can deteriorate very rapidly when snowsqualls blow in from nearby Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay. On cold, windy days, it is a good idea to check the Road Closures and Winter Road Conditions pages on the Ministry of Transportation's Website, or verify road conditions by telephone at 1-800-268-4686 before using Highway 12 north of Beaverton.