History of King's Highway 123 (#2):
The King's Highway 123 designation was utilized once again in 1960 on a different route in the North Bay area. This route number was assigned to the short highway
which connected Highway 11 to the North Bay Airport. This access road to North Bay Airport had been constructed by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) back in
1939. However, the highway apparently did not have a posted route number for many years, and was initially known as Airport Road. Early highway designation records
from DHO indicate that "Airport Road" was actually the highway's legal name. Early plans for the highway from the late 1930s suggest that there was an intention to
ultimately extend Airport Road through to Feronia where it would have connected with Highway 63. In all likelihood the plans were shelved during World War II, as the
connection to Highway 63 was never constructed. Airport Road was paved in 1941. A diversion was built around North Bay Airport in 1953 by the DHO to Carmichael's
Corners, which was considered to be an extension of Airport Road.
The assignment of the Highway 123 route number came about in 1960, when Airport Road was first marked on the Official Ontario Road Map as Highway 123. The highway was
6.8 km in length at the start of 1970. During the year, the majority of Highway 123 was transferred from the province to the City of North Bay. Just over 6 km of
Highway 123 from Chippewa Creek northerly to North Bay Airport was transferred to the City of North Bay, effective February 20, 1970. This transfer included the
Carmichael's Corners Diversion. A small section of Highway 123 lying immediately east of the Highway 11 Junction to Chippewa Creek was retained in the provincial
highway system after 1970. The route continued to be marked as Highway 123 on the Official Ontario Road Maps up until the 1973 Edition, after which time the route
number disappeared from the Official Ontario Road Map. It is believed that the highway became an unposted designation in 1974, as the route was not listed in DHO
mileage tables throughout the 1970s. However, the highway's legal name continued to be known as King's Highway 123 right up until that final section of Airport Road
between the Highway 11 Junction and Chippewa Creek was transferred from the province to the City of North Bay on October 10, 1979.
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