Ontario Highway 14 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 14 was a minor collector highway which served western Hastings County until it was completely downloaded by the provincial government in 1997. While the road has served a predominantly local function since the early 1980s, the highway once served a more important role in the Ontario Highway System.

The history of Highway 14 dates back to 1921 when the Department of Public Highways assumed the Picton-Belleville Road and the Foxboro-Belleville Road as a new provincial highway. The highway was originally 47 km in length when it was first assumed. The road was not initially assigned a route number. Until 1925, the highway was simply known as the Foxboro-Picton Highway. During 1925, a new highway numbering system was employed across the province and the Foxboro-Picton Highway was designated as Provincial Highway 14. Most of the highway was paved by 1925. There were two short gravel sections south of Belleville and north of Bloomfield, but both sections were paved over by 1927. This made Highway 14 the second earliest original Ontario highway to be completely paved (the earliest was Highway 5), which is not particularly surprising since Highway 14 formed a vital transportation link between the island of Prince Edward County and the mainland. Highway 14 was extended north from Foxboro to Marmora (via Stirling) in the late 1920s. The extension to Marmora essentially completed Highway 14, at a total length of 83 km. In 1930, Provincial Highway 14 was redesignated as King's Highway 14. The community of Foxboro was bypassed by a new Highway 14 in the mid-1960s.

In December 1982, the new Norris Whitney Bridge was opened, replacing the old Belleville Bay Swing Bridge. Shortly after this new high-level bridge was completed, a route renumbering took place which significantly reduced the length of Highway 14. The highway was truncated at the Highway 62 Junction in Foxboro. Highway 62 then assumed the old routing of Highway 14 from Foxboro southerly to Picton. Suddenly, Highway 14 lost much of its importance as a through highway. On March 31, 1997, the remaining 35 km section of Highway 14 between Foxboro and Marmora was downloaded to the County of Hastings. The road was then briefly known as Hastings County Road 14. However, the County of Hastings transferred the ownership of its county road system to its own municipalities on January 1, 1998. Thus, Former Highway 14 is now technically a municipal street. While it is still commonly called "Highway 14", the road's official names are now "Quinte West Road 14", "Stirling-Rawdon Road 14" and "Marmora & Lake Road 14".

Highway 14 passes through a predominantly rural area. The principal towns located along the highway are Foxboro, Stirling and Marmora. Highway 14 is a rather scenic drive, offering some of Central Ontario's most pleasant rural scenery. Highway 14 is primarily a two-lane highway. Services are available in most communities along Highway 14. The speed limit on Highway 14 is 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. Please visit the Highway 14 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 14.