Ontario Highway 28 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 28 is a major collector highway which serves Central and Eastern Ontario. Until recently, the highway ran from Highway 2 in Port Hope to Highway 41 in Denbigh. However, since the mass highway downloading in 1998, Highway 28 has ended in the Peterborough area rather than in Port Hope.

Highway 28 was first established in 1928 when the entire 47 km route of Highway 12A between Port Hope and Peterborough was renumbered as Highway 28. During the 1930s, Highway 28 was gradually extended north from Peterborough to Apsley. During World War II, plans were developed to reconstruct the rest of the Burleigh Falls-Bancroft Road north of Apsley as an extension of Highway 28. This road was designated as Highway 28 in 1943. Once this extension had been completed to the Highway 62 Junction in Bancroft, the length of Highway 28 had grown to a length of 154 km. The route of Highway 28 did not change significantly in the Bancroft area until the early 1980s, when Highway 28 was extended further to the east. Highway 28 supplanted the 60 km route of Secondary Highway 500 between Bancroft and the Highway 41 Junction in Denbigh in the Spring of 1982.

The routing of Highway 28 has changed many times within the City of Peterborough. The highway's original route entered town on Charlotte Street, then turned north on Water Street. In 1958, Highway 28 was rerouted along Park Street and Park Hill Road. The old alignment through downtown became Highway 28B. In 1965, Highway 28 was rerouted again onto Monaghan Road, from Park Street. During the 1960s and 1970s, numerous routes for Highway 28 were tried, mostly involving old route configurations via Water Street and Park Street. A route via Monaghan Road and Park Hill Road was eventually established. In 1982, the South Peterborough Bypass was opened to traffic between Peterborough and the Highway 115 turn-off, and Highway 28 was rerouted along the new bypass and The Queensway. The old route of Highway 28 north of the new freeway became a part of Highway 7A. In the late 1980s, The Parkway was extended northerly from Lansdowne Street, and Highway 28 was rerouted along this new road and Clonsilla Avenue. From there, Highway 28 followed its previous route via Monaghan Road, Park Hill Road and Water Street.

In 1997 and 1998, the 63 km portion of Highway 28 lying south of Lakefield was decommissioned. The first section of Highway 28 to be downloaded was the rather complicated urban route through Peterborough and Lakefield. The section between Highway 7 and Highway 134 was downloaded on April 1, 1997. This section of Former Highway 28 is now known as Peterborough County Road 29 and by the local street names within the City of Peterborough (The Parkway, Clonsilla Avenue, Monaghan Road, Park Hill Road and Water Street). The section of Highway 28 between Highway 2 in Port Hope and Highway 115 was downloaded on January 1, 1998. This road is now known as Peterborough County Road 28 and Northumberland County Road 28. The Highway 28 designation was technically removed from the concurrent routing along the Highway 115 Freeway in 1998, although signs indicating the old designation were still in place along the highway until 2003. In an attempt to improve the logic of highway numbering in the Peterborough area, the Ministry of Transportation decided to renumber the entire route of Highway 134 as Highway 28 in 2003. Since 2003, the length of Highway 28 has stood at just over 160 km.

Highway 28 traverses some rather remote portions of Central and Eastern Ontario. The scenery along this highway is quite rugged and beautiful, particularly east of Bancroft, where the highway winds through the striking Madawaska Highlands. There are many steep hills and winding sections on Highway 28 between Hardwood Lake and Denbigh. The highway passes through very few towns along its 160 km route. The only major towns located along the highway are Lakefield and Bancroft. Services along Highway 28 are very infrequent, especially between Bancroft and Denbigh. Motorists who plan to use this highway at night should be aware that there are no 24-hour gas stations along Highway 28.

Most sections of Highway 28 are two lanes, but some passing lanes have been constructed in places to facilitate the overtaking of slower vehicles using the highway. Highway 28 is signed as a north-south highway from Peterborough to Bancroft and an east-west highway from Bancroft to Denbigh. At the Highway 28 and Highway 514 Junction at Hardwood Lake, Highway 28 turns onto a different roadway while the through road becomes Highway 514 to Schutt. Eastbound motorists heading towards Denbigh must turn right at this highway junction in order to stay on Highway 28. Westbound traffic heading towards Bancroft must turn left at the highway junction. The speed limit on rural sections of Highway 28 is 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. Please visit the Highway 28 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 28.