Ontario Highway 30 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 30 was a minor collector highway in Central Ontario, which extended from Highway 2 in Brighton to Highway 7 in Havelock, via Campbellford. Highway 30 was first established on July 9, 1930, when the Department of Public Highways (DPHO) assumed the Brighton-Campbellford Road as a new King's Highway. This new route was 32 km in length and was initially gravel-surfaced. In 1934, Highway 30 was extended northerly from Campbellford to Havelock. The Campbellford-Havelock Road was assumed by the Department of Highways as a King's Highway in two stages. The section lying with Peterborough County was assumed on March 28, 1934, while the section within Northumberland County was assumed on April 11, 1934. This extension of Highway 30 to Havelock provided a new provincial highway link between Highway 2 and the newly-opened route of Highway 7 between Peterborough and Perth. The 1934 extension added another 19 km to the length of Highway 30. In 1936, the first paving contract was commenced on a 3 km section of Highway 30 immediately south of Campbellford. Paving operations continued into 1937, when paving was completed from the Warkworth Sideroad to Campbellford. Paving was completed from Warkworth Sideroad to Brighton in 1944. The final gravel section on Highway 30 between Campbellford and Havelock was paved in 1952. In 1968, a new bridge was completed over the Trent River. The new bridge bypassed the community of Trent River entirely. The new bridge also bypassed a pair of narrow one lane bridges which used to carry Highway 30 across the Trent River.

On January 1, 1998, Highway 30 was downloaded to the Counties of Northumberland and Peterborough. The road is now officially known as Northumberland County Road 30 and Peterborough County Road 30, although the route is still commonly referred to as "Highway 30" by motorists. Services are available in most communities along Highway 30. The major communities along the highway are Brighton, Campbellford and Havelock. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 30 is 80 km/h (50 mph). Please visit the Highway 30 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 30.