Ontario Highway 33 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 33 is an important arterial highway which provides access to Prince Edward County and communities located along the Lake Ontario shoreline west of Kingston. The highway also serves several communities situated along the Trent River north of Trenton. The highway passes through a predominantly rural area, occasionally passing through some small towns along its 138 km route. The principal towns located along the highway are Trenton, Picton and Kingston. The highway was first established in 1930 from Trenton to Stirling, but was extended easterly to Kingston across Prince Edward County in 1934. The highway from Trenton to Kingston was designated as the Loyalist Parkway in 1984, in recognition of the United Empire Loyalists who first settled in this area of Ontario during the 1780s after the American Revolutionary War. Between 1996 and 1998, over half of this highway was decommissioned or downloaded to municipalities. The provincially-maintained section of Highway 33 begins at Highway 62 in Bloomfield and extends easterly to Collins Bay Road near Kingston. Municipalities now maintain all other sections of Highway 33.

In 2008, construction began on a new roundabout at the intersection of Highway 33 and Prince Edward Road 1, just west of Picton. This roundabout is being constructed in lieu of traffic signals, which would have otherwise been required at this intersection. The Highway 33 Roundabout near Picton is the very first modern roundabout to be constructed on an Ontario Provincial Highway. The new roundabout was completed and officially opened to traffic in July 2009. This new roundabout is expected to ease traffic delays and improve safety at this busy intersection.

The most interesting feature on Highway 33 is the Glenora-Adolphustown Ferry, which connects the otherwise discontinuous east and west sections of Highway 33 which straddle the Bay of Quinte near Picton. The Glenora-Adolphustown Ferry provides free, year-round service to traffic on Highway 33. Two vessels, the Glenora Ferry and the Quinte Loyalist are used to transport vehicles across the kilometre-wide channel. Both ferries have a capacity of 21 passenger vehicles and can accommodate vehicles up to 4.1 metres (13 feet, 5 inches) in height. The maximum vehicle gross weight allowable on the ferry is 18 Metric tonnes. The ferry departs the Glenora Dock on the hour and 30 minutes past the hour. The ferry departs the Adolphustown Dock 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour. From October to mid-May, one vessel is in operation which offers 30-minute service from 6:00 a.m. to 1:15 a.m. daily. During the summer months and on weekends up until Thanksgiving in October, both vessels are in service. They provide 15-minute service from 10:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. Service is provided by one vessel every 30 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. and from 7:30 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. during the summer months. The Glenora-Adolphustown Ferry crossing takes approximately 10 minutes. To view up-to-date ferry schedules, please visit the Kingston Ferry Page on the Ontario Ministry of Transportation's Website.

Most sections of Highway 33 are two lanes, although some sections have been widened to four lanes. A short undivided four-lane section exists between Warings Corners and Picton, while another section of Highway 33 in Kingston is four lanes with a centre median. Services along Highway 33 are somewhat scarce outside of communities. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 33 is 80 km/h (50 mph). Please visit the Highway 33 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 33.