Ontario Highway 402 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

This freeway connects the Bluewater International Bridge in Sarnia to Highway 401 in London. The highway was essentially completed in two phases. The Bluewater Bridge Approach through Sarnia was constructed in the 1940s to provide an alternate route for traffic heading to or coming from the United States. When the Bluewater Bridge was completed in 1938, all bridge traffic had to pass through Sarnia along Highway 7. The new four-lane divided highway which bypassed Sarnia was not initially assigned a route number. In 1952, the Bluewater Bridge Approach was designated as Highway 402. The highway was only 6 km long and it ended just outside of Sarnia, where it merged with Highway 7. By the mid-1970s, traffic congestion on Highway 7 between Sarnia and London prompted the Ministry of Transportation to construct an extension of Highway 402. This work was carried out through a series of construction contracts in the 1970s and early 1980s, which gradually extended the highway easterly towards London. The final section of the highway was completed in 1982.

The entire highway from Sarnia to London is four lanes, with two lanes provided for each direction of travel. On the approach to the Bluewater Bridge, additional lanes are provided to accommodate transport truck queuing. There are no Service Centres located along Highway 402, and services are not available at many interchanges. The posted speed limit on Highway 402 is 100 km/h (60 mph), except on the Bluewater Bridge Approach. Exits along Highway 402 are numbered based on their distance from the Bluewater Bridge at Sarnia. Approximate distances along the highway can therefore be calculated by subtracting one exit number from another. For example, the distance from Highway 40 (Exit #6) to Highway 4 (Exit #98) is 92 km (98 - 6 = 92). Please visit the Highway 402 Mileage Chart page for a list of interchange numbers along Highway 402.