Ontario Highway 504 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

Secondary Highway 504 was a local highway in the Counties of Peterborough and Hastings that served as an access road around the southern side of Chandos Lake from Apsley to Highway 620 near Glen Alda. The proposed route of Highway 504 was first depicted on Preliminary Route Plans prepared by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) in April 1956. The Chandos Loop Road was designated as a Secondary Highway by virtue of an Order-in-Council, effective May 9, 1956. The Chandos Loop Road was numbered as Secondary Highway 504 and was approximately 31 miles (50 km) in length when it was first established in 1956. Highway 504 was gravel-surfaced initially, but a primed bituminous surface was laid along the entire route of Highway 504 in 1957. The highway was first shown with a completely paved surface on the 1971 Edition of the Ontario Official Road Map.

For a number of years, the route of Highway 504 formed almost a complete "Figure 8" around both Apsley and nearby Chandos Lake. Both ends of the Highway 504 Loop connected to Highway 28 in Apsley and the two legs of the Chandos Loop Highway were connected to each other by another section of Highway 504 which ran along Apsley's main street. This strange route of Highway 504 remained in effect until 1963. That year, the northern loop of Highway 504 from Glen Alda to Apsley was renumbered as a westerly extension of Highway 620. Following the 1963 renumbering, Highway 504 began at the Highway 620 Junction in Apsley and then looped around the southern side of Chandos Lake only. Highway 504 came to an end at Highway 620 near Glen Alda, rather than return back towards Apsley around the northern side of Chandos Lake, as it did from 1956 up until 1963. Although the date of the route number change from Highway 504 to Highway 620 along the north loop is not known, it is believed that the change occurred fairly early in 1963. The DHO's Highway Mileage Logs for 1963 do not reflect the route number change, whereas the 1963 Official Ontario Road Map shows the new route numbers in place.

A change was made to all highway route numbers through Apsley in 1977, in an effort to improve the logic of the highway connections to Highway 28. The route of Highway 504 was extended out to Highway 28 via the south entrance road (previously known as Highway 620), which essentially reversed the 1963 route renumbering at the south entrance to Apsley. In turn, Highway 620 was extended out to Highway 28 via the north entrance road (previously known as Highway 620A). The old section of Highway 620 along Burleigh Street through Apsley became Highway 620A. This change in route numbers through Apsley was first reflected on the 1978 Official Ontario Road Map.

No major changes were made to the route of Highway 504 until the 1990s, when jurisdiction over the entire highway was transferred from the province to the Counties of Peterborough and Hastings. The highway transfer took place on January 1, 1998. Although Highway 504 extended into Hastings County for a mere 200 metres approaching its eastern terminus, the former highway is signed as Peterborough County Road 504 in its entirety. The highway is still commonly referred to by motorists as "Highway 504", even though it is no longer a provincial highway. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 504 is 80 km/h (50 mph). Services are available in Apsley and on Highway 620 at Glen Alda.