History of Secondary Highway 540B:
Secondary Highway 540B is a minor collector highway that serves as a Business Route through the Town of Gore Bay. Highway 540B is one of only two Ontario Secondary
Highways with a "B" suffix - the other being Highway 522B in Trout Creek. The road which ultimately became Secondary Highway 540B was first designated by an
Order-in-Council dated May 9, 1956. Like Highway 540A, it is believed that Highway 540B was originally signed as part of Highway 540. The highway was given its own
suffixed route number at some point after 1956, but the exact year is not known. The route number of Highway 540B first appeared on the 1974 edition of the Official
Ontario Road Map, although the route appeared in Department of Highways' mileage tables and other documents prior to 1970. The original route of Highway 540B was 3.2
miles (5.1 km) in length. The east leg of Highway 540B into Gore Bay was paved at the time of the route's designation in 1956, but the west leg was not paved until
the early 1980s.
Initially, the province owned the entire route of Highway 540B through Gore Bay. However, in the late 1990s, a 2.7 km section of Highway 540B through Gore Bay was
downloaded to the municipality. The provincially-owned section of Highway 540B ends at the intersection of Range Street and Walker Street about 1.4 km north of
Highway 540 and resumes again at Wright Street on the eastern side of the town. The total length of the provincially-owned section of Highway 540B is now 2.4 km
(1.5 miles). The section of Highway 540B through the built-up portion of Gore Bay via Main Street, Meredith Street, Agnes Street, Gore Street and Wright Street was
turned over to the Town of Gore Bay, effective March 31, 1997. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 540B is 80 km/h (50 mph). Services are available on
this highway in Gore Bay.
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