History of Secondary Highway 544A:
Secondary Highway 544A was a short spur highway that once connected Highway 544 northwest of Sudbury to Levack. The road which ultimately became Secondary Highway
544A was first designated by an Order-in-Council dated May 9, 1956. However, it is believed that this short spur was originally signed as Highway 544, not
Highway 544A. 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 544A first
appeared on the 1962 Edition of the Official Ontario Road Map. The highway was gravel-surfaced at the time of designation in 1956, but was paved in its entirety in
1958.
As originally assumed, provincial jurisdiction over Highway 544A ended at the municipal limits of Levack, south of the Onaping River Bridge. In order to facilitate
the construction of a new bridge over the Onaping River, the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) extended its jurisdiction over Highway 544A. An Assumption Plan
was prepared in January 1959, which showed the proposed extension of Highway 544A from the southern limits of Levack northerly along Nickel Street to the intersection
of 2nd Avenue. The Assumption Plan was registered on February 23, 1959, and the 1/2 mile highway extension was formally designated as a Secondary Highway by an
Order-in-Council dated April 16, 1959. Following the reconstruction of the Onaping River Bridge and the realignment of Highway 544A at the southern approach to town,
the DHO transferred jurisdiction over this section of Highway 544A back to the Town of Levack, effective November 19, 1960. It is believed that the non-assumed route
of Highway 544A was still signed through town by the municipality, as DHO mileage logs continued to show 2nd Avenue as the northern terminus of Highway 544A
throughout the 1960s.
During the Summer of 1965, a decision was made to renumber Highway 544 and the proposed Sudbury-Timmins Highway as King's Highway 144. The new Highway 144 route
number came into effect on November 18, 1965. As a result, the remaining route of Highway 544 became very fragmented. The Highway 544 route number only applied to a
number of bypassed highway loops northwest of Onaping. The DHO decided to renumber Highway 544A between Onaping and Levack as Highway 544, and remove the Highway 544
designation from the bypassed highway loops northwest of Onaping. It is believed that the change in route numbers occurred fairly early in 1966, but after the 1966
Edition of the Official Ontario Road Map had begun production. Consequently, the change in route numbers on the Levack Spur Highway from Highway 544A to Highway 544
was not reflected until the 1967 Edition of the Official Ontario Road Map.
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