Hwy 596 Sign Graphic Hwy 596 Title Graphic Hwy 596 Sign Graphic   

Ontario Highway 596 Quick Facts:
  • Years in Existence: 1956-Present
  • Current Status: In Service
  • Location: Northwestern Ontario
  • District Served: Kenora
  • Towns Served: Kenora, Keewatin & Minaki
  • Northern Terminus: Dalles Avenue - Minaki
  • Southern Terminus: Hwy 17A - Kenora
  • Current Length (After Downloading) 42.4 km / 26.3 miles
HWY 596 ROUTE MARKER - © Cameron Bevers
Secondary Highway 596 Sign © Cameron Bevers

History of Secondary Highway 596:

Secondary Highway 596 is a local highway in the District of Kenora that provides access from the Kenora Bypass (Highway 17A) northerly to Minaki. The route of Highway 596 has changed considerably over the years, with only about 5 miles of the original route of the highway from the 1950s still in existence today. Some parts of Highway 596 were ultimately renumbered as Highway 641, while other sections of the highway were lost to highway downloading in the late 1990s.

The history of Highway 596 dates back to 1956, when a new system of Secondary Highways was designated throughout Ontario. The proposed route of Highway 596 was first depicted on a Preliminary Route Plan prepared by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) in April 1956. The highway was about 14 miles in length and was first designated by an Order-in-Council dated May 9, 1956. Initially, the highway formed a loop from Kenora northwesterly. Before being designated as Highway 596, it was previously known as the Pellatt Loop Road. As originally established, provincial jurisdiction over Highway 596 began at the south end of the Darlington Bay Bridge in Keewatin and connected with Highway 17 about 5 miles to the west of Keewatin. The rest of Highway 596's route through the Towns of Kenora and Keewatin was not initially assumed by the DHO and thus remained under municipal control for many years thereafter.

During the early 1960s, a northerly extension of Highway 596 took place. Rather than double-back to Highway 17, a new route for Highway 596 was established which extended the highway north up to Minaki. The new highway extension via the Minaki Resources Road within the Townships of Pellatt, Gidley and Pelican was designated by an Order-in-Council, effective October 17, 1963. Within the unsurveyed territory of the Kenora District near Minaki, the highway was designated by an Order-in-Council, effective October 10, 1963. Provincial jurisdiction over Highway 596 ended at the western entrance to the Minaki Townsite at the intersection of Dalles Avenue. With the new extension to Minaki designated, the western half of the Highway 596 loop via Laclu was briefly renumbered as Highway 596A (#1) during 1963 before being renumbered once again to Highway 641 in 1964. Following the extension to Minaki, the total length of Highway 596 stood at approximately 31 miles (50 km).

In order to ensure route continuity, the non-assumed section of Highway 596 was signed through the Town of Kenora via Colonization Road (today's Darlington Drive), West Government Road (today's Norman Drive) and Parsons Street from the western town limits southerly to the Highway 17 Junction. This section of Highway 596 was formally designated as a Municipal Connecting Link by an Order-in-Council, effective October 8, 1970. The short 1/4-mile section of Highway 596 within the Town of Keewatin lying between the south end of the Darlington Bay Bridge and the Keewatin-Kenora Boundary was proposed for assumption during the early 1970s. An Assumption Plan was prepared dated August 4, 1972, which showed the proposed assumption of Colonization Road through Keewatin as part of Highway 596. This plan was registered on September 7, 1972, and was formally designated as part of Highway 596 by an Order-in-Council, effective November 8, 1972.

As originally established in 1956, Highway 596 was gravel-surfaced for its entire length outside of the urbanized area of Kenora and Keewatin. A bituminous surface treatment was completed from the Highway 641 Junction northerly to Minaki in 1963. Paving from the Darlington Bay Bridge northerly to the Highway 641 Junction was finally completed in 1982.

In the late 1970s, Highway 596 was extended northerly once again from the Minaki area to the Wabaseemoong First Nation, via the Caribou Falls Road. A Preliminary Assumption Plan was prepared dated March 4, 1977, which showed the proposed acquisition of the first 21.5 miles (35 km) of the Caribou Falls Road from Pistol Lake Junction northerly as a new Secondary Highway. This plan was registered on April 1, 1977, and the new highway was subsequently designated as an extension of Highway 596 by an Order-in-Council during the Spring of 1977. Provincial jurisdiction over this northerly extension of Highway 596 came to an end at the southeastern boundary of the Wabaseemoong First Nation. The length of Highway 596 grew to 82.7 km (51 1/2 miles) as a result of the highway extension in 1977. Additionally, the short bypassed spur of Highway 596 from Pistol Lake Junction easterly into Minaki was renumbered as Highway 596A (#2) as a result of the Highway 596 Extension. The renumbering of the Minaki Spur to Highway 596A proved to be rather short-lived. In the early 1980s, it was decided that the Caribou Falls Road should be assigned its own unique route number. As a result of this decision, the northerly extension of Highway 596 from Pistol Lake Junction to the Wabaseemoong First Nation was renumbered as Highway 525, effective April 1, 1981. The Minaki Spur (Highway 596A) subsequently reverted back to its original Highway 596 route number, effective June 26, 1981. Between 1981 and 1997, Highway 596 had a length of 48.2 km.

No other changes were made to the route of Highway 596 until the late 1990s, when jurisdiction over the southern portion of Highway 596 from the Town of Kenora limits to the Highway 17A (Kenora Bypass) Junction was transferred from the province to the Town of Keewatin, effective March 31, 1997. The Municipal Connecting Link designation for the section of Highway 596 within the Town of Kenora was revoked by a Minister's Order, effective September 18, 1997. Altogether, a 5.8 km section of Highway 596 through Kenora and Keewatin ceased to be a provincial highway during 1997. This former section of Highway 596 is now known as Darlington Drive, Norman Drive and Parsons Street. Highway 596 now officially begins at Highway 17A (Kenora Bypass) and has a current length of 42.4 km. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 596 is 80 km/h (50 mph). There are no services available on this highway, other than in Minaki or along Highway 17 in Kenora.

Links to Adjacent Secondary Highway Pages:


Back to Hwy 595   /    On to Hwy 596A (#1)

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