Ontario Highway 86 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 86 was once a major collector highway which traversed the western portion of Southern Ontario. Until the majority of the highway was downloaded to municipalities in the late 1990s, Highway 86 ran from the Highway 7 Junction in Kitchener-Waterloo to the Highway 21 Junction in Amberley, located on the shores of Lake Huron.

The history of Highway 86 dates back to 1937, when a new provincial highway was designated between Elmira and Amberley. The new highway was 108 km in length, and was first assumed by the Ontario Department of Highways (DHO) on August 25, 1937. On April 13, 1938, the DHO assumed the Elmira-Guelph Road as a new portion of Highway 86, effectively extending the highway by a further 19 km. Paving work on Highway 86 progressed very slowly. When the highway was first assumed by the DHO in 1937, the only paved section on Highway 86 was immediately west of Elmira. In 1946, Highway 86 was paved between Wingham and Bluevale. In 1951, the section of Highway 86 between Lucknow and Amberley was paved, as well as the section between Listowel and Tralee. The section of Highway 86 between Listowel and Molesworth was paved in 1952. In 1953, paving work was completed between Tralee and Dorking. Highway 86 was paved between Lucknow and Wingham in 1955. In 1957, paving was completed between a point just east of Bluevale and Molesworth. The balance of the highway between Amberley and West Montrose was paved under various minor surfacing contracts between 1957 and 1960. The final gravel section of Highway 86 between West Montrose and Guelph was finally paved in 1967. Until the paving contract was completed, the section of Highway 86 from West Montrose to Guelph was the last loose-surfaced provincial highway remaining in Southwestern Ontario.

Three major revisions were made to the original route of Highway 86 between Amberley and Elmira. In 1958, a new bridge was constructed over the Grand River as part of a new Highway 86 Bypass around the community of West Montrose. Upon completion of the West Montrose Bypass, a 3 km section of former Highway 86 through West Montrose was redesignated as Highway 86B. The new Grand River Bridge also bypassed the historic covered bridge at West Montrose. Built in 1881, the narrow wooden West Montrose Covered Bridge could no longer support the demands of increased truck traffic on Highway 86. The West Montrose Covered Bridge still stands today on a quiet rural side road (which was the original Highway 86), and is the last remaining covered bridge in Ontario. A portion of Highway 86 was relocated east of Bluevale in 1962 in an effort to improve the highway's alignment. In December 1967, the Wingham Bypass was completed to the south of Wingham. The old Highway 86 alignment through downtown was redesignated as Highway 86B.

In 1975, the eastern section of Highway 86 was transferred to Wellington County and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. A 19 km section of Highway 86 was transferred from the Highway 85 Junction in Elmira to the Highway 7 Junction in Guelph, effective October 7, 1975. This decommissioned section of Highway 86 is now known as Waterloo Regional Road 86 and Wellington County Road 86. A new Highway 86 bypass was opened around Elmira in 1979, and this resulted in Highway 86 being truncated at the new Elmira Bypass. This point was briefly the shared common terminus for both Highway 85 and Highway 86. However, in 1981, a route renumbering took place which saw Highway 86 assume the entire 17 km routing of Highway 85 between Kitchener and Elmira. This brought the total length of Highway 86 up to 124 km.

On January 1, 1998, all portions of Highway 86 lying outside of Kitchener-Waterloo were downloaded, shortening the length of Highway 86 down to only 9.8 km. The old routing of Highway 86 was renamed Waterloo Regional Road 85, Waterloo Regional Road 86, Wellington County Road 86, Perth Line 86, Huron County Road 86 and Bruce County Road 86. In order to improve the consistency of the route number between Kitchener and Elmira, the Ministry of Transportation decided to renumber Highway 86 as Highway 85. On September 9, 2003, the final 9.8 km section of Highway 86 was renumbered as Highway 85, effectively erasing Highway 86 from existence.

Highway 86 passes through a predominantly rural area along its 124 km route. The only major towns located along the highway are Kitchener-Waterloo, Listowel and Wingham. Highway 86 is mostly a two-lane road. The only notable exception is the freeway section within Kitchener-Waterloo, which is at least four lanes (two lanes per direction), with one short section having eight lanes. Services along Highway 86 are available in most communities. The speed limit on Highway 86 is generally 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. The freeway section through Waterloo is posted at 90 km/h (55 mph), as is a section of Highway 86 that passes through Huron County. Please visit the Highway 86 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 86.