Ontario Highway 8A (Hamilton) History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 8A was a short but very important highway connecting Burlington to Stoney Creek, via Burlington Beach. The highway ran from Highway 2 in Downtown Burlington to Highway 8 in Stoney Creek. Highway 8A was one of only two auxiliary routes designated under the 1925 highway numbering system. The only other auxiliary route was Highway 12A, which ran from Port Hope to Peterborough. The Burlington-Stoney Creek Highway was first assumed by the Department of Public Highways of Ontario (DPHO) on May 2, 1923. This short 9.5 km connector highway was assigned the route number Highway 8A when route numbers were first introduced in Ontario in 1925. The highway was paved in sections between 1923 and 1927. This route became an important short cut for motorists traveling between Niagara Falls and Toronto, since the route bypassed Downtown Hamilton altogether.

On October 5, 1927, the Windermere Cut-Off across Redhill Creek was designated as a portion of Provincial Highway 8A. This route served as a north-east entrance to the City of Hamilton. In 1930, Provincial Highway 8A was re-designated as King's Highway 8A. In 1932, the Windermere Cut-Off portion of Highway 8A was redesignated as Highway 20A. The remainder of Highway 8A from Burlington to Stoney Creek was also absorbed into the route of Highway 20 in 1932. There was another, unrelated Highway 8A that existed between St. David's and Queenston from 1918 up until 1970.