Ontario Highway 90 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 90 was a short but very important highway which connected Canadian Forces Base Borden near Angus to Barrie and Highway 400. The highway existed up until the late 1990s, when it was downloaded in its entirety to Simcoe County. The history of Highway 90 dates back to 1937, when the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) assumed the Angus-Barrie Road as a new King's Highway. A Preliminary Route Plan was prepared on August 31, 1937, showing the proposed highway assumption between Angus and Barrie. The DHO officially acquired the westernmost 10 miles of the Angus-Barrie Road on October 6, 1937, when it was assumed as a new King's Highway. The section of Highway 90 passing through Barrie along Tiffin Street was not assumed by the DHO, and thus this section remained under municipal jurisdiction. The new highway provided an improved road link to the large military base that existed near Angus. However, as originally assumed in 1937, Highway 90 ended at King Street in Downtown Angus. In 1939, the Angus Diversion was completed, which extended the highway across the Pine River so that it connected directly with the military base entrance. The entire length of Highway 90 was paved in late 1939 and early 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. The fact that Highway 90's western terminus was at the Canadian Forces Base Borden entrance makes the highway somewhat unique, since the vast majority of Ontario's King's Highways terminate at either the junction of another provincial highway or an international or provincial boundary.

When Highway 400 was constructed through Barrie in the early 1950s, it was decided that a cloverleaf could not be built at Highway 90 (Tiffin Street). The cloverleaf was unfeasible because of the adjacent railway line and the proximity of the Highway 27 (Essa Road) Cloverleaf located a short distance to the south. Since there was no direct access to Highway 400 from Tiffin Street, heavy trucks had to drive through Barrie on city streets in order to access Highway 400 from Highway 90. Recognizing that this wasn't ideal, the DHO began to look at ways of diverting through traffic off of Tiffin Street. In 1954-1955, a new interchange was built on Highway 400 at Elizabeth Street (today's Dunlop Street). This new interchange provided improved access to Downtown Barrie from Highway 400, but it also presented a solution to the access issues at Highway 90. After studying the problem, the DHO decided to assume the existing route of Simcoe County Road 7 as a new diversion for Highway 90. A Preliminary Assumption Plan was prepared on August 24, 1959 and registered on September 2, 1959. The plan showed the DHO's assumption of County Road 7, which began at existing Highway 90 (Tiffin Street) and followed Ferndale Drive and Dunlop Street over to the Highway 400 Interchange. This new section was designated as Highway 90 by an Order-in-Council on October 1, 1959. The new route via Ferndale Drive and Dunlop Street allowed Highway 90 traffic to enter or exit Highway 400 with little difficulty. In 1964, Dunlop Street was extended even further to the west, bypassing most of the original route of Highway 90 via Tiffin Street. This new extension of Dunlop Street removed the awkward jog in the highway's alignment at Ferndale Drive. On April 1, 1966, both of the old routes of Highway 90 (via Tiffin Street and Ferndale Drive) were transferred to the City of Barrie and the Townships of Vespra and Innisfil. The new route of Highway 90 within the City of Barrie along Dunlop Street became a Municipal Connecting Link, effective September 18, 1969. This remained in effect until September 16, 1997, when the easternmost section of the Highway 90 Connecting Link along Dunlop Street between the Highway 400 Interchange and Downtown Barrie was revoked.

The routing of Highway 90 did not change again until January 1, 1998, when the entire highway was downloaded. The remainder of the Highway 90 Connecting Link lying west of the Highway 400 Interchange in Barrie was also revoked on the same day. The former King's Highway is now officially known as Simcoe Road 90, although the road is nearly always referred to as "Highway 90" by motorists. Services are frequently available along this highway. Unless posted otherwise, the speed limit on Highway 90 is 80 km/h (50 mph). Please visit the Highway 90 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 90.