Ontario Highway 94 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 94 is a local highway in the Districts of Nipissing and Parry Sound which connects Callander to Highway 17 east of North Bay. Highway 94 was first established in 1937, primarily to serve as an access road to the Dafoe Hospital and childhood home of the famous Dionne Quintuplets near Corbeil. The Dionne Quintuplets brought un unprecedented number of tourists to the North Bay area in the 1930s, prompting major investments in highway improvements in the region. In March 1937, two Preliminary Route Plans were prepared by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO), which showed the proposed assumption of the Callander-Corbeil Highway as a new King's Highway. The new highway was assumed by the DHO on June 16, 1937, and was subsequently assigned the King's Highway 94 designation. The new highway was approximately 6.5 miles (10 km) in length. Due to an administrative error in processing the highway assumption paperwork, a second Preliminary Route Plan was prepared by the DHO dated October 18, 1940, which reaffirmed the existing route of Highway 94 through the District of Nipissing. The second Preliminary Route Plan showed a revised highway assumption date of November 27, 1940, although this was merely a legal technicality. For all intents and purposes, Highway 94 had been under the jurisdiction and control of the DHO continuously since 1937. Highway 94 was paved in its entirety in 1937 and 1938.

In 1959, a new Highway 11 Bypass was completed around Callander. As a result of the bypass construction, jurisdiction over a section of Highway 94 through Callander was transferred from the province to the Township of North Himsworth. The short section of Highway 94 lying between Main Street (Old Highway 11) and the Callander Bypass (now Callander Bay Drive) was transferred to the municipality, effective August 11, 1962. Old Highway 94 through Callander is known today as Lansdowne Street. The route of Highway 94 remained essentially unchanged for the next 30 years. The only change occurred in the early 1970s, when a bypassed section of Highway 94 at a corner diversion in Corbeil was transferred to the Township of East Ferris, effective October 26, 1973.

In the Fall of 1987, a new four-lane Highway 11 Bypass was completed around Callander. The old route of Highway 11 along the first (1959) Callander Bypass was transferred to the Township of North Himsworth and the City of North Bay after the new four-lane Highway 11 Bypass opened to traffic. However, since there was no interchange at the new four-lane Highway 11 Bypass and Highway 94, motorists still had to pass through Callander in order to reach Highway 94. It was ultimately decided that Highway 94 should be extended south through Callander in order to provide a connection to Highway 11 on an provincially-maintained route. A Preliminary Assumption Plan was prepared by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) on November 28, 1989, which indicated the intention to assume a section of Old Highway 11 between the Highway 654 Junction and the Highway 94 Junction in Callander as a new King's Highway. The plan was registered on December 27, 1989, and the extension of Highway 94 southerly from Callander to the Highway 654 Junction was formally designated as a King's Highway by an Order-in-Council, effective August 28, 1990. This extension south of Callander added about 3 km to the length of Highway 94.

Today, Highway 94 is a fairly quiet rural side road which serves primarily local traffic seeking to bypass North Bay. The route offered by Highway 94 is about 12 km shorter than using Highway 11 and Highway 17 via North Bay. Interestingly, Highway 94 ends at a Secondary Highway, which is a very uncommon occurrence in Ontario. Highway 94 is a two-lane road for its entire length. Services are available in most communities along Highway 94. The speed limit on Highway 94 is 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. Please visit the Highway 94 Mileage Chart page for a list of mileage reference points along Highway 94.