Ontario Highway 99 History - The King's Highways of Ontario

King's Highway 99 was a minor collector highway which once connected Dundas to Highway 5 & Highway 24 at Osborne Corners. Highway 99 was originally established as an alternate route to relieve traffic congestion on busy parallel routes such as Highway 2 & Highway 53 and Highway 5. In fact, Highway 99 was initially known as Highway 5B when it was first assumed as a King's Highway back in 1938. The route of Highway 5B was redesignated as Highway 99 in 1940. Originally, Highway 99 was 27 km in length. The highway was paved from Copetown to Dundas prior to being assumed into the provincial highway system in 1938. The balance of Highway 99 from the Highway 52 Junction in Copetown to the Highway 5 & Highway 24 Junction at Osborne Corners was paved in 1953.

During the 1960s, Highway 403 was constructed between Burlington and Ancaster. The completion of this freeway resulted in more long-distance through traffic using the route of Highway 2 & Highway 53 between Brantford and Hamilton, rather than using Highway 5 or Highway 99. It was eventually determined that Highway 99 was superfluous. On June 30, 1982, the Ministry of Transportation decommissioned Highway 99 from the Hamilton-Wentworth Boundary to Dundas. The transfer of the Hamilton-Wentworth section of Highway 99 in 1982 left behind a short 6.6 km stub of this route in Brant County, which did not connect to any other provincial highways east of Osborne Corners. The remaining section of Highway 99 within Brant County was disposed of on March 31, 1997, when the mass highway downloading spree erased many of Ontario's less important provincial highways. King's Highway 99 is now known as Brant County Highway 99 and Hamilton Road 99. The original route of Highway 99 served Dundas and the communities of Copetown, Lynden and Osborne Corners. Services are available in the larger towns on this highway. Highway 99 is generally two lanes, with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise.

Contrary to popular belief, Highway 99 was not numbered in honour of Brantford's most famous former resident, hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Undoubtedly, this rumour was triggered by the fact that Highway 99 runs so close to Gretzky's hometown. However, this rumour can obviously be declared false, as Highway 99 was assigned its route number in 1940, over two decades before Gretzky was even born. Thus, it is merely a coincidence that a Brantford-area highway was assigned the same number that Wayne Gretzky wore during his professional hockey career.