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All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are arranged in approximate chronological order. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image!

Please note that all photographs displayed on this website are protected by copyright. These photographs must not be reproduced, published, electronically stored or copied, distributed, or posted onto other websites without my written permission. If you want to use photos from this website, please email me first for permission. Thank-you!

Page 2: Historical Highway 2 Photographs (1947 to 1999)


HWY 2 #194

NEW Above - Dual highway west of Brockville (1947)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

This historic 1947 photo shows the divided section of Hwy 2 that was constructed between Butternut Bay and Brockville in 1936-1937. This was one of Ontario's earliest experiments in the construction of divided four-lane highways. This section of Hwy 2 near Brockville looks quite similar today, although the highway's median is now just a grass strip. The trees in the median were removed after this photo was taken in 1947 because they posed a collision hazard to highway traffic.





HWY 2 #129

Above - View of Hwy 2, three miles east of London (1948)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #10             HWY 2 #11             HWY 2 #12

Left - Asphalt paving operations on Hwy 2 east of Newtonville in 1949
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Centre - Overlaying concrete pavement with asphalt on Hwy 2, 5 miles east of Windsor (1950)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - New asphalt pavement on Hwy 2 in 1950, east of Windsor
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #13             HWY 2 #14             HWY 2 #15

Left - New Hwy 2 Bridge at Napanee in 1950. Note old one-lane bridge at left
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Centre - Another view of new concrete Hwy 2 bridge at Napanee (1950)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - New pavement and zone painting on Hwy 2, 1 mile west of Princeton (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #16             HWY 2 #17             HWY 2 #18

Left - Salt spreader at work on Kingston Road near Rouge River (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Centre - New Hwy 2 diversion in 1951, 3 miles east of Colborne
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Zone painting on Hwy 2, 8 miles west of Port Hope (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #126             HWY 2 #131

Left - View of Hwy 2, four miles west of Trenton (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Dundas Street (Hwy 2) in Downtown London approaching Hwy 4 & Hwy 22 Junction (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #190

Above - Hwy 2 heading west out of Chatham (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

This interesting photo shows an example of a three lane Ontario highway. Three lane highways such as this had become relatively common by the 1950s. The intention of this highway design was to allow passing in the centre lane by vehicles travelling in either direction. Both sides of the centre passing lane were marked with dashed white lines. For many years, drivers seldom had to consider who actually had the right-of-way to use the centre lane, since traffic volumes on these highways were quite light. However, as Ontario's highways became busier, it was necessary to legally assign the right-of-way to one direction of traffic only. Beginning in the 1950s, passing lanes such as this were marked with signs conveying messages to drivers to "Pass only when centre lane is clear" or "Yield centre lane to opposing traffic".





HWY 2 #191

Above - Facing east along Hwy 2 at the western entrance to Chatham (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 3B #6

Above - Facing west along Ouellette Avenue towards Downtown Windsor (1951)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Note the signpost at right, which bears no fewer than four King's Highway shields. Although the route numbers are difficult to discern in this photo, the four marked routes are Hwy 2, Hwy 3B, Hwy 39 and Hwy 98. For a number of years, all four of these King's Highways were signed concurrently along Ouellette Avenue into Downtown Windsor. However, due to the construction of the E.C. Row Expressway and the decommissioning of Hwy 39 and Hwy 98, three of these highway routes were eventually removed from Ouellette Avenue. Only the Hwy 3B route designation survived until the 1990s.





HWY 2 #125

Above - View of Hwy 2 west of Odessa (1954)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 2 #63

Above - Postcard showing an aerial view of the construction of the Gardiner Expressway (Hwy 2) in Toronto at Jameson Avenue (ca. 1959)





HWY 2 #130

Above - Replacement of the Port Credit Bridge on Hwy 2 in 1959. The original concrete bowstring arch bridge at right was constructed by the Toronto and Hamilton Highway Commission in 1918, years before the Lakeshore Road was designated as King's Highway 2. During the bridge reconstruction project, Hwy 2 traffic was diverted over the Credit River across temporary Bailey Bridges.
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 42 #20

Above - Facing east along King Street (Hwy 2) in Downtown Brockville at the Junction of Hwy 29 & Hwy 42 (ca. 1960)
Photograph courtesy of Rideau Air Photos





HWY 2 #132

Above - New entrance to Fort Henry on Hwy 2 east of Kingston (1961)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #75

Above - Facing west along Westbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (King Street) at the Hwy 403 Interchange in Downtown Hamilton. Photo taken in July, 1981. See an Enlarged Photo here.
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #74             HWY 403 #78

Left - Facing east along Eastbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (Main Street) at the Hwy 403 Interchange in Hamilton (June 7, 1983)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Facing west along Westbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (King Street) at the Hwy 403 Interchange in Hamilton (June 9, 1983)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #79             HWY 403 #76

Left - Ramp "J" Overpass in Downtown Hamilton, carrying traffic from Westbound Hwy 403 to Eastbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (June 9, 1983)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Facing east along Westbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (King Street) at the Hwy 403 Interchange in Hamilton (June 9, 1983)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #77             HWY 403 #89

Left - Ramp from Westbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (King Street) to Westbound Hwy 403 in Hamilton (June 9, 1983)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Facing east along Hwy 2 & Hwy 6 (York Boulevard) at the Hwy 403 Interchange in Hamilton (October, 1984)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #91             HWY 403 #80

Left - Ramp "D" Overpass on Hwy 403 in Hamilton, carrying traffic from Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 to Eastbound Hwy 403 (May 24, 1985)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Eastbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (Main Street) Overpass on Hwy 403 in Hamilton, facing west towards Ancaster (May 24, 1985)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #92             HWY 403 #93

Left - Facing east across the Ramp "D" Overpass on Hwy 403 in Hamilton (May 5, 1987)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Ramp "D" Overpass on Hwy 403 in Hamilton, facing west towards Dundas (May 5, 1987)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #83             HWY 403 #82

Left - Westbound Hwy 403 Exit Ramp to Main Street in Hamilton (Ramp "J"). Note that the off-ramp has now been painted with two lanes. (November 19, 1987)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Ramp "J" Overpass at the Eastbound Hwy 2 & Hwy 8 (Main Street) Interchange on Hwy 403 in Downtown Hamilton (November 19, 1987)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #81             HWY 403 #90

Left - Facing east along Ramp "J" at the Main Street Interchange in Hamilton (November 19, 1987)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Right - Ramp "N" Underpass at Hwy 2 (York Boulevard) in Hamilton, carrying traffic from Northbound Hwy 6 to Eastbound Hwy 403 (July 12, 1988)
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation





HWY 403 #108

Above - Depressed grass median on Hwy 403 at the King & Main Street Interchange in Downtown Hamilton in 1989. When Hwy 403 was originally constructed in the 1960s, some sections of the freeway did not have a median barrier. During the late 1990s, a continuous concrete median barrier was constructed along Hwy 403 through Downtown Hamilton, in conjunction with the installation of a new high-mast illumination system. Photo taken on July 17, 1989.
Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation




Continue on to King's Highway 2 Present Day Photos: Windsor to London



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