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All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the
Webmaster (Cameron Bevers), unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are
arranged in approximate chronological order, while present day photographs (Year 2000 to date)
are arranged by location from west to east. 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!
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Page 1: Historical Highway 8 Photographs
 Above - Postcard view of Hwy 8 and Hwy 8A junction in St. David's (Photograph taken ca. 1925)  Above - Hwy 8 facing east towards 20 Mile Creek at Jordan (Photograph taken on October 8, 1935) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-162-5-119, Photo #8)  Above - New Hwy 8 Bridge at 20 Mile Creek in 1937. Structure completed in 1936. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - A scenic section of Hwy 8 near Beamsville in 1953. Note how small the Hwy 8 sign pole is on the right side of the highway. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Hwy 8 between Kitchener and Preston, facing west (Photograph taken on August 16, 1957) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-18, Box B1104, Photo #576) This photo shows the divided section of Hwy 8 near Sportsworld Drive prior to the urbanization of this part of Kitchener. The future site of the Pioneer Sportsworld recreation area is located to the right of the highway while the former Lulu's Roadhouse site is located to the left. The divided highway was built in the late 1930s and still exhibits most of its original design characteristics in this 1957 photo. Note the trees in the highway median. The original cross section of this highway was substantially altered during reconstruction in the 1960s and 1970s, so the road looks quite different today. 
 Left - Former Junction of Hwy 8 and Hwy 85 at King Street and Ottawa Street in Kitchener. Note the highway junction assembly on the far side of the intersection. After the construction of the Conestoga Parkway, both highways were rerouted onto the new bypass. The direct link between Hwy 8 and Hwy 85 was severed. Traffic now has to use a short section of Hwy 7 to travel between Hwy 8 and Hwy 85. (Photograph taken on June 29, 1961) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing east along Hwy 8 (King Street) near Fairway Road (Photograph taken on October 16, 1961) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 401 & Hwy 8 cloverleaf facing east (Photograph taken in October, 1961) Photo Courtesy of Archives of Ontario (Series RG-14-151-21-10 Neg. #2466) 
 Left - Junction of Ottawa Street and Henry Sturm Boulevard in Kitchener in 1961. Henry Sturm Boulevard was a truck bypass built by the City of Kitchener in the 1950s to direct through trucks on Hwy 8 away from downtown. Henry Sturm Boulevard was upgraded to a freeway when the road was incorporated into the route for the Conestoga Parkway (Hwy 7 & 8 Bypass) during the late 1960s. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing east along Ottawa Street towards Henry Sturm Boulevard in 1961. This is the present-day location of the Homer Watson Boulevard Interchange on Hwy 7 & 8. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener 
 Left - Facing east along Hwy 8 (Courtland Avenue) near Benton Street (1962) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Intersection of Hwy 8 (Courtland Avenue) at Benton Street (1962) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener 
 Left - Intersection of Queen Street and Courtland Avenue in Kitchener in 1962. The route of Hwy 8 turned right at this intersection. This small intersection proved to be a critical transportation problem for Kitchener, as large trucks had considerable difficulty negotiating the turn. Accommodating large trucks on city streets became such a problem that a truck bypass had to be constructed. The truck bypass was originally known as Henry Sturm Boulevard, but it later became part of the Conestoga Parkway. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing west along Hwy 8 (Courtland Avenue) at Queen Street in Kitchener (1962) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener 
 Left - Facing east along Hwy 8 (King Street) in Kitchener near Fergus Avenue (1962) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing west along Hwy 8 (King Street) near Ottawa Street in 1962. Note the interesting Kitchener Transit trolley bus passing by at left. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener  Above - Hwy 8 (King Street) near Ottawa Street in Kitchener (Photo taken on November 11, 1962) Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 8 (Freeport Diversion) at junction of King Street (Old Hwy 8) south of Kitchener in 1963. The at-grade intersection in the foreground was removed during construction of the New Hwy 8 Bypass in 1987. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation 
 Left - Detour on Hwy 8 (King Street) at the site of the future Conestoga Parkway in June, 1966 Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing west along new four-lane Hwy 8 towards Conestoga Parkway Interchange in June, 1966. The new interchange and overpass at Hwy 7 is being constructed in the background. Old Hwy 8 (King Street) can be seen at right. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener 
 Left - Overpass construction at Hwy 8 and the Conestoga Parkway in June, 1966. The piers were only just being poured when this photo was taken. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing west along new four-lane Hwy 8 towards Franklin Street in June, 1966. This photo shows the excavation of the future Hwy 8 Underpass at Franklin Street. Note Old Hwy 8 (King Street) at left. Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener 
 Left - Construction of Weber Street Underpass on Conestoga Parkway in June, 1966 Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener Right - Facing east along Hwy 8 (King Street) towards the site of the future Conestoga Parkway in June, 1966 Photo courtesy of Transportation Planning, City of Kitchener  Above - Aerial view of Hwy 7 (Conestoga Parkway) Interchange at Hwy 8 in Kitchener in 1970. This partial cloverleaf interchange became one of Southwestern Ontario's largest bottlenecks due to the short weaving lane between Stratford-bound traffic entering the highway, and 401-bound traffic exiting the highway at the adjacent loop ramp. The interchange was reconfigured in 2003-2004 to remove the second loop ramp. An aerial view of the interchange as it appears today can be seen here. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Above - Aerial view of the Hwy 8 Interchange on Hwy 401 between Kitchener and Cambridge in 1974. The Hwy 8 Interchange was originally constructed in 1960 as a full eight-ramp cloverleaf. In 1987, the construction of the new Hwy 8 Bypass a short distance to the east resulted in a reconfiguration of the original cloverleaf interchange. The two loop ramps on the London side of the interchange were closed off to traffic, creating a partial cloverleaf configuration as seen in this 2005 Aerial Photo. See an Enlarged Photo Here. Photo taken in 1974. Photo courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation  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 
 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 
 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 
 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 
 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 
 Left - Grand River Bridge on Old Hwy 8 at Freeport, taken from the south bank facing north (Photograph taken in March, 1987 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Facing north along Old Hwy 8 towards the Grand River Bridge at Freeport. Structure completed in 1926. (Photograph taken in March, 1987 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 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 
 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 
 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  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 |
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Present Day Highway 8 Photographs (Goderich to Mitchell)
 Left - Date stamp on old culvert near Goderich - "1922" (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - This abandoned Hwy 8 alignment east of Goderich now serves as a driveway (Photograph taken on June 26, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - An abandoned superelevated spiral curve on an old Hwy 8 alignment east of Goderich (Photograph taken on June 26, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Abandoned Hwy 8 alignment west of Holmesville (Photograph taken on June 26, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Former Hwy 8 alignment in Holmesville, west of Clinton (Photograph taken on June 26, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Former Hwy 8 alignment east of Holmesville. Note the current highway at left, and the abandoned alignment in the background. (Photograph taken on June 26, 2005 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Inscription on culvert in Holmesville - "ONTARIO PROVINCIAL HIGHWAY 1921" (Photograph taken on May 4, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Inscription on culvert near Clinton - "ONTARIO PROVINCIAL HIGHWAY 1921" (Photograph taken on May 4, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers)  Above - Old Huron Road historical route marker on Hwy 8 at Clinton (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Liffey Drain Bridge in Dublin. Structure completed in 1923. (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Northern side of Liffey Drain Bridge on Hwy 8 in Dublin (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) 
 Left - Looking east along Hwy 8 across Liffey Drain. The sidewalk of this structure was closed due to a partial deck failure. (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers) Right - Looking west along Hwy 8 across Liffey Drain in Dublin. This structure was replaced in late 2003. (Photograph taken on May 24, 2003 - © Cameron Bevers)  Above - Junction assembly at Hwy 8 and Hwy 23 in Mitchell (Photograph taken on October 7, 2006 - © Cameron Bevers) |
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