History of Secondary Highway 644:
Secondary Highway 644 was a local highway in the District of Parry Sound that provided access from Highway 69 to Pointe-au-Baril, located on Georgian Bay. Highway 644
was first established in 1963, when the Pointe-au-Baril Road was acquired by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) as a new provincial highway. A Preliminary
Assumption Plan was prepared by the DHO dated August 23, 1963, which showed the proposed assumption of the Pointe-au-Baril Road from Highway 69 westerly to
Pointe-au-Baril as a new Secondary Highway. The plan was registered on October 17, 1963 and the new highway was formally designated as Highway 644 by an
Order-in-Council, effective November 21, 1963. Originally, Highway 644 was 0.59 miles, or about 950 metres, in length. The highway was gravel-surfaced at the time of
designation in 1963, but a primed bituminous surface was constructed along the entire length of Highway 644 during 1967. Over the years, road reconstruction reduced
the length of Highway 644 to a mere 0.5 miles (800 metres), which made Highway 644 the shortest provincial highway in Ontario that was signed with highway route
markers. Since the highway served an exclusively local purpose, it was ultimately decided that Highway 644 should be under municipal jurisdiction. Accordingly,
Highway 644 was transferred from the province to the Township of The Archipelago, effective April 19, 2006. Today, Former Highway 644 is known as South Shore Road.
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