Highway 46 (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
Kawartha Lakes Road 46, formerly King's Highway 46 is a city maintained road in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. It existed between 1937 and 1997 as a provincially maintained highway before it was downloaded to Victoria County
Victoria County, Ontario
The County of Victoria, or Victoria County, was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was formed in 1854 as The United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, and gained independence in 1863. In 2001, the county was dissolved and reformed as the city of Kawartha Lakes...

, At which point it was designated County Road 46.
In 2001, Victoria County amalgamated into the city of Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....

, and the road became known by its present name. It is 25.7 kilometres (16 mi) long, and passes through the villages of Argyle and Bolsover
Bolsover, Ontario
Bolsover is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, west of the village of Kirkfield on County Road 48. The village is located to the south of Canal Lake.-Notable residents:...

.

Route description

Prior to its downloading to the municipal level on April 1, 1997, Highway 46 was a fairly straight highway following the north-south lot boundaries of Victoria County, between the fifth and sixth lots of Mariposa Township
Mariposa Township, Ontario
The Township of Mariposa was a municipality located in the southwest corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The other municipal neighbors of Mariposa are Ops and Fenelon on the east, Eldon on the north, Brock on the west, and...

 and the second and third lots of Eldon Township
Eldon Township, Ontario
The Township of Eldon was a municipality located in the west of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in Ontario, Canada.- Communities :*Kirkfield*Bolsover*Glenarm*Eldon*Woodville...

.
Its routing before 1975 followed the present day Kawartha Lakes Road 48 through Kirkfield, Victoria Road, Corsons, and ended in Coboconk. Before 1963, the route between Victoria Road and Coboconk followed the shores of Balsam Lake
Balsam Lake (Ontario)
Balsam Lake is a lake located in the Kawartha lakes region of south central Ontario, Canada. It is 16 km long and averages 3 km wide, though its actual width varies due to the many large bays the carve its shoreline...

, as the lots set out in the surveying of Bexley Township
Bexley Township, Ontario
The Township of Bexley was a municipality located in the northern half of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario.-History:...

 were 2 miles deep, and running a road at the back of the lots would require the maintenance of 38 two-mile driveways.

History

Highway 46 was incorporated into the Ontario provincial highway system in 1937, running from east of Manilla on Highway 7
Ontario Highway 7
King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...

 northwards to Bolsover
Bolsover, Ontario
Bolsover is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, west of the village of Kirkfield on County Road 48. The village is located to the south of Canal Lake.-Notable residents:...

, and north-east from there to Coboconk where it ended at Highway 35 with a length of 54.9 km (34.1 mi).
Originally unpaved in its entirety, the first 16 km (9.9 mi) to Argyle were paved in 1952, followed by the 16.9 km (10.5 mi) to Kirkfield
Kirkfield, Ontario
Kirkfield is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The unincorporated village was named in 1864 after the initial name, Novar, was rejected by the government. A list of 8 possible choices was then offered. The village, being predominantly Scottish at...

 in 1957. A final 4.5 km (2.8 mi) were paved in 1959 to Victoria Road.

In the early 1960s, Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Balsam Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in south-central Ontario on Balsam Lake. The park is situated along the Trent-Severn Waterway, a few kilometres southwest of Coboconk. It is an all-seasons recreation area offering camping, boating and fishing, and while closed in winter it...

 was announced and located on the northwest shores of the lake. Highway 46 ran along the shore of Balsam Lake
Balsam Lake (Ontario)
Balsam Lake is a lake located in the Kawartha lakes region of south central Ontario, Canada. It is 16 km long and averages 3 km wide, though its actual width varies due to the many large bays the carve its shoreline...

 on what is now Balsam Lake Drive and North Bay Drive at the time of the announcement, and so it was decided that a new alignment would be built further from the lake to pass the front of the new park. The 10.3 km (6.4 mi) bypass was opened and signed as Highway 46 on June 28, 1967. The designation would last just over a decade. In 1975, the province of Ontario performed a systematic renumbering of its highways, and Highway 46 between Bolsover and Coboconk became a part of Highway 48
Ontario Highway 48
King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially-maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton, Ontario. Prior to 1998, Highway 48 extended from Highway 401 in Toronto to...

, truncating Highway 46 to its current length of 25.7 km (16 mi).
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