The Middle Road
Encyclopedia
The Middle Road was the name for a historic highway in the Canadian
province of Ontario
, which served to link the cities of Toronto
and Hamilton
. The name was used between 1931 and 1939, after which the road became the northern section of the Queen Elizabeth Way
.
The Middle Road was initially constructed as a depression relief project, employing 74 men to grade and widen the country lane into a four lane roadway. In 1934, the concept was reworked by Thomas McQuesten
and Robert Mellville Smith into a divided, limited access freeway, the first such intercity stretch in North America when it was opened in 1939.While the Long Island Parkway and several similar roadways opened in the late twenties and early thirties, these parkways were designed to move traffic in and out of a city's downtown. The Middle Road was designed to provide travel between cities, and opened a year before the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the first U.S. highway to do this.
The Middle Road is an important development in the history of Ontario, as it provided the blueprint for Highway 401, believed by some to be the largest contributor to the current economy and standard-of-living in Ontario.
and travelling to Bronte Line (where today, the QEW veers south). Since the highway followed a concession road
, it was straight for almost its entire length, veering only at Browns Line (Highway 27), the Credit River
, and at the Oakville border. At the time of construction, this route was surrounded by farmland, as most of the towns in the area at the time lay along Dundas or Lake Shore, to the north and south respectively. However, the highway spurred rapid development of the surrounding land; it did not take long for farmland to become subdivisions.
Most of the route was paved with concrete. The two roadways were separated by a median
varying in width,Shragge indicates three to ten feet on page 79, consistent with the minimum of one metre given by Stamp on page 20, but far less than the maximum of nine metres. often filled with trees. Most of the rows of trees along the old country lane were incorporated into the median, and new ones were planted in the gaps, as equal focus was given to functionality as aesthetics. Over most of the bridges, the two roadways converged, undivided. These were, however, a great improvement from the bridges along the old lane, as seen in the picture at left. At Highway 10 (Hurontario Street) was Canada's first cloverleaf, opened in 1937.Stamp also writes on page 20 that construction on the cloverleaf began in 1937. Shragge also indicates it opened in 1937 on page 81.
One of the elements of The Middle Road, to which engineers paid particular attention in future highway design, was controlled access. While the section between the Humber River and Highway 27 was built without allowance for private driveways, and was thus controlled-access, many at-grade intersections lie along The Middle Road west of Highway 27, and many adjoining landowners built driveways to the highway for access, an issue that led to the creation of legislation to allow the designation of a road as 'controlled-access'.
Today, a small remnant of the pre-1930s Middle Road can be found spanning the Etobicoke Creek off of Sherway Drive at the Mississauga and Etobicoke border. The bridge, constructed in 1909, was part of Middle Road until 1932 and served as a farm lane until the section of the Queen Elizabeth Way into Toronto opened in 1940.
The short section was later renamed Sherway Drive.
The highway was chosen to run along the macadamized old Lake Shore Road, instead of Dundas Street
to the north, because of the numerous hills encountered along Dundas Street, which would have increased the cost of the road without improving accessibility. Middle Road, a dirt lane named because of its position between the two, was not considered since Lake Shore and Dundas were both overcrowded and in need of serious repairs.
By November of that year, the proposal was approved,
and work began quickly to construct the road known today as Lake Shore Boulevard and Lakeshore Road
from Toronto to Hamilton. The road was finished by 1917, 18 feet (5.5 m) in width and nearly 40 mi (64.4 km) long, becoming the first concrete road in Ontario, as well as one of the longest stretches of concrete road between two cities in the world.
The highway became the favourite drive of many motorists, and it quickly became a tradition for many families to drive it every Sunday.
Over the next decade, vehicle usage increased monumentally; as early as 1920 the Lake Shore Road was once again bumper to bumper on weekends.
In response, the Department of Highways once again sought out improving another road between Toronto and Hamilton. Middle Road, a continuation of Queen Street west of the Humber River
, was chosen to avoid delays on Dundas or Lake Shore. The road was to be more than twice the width of the Lake Shore Road, at 40 ft (12.2 m), and would carry two lanes of traffic in each direction.
Construction on what was then known as the Queen Street Extension between Highway 10
and Highway 27
began in the spring of 1931,
and between Highway 27 and the Humber River on November 1, 1931.
Before the highway could be completed, the 1934 provincial elections
brought Mitchell Hepburn
into office as premier and Thomas McQuesten was appointed the new minister of the Department of Highways.
McQuesten in turn appointed Robert Melville Smith as deputy minister. Smith, inspired by the German Autobahns - new "dual-lane divided highway
s", separated by a depressed grass centre crossing short distances between major cities - modified the design for Ontario roads, and McQuesten ordered that the Middle Road be changed into this new form of highway.
A right-of-way of 132 ft (40.2 m) was purchased along the Middle Road and construction began to convert the existing sections to a divided highway, as well as on Canada's first cloverleaf interchange
at Highway 10
.
By the end of 1937, the Middle Road was open between Toronto and Burlington, where it connected with what was first known as the Hamilton – Niagara Falls Highway. It soon came time to name the new highway, and an upcoming visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
proved to be the focal point for a dedication ceremony. On June 7, 1939, the two royal family members drove along the highway (which now connected to Niagara Falls) and passed through a light beam at the Henley Bridge in St. Catharines. This caused two Union Jacks
to swing out, revealing a sign which read The Queen Elizabeth Way.
However, the ceremony only designated the highway between St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. The remainder of the road was known by various names, including the Toronto–Burlington/Hamilton Highway and The New Middle Road Highway. At the formal opening of the highway between Toronto and Niagara Falls on August 23, 1940, the entire length was declared The Queen Elizabeth Way by Thomas McQueston.
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....
, which served to link the cities of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. The name was used between 1931 and 1939, after which the road became the northern section of the Queen Elizabeth Way
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...
.
The Middle Road was initially constructed as a depression relief project, employing 74 men to grade and widen the country lane into a four lane roadway. In 1934, the concept was reworked by Thomas McQuesten
Thomas McQuesten
Thomas Baker McQuesten was a Canadian athlete, militiaman, lawyer, politician and government appointee who lived in Hamilton, Ontario....
and Robert Mellville Smith into a divided, limited access freeway, the first such intercity stretch in North America when it was opened in 1939.While the Long Island Parkway and several similar roadways opened in the late twenties and early thirties, these parkways were designed to move traffic in and out of a city's downtown. The Middle Road was designed to provide travel between cities, and opened a year before the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the first U.S. highway to do this.
The Middle Road is an important development in the history of Ontario, as it provided the blueprint for Highway 401, believed by some to be the largest contributor to the current economy and standard-of-living in Ontario.
Route Description
The Middle Road, named so because of its location between what were then the highways between Toronto and Hamilton, Dundas Street and Lake Shore Road, followed the same path taken by today's Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), with little exception, beginning at the Humber RiverHumber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
and travelling to Bronte Line (where today, the QEW veers south). Since the highway followed a concession road
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
, it was straight for almost its entire length, veering only at Browns Line (Highway 27), the Credit River
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...
, and at the Oakville border. At the time of construction, this route was surrounded by farmland, as most of the towns in the area at the time lay along Dundas or Lake Shore, to the north and south respectively. However, the highway spurred rapid development of the surrounding land; it did not take long for farmland to become subdivisions.
Most of the route was paved with concrete. The two roadways were separated by a median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
varying in width,Shragge indicates three to ten feet on page 79, consistent with the minimum of one metre given by Stamp on page 20, but far less than the maximum of nine metres. often filled with trees. Most of the rows of trees along the old country lane were incorporated into the median, and new ones were planted in the gaps, as equal focus was given to functionality as aesthetics. Over most of the bridges, the two roadways converged, undivided. These were, however, a great improvement from the bridges along the old lane, as seen in the picture at left. At Highway 10 (Hurontario Street) was Canada's first cloverleaf, opened in 1937.Stamp also writes on page 20 that construction on the cloverleaf began in 1937. Shragge also indicates it opened in 1937 on page 81.
One of the elements of The Middle Road, to which engineers paid particular attention in future highway design, was controlled access. While the section between the Humber River and Highway 27 was built without allowance for private driveways, and was thus controlled-access, many at-grade intersections lie along The Middle Road west of Highway 27, and many adjoining landowners built driveways to the highway for access, an issue that led to the creation of legislation to allow the designation of a road as 'controlled-access'.
Today, a small remnant of the pre-1930s Middle Road can be found spanning the Etobicoke Creek off of Sherway Drive at the Mississauga and Etobicoke border. The bridge, constructed in 1909, was part of Middle Road until 1932 and served as a farm lane until the section of the Queen Elizabeth Way into Toronto opened in 1940.
The short section was later renamed Sherway Drive.
History
The Middle Road was not the first highway between Toronto and Hamilton. In January 1914, a cement road known as the Toronto–Hamilton Highway was proposed.The highway was chosen to run along the macadamized old Lake Shore Road, instead of Dundas Street
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
to the north, because of the numerous hills encountered along Dundas Street, which would have increased the cost of the road without improving accessibility. Middle Road, a dirt lane named because of its position between the two, was not considered since Lake Shore and Dundas were both overcrowded and in need of serious repairs.
By November of that year, the proposal was approved,
and work began quickly to construct the road known today as Lake Shore Boulevard and Lakeshore Road
Lakeshore Road
Lakeshore Road is an arterial road that follows the northern shoreline of Lake Ontario between the cities of Toronto and Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario. In 1917 it became the longest intercity stretch of concrete road in the world upon its completion, as well as the first concrete...
from Toronto to Hamilton. The road was finished by 1917, 18 feet (5.5 m) in width and nearly 40 mi (64.4 km) long, becoming the first concrete road in Ontario, as well as one of the longest stretches of concrete road between two cities in the world.
The highway became the favourite drive of many motorists, and it quickly became a tradition for many families to drive it every Sunday.
Over the next decade, vehicle usage increased monumentally; as early as 1920 the Lake Shore Road was once again bumper to bumper on weekends.
In response, the Department of Highways once again sought out improving another road between Toronto and Hamilton. Middle Road, a continuation of Queen Street west of the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
, was chosen to avoid delays on Dundas or Lake Shore. The road was to be more than twice the width of the Lake Shore Road, at 40 ft (12.2 m), and would carry two lanes of traffic in each direction.
Construction on what was then known as the Queen Street Extension between Highway 10
Highway 10 (Ontario)
King's Highway 10, commonly referred to as Highway 10 and historically as the Toronto–Sydenham Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...
and Highway 27
Highway 27 (Ontario)
Highway 27, formerly known as King's Highway 27, was a provincially maintained highway in southern Ontario that is now cared for by the city of Toronto, York Region and Simcoe County. It is considered an undivided expressway in Toronto's municipal expressway network...
began in the spring of 1931,
and between Highway 27 and the Humber River on November 1, 1931.
Before the highway could be completed, the 1934 provincial elections
Ontario general election, 1934
The Ontario general election, 1934 was the 19th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect the 90 Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
brought Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
into office as premier and Thomas McQuesten was appointed the new minister of the Department of Highways.
McQuesten in turn appointed Robert Melville Smith as deputy minister. Smith, inspired by the German Autobahns - new "dual-lane divided highway
Divided Highway
Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...
s", separated by a depressed grass centre crossing short distances between major cities - modified the design for Ontario roads, and McQuesten ordered that the Middle Road be changed into this new form of highway.
A right-of-way of 132 ft (40.2 m) was purchased along the Middle Road and construction began to convert the existing sections to a divided highway, as well as on Canada's first cloverleaf interchange
Cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...
at Highway 10
Highway 10 (Ontario)
King's Highway 10, commonly referred to as Highway 10 and historically as the Toronto–Sydenham Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...
.
By the end of 1937, the Middle Road was open between Toronto and Burlington, where it connected with what was first known as the Hamilton – Niagara Falls Highway. It soon came time to name the new highway, and an upcoming visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
proved to be the focal point for a dedication ceremony. On June 7, 1939, the two royal family members drove along the highway (which now connected to Niagara Falls) and passed through a light beam at the Henley Bridge in St. Catharines. This caused two Union Jacks
Union Jacks
Union Jacks is The Babys fourth album, which contained the hit song "Back On My Feet Again" reaching #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. This would be the last Babys song to hit the charts, as the band would go on to break up later that year. Union Jacks was reissued on May 26th 2009 under Rock Candy...
to swing out, revealing a sign which read The Queen Elizabeth Way.
However, the ceremony only designated the highway between St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. The remainder of the road was known by various names, including the Toronto–Burlington/Hamilton Highway and The New Middle Road Highway. At the formal opening of the highway between Toronto and Niagara Falls on August 23, 1940, the entire length was declared The Queen Elizabeth Way by Thomas McQueston.