Ontario Highway 4
 Highway 4 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location of Highway 4 in Southern Ontario Current route Former route | |||||||
| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario | |||||||
| Length | 100.8 km[1] (62.6 mi) | ||||||
| Existed | February 26, 1920[2]–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end |  Highway 3 – St. Thomas | ||||||
 Highway 401 Highway 402 Highway 7 | |||||||
| North end |  Highway 8 – Clinton | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Major cities | St. Thomas, London | ||||||
| Towns | Exeter, Clinton | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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King's Highway 4, also known as Highway 4, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Originally much longer than its present 100.8 km (62.6 mi) length, more than half of Highway 4 was transferred to the responsibility of local governments in 1998. In 2018, Highway 4 was re-signed and re-routed through London. In its present form, it travels between Highway 3 in Talbotville Royal, north-west of St. Thomas, and Highway 8 in Clinton.
Highway 4 was first designated in 1920, when a 27 km (17 mi) route between Talbotville Royal and Elginfield was assumed by the Department of Highways. Over the next half century it was extended north and east to Highway 24 near Singhampton, and south to Port Stanley.
Route description
Highway 4 starts at an intersection with Highway 3 in Talbotville Royal and continues north as a two-lane undivided highway. It then starts a short concurrency with Highway 401 at the community of Tempo. Before a 2017 re-route, the highway continued north from Tempo along Colonel Talbot Road. The concurrency ends at Wonderland Road, which the highway follows through London. At Sunningdale, the highway follows Sunningdale Road for a short distance before following Richmond Street.[3][4]
The road continues north, passing through Arva, Birr and large amounts of farmland before intersecting with the western terminus of Highway 7 at Elginfield. The highway then curves slightly west, passing through Lucan before continuing north. It then passes through the communities of Huron Park and Exeter. At Exeter, it crosses the former route of Highway 83. From there, it continues north, passing through the communities of Hensall, Ontario and Vanastra, Ontario before terminating at Highway 8 in the community of Clinton.[3][4]
History
The King's Highway 4 was originally designated in 1920 when the provincial government assumed the road running from Talbotville Royal to Elginfield through London. In 1927, the highway was further extended with the assumption of the road from Elginfield to Clinton. In the 1930s, the highway was again extended as far north as the intersection of Highway 10 in Flesherton, and south to Edith Cavell Boulevard in Port Stanley. In the 1970s, Highway 4 reached its maximum length when it was extended from Flesherton to Singhampton. However, in 1998, the Mike Harris government, seeking to balance the provincial budget, off-loaded responsibility for the Clinton–Singhampton and Talbotville-Port Stanley sections of Highway 4—almost 65% of its total length—back onto municipal governments.[5]
In 2017, the City of London announced that Highway 4 through London would be re-signed and re-routed via Richmond Street, Sunningdale Road, and Wonderland Road, resulting in a short concurrency with Highway 401 between the Colonel Talbot Road and Wonderland Road interchanges.[6]
Major intersections
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 4, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1]
| Division | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin | Talbotville Royal | 0.0 | 0.0 | Highway 3 – St. Thomas | |
| 6.0 | 3.7 | Highway 401 – Windsor, Toronto | Exit 177, ON-4 overlaps with Hwy 401 until Wonderland Rd S.[1] | ||
| Middlesex | London | 8.8 | 5.5 | Wonderland Road South | ON-4 exits and continues northbound along Wonderland Rd S. |
| 15.9 | 9.9 | Highway 402 – Sarnia | |||
| 18.1 | 11.2 | Exeter Road | Formerly Highway 135 | ||
| 18.4 | 11.4 | Wharncliffe Road S | Former routing of Highway 4 (before Jan. 2018) and Highway 2 along Wharncliffe Rd | ||
| 29.8 | 18.5 | Fanshawe Park Road W | Formerly Highway 22 west | ||
| 34.0 | 21.1 | Richmond St / Sunningdale Rd | Former routing of Highway 4 via Richmond Street south | ||
| Arva | 31.6 | 19.6 |  County Road 28 (Medway Road) | ||
| 37.2 | 23.1 |  County Road 16 (Ilderton Road) | |||
| Elginfield | 45.4 | 28.2 | Highway 7 east – St. Marys, Stratford County Road 7 west (Elginfield Road) | Access to  Highway 23 via Highway 7 east | |
| Clandeboye | 54.3 | 33.7 | County Road 28 (Denfield Road) | ||
| Mooresville | 58.1 | 36.1 | Mooresville Drive | ||
| Huron | Centralia | 64.2 | 39.9 |  County Road 21 | |
| Exeter | 72.4 | 45.0 |  County Road 83 (Thames Road) | Formerly Highway 83 | |
| Hensall | 80.3 | 49.9 |  County Road 84 (King Street) | Formerly Highway 84 | |
| Kippen | 84.3 | 52.4 |  County Road 12 (Kippen Road) | ||
| Brucefield | 90.4 | 56.2 |  County Road 3 (Mill Road) | ||
| Clinton | 100.8 | 62.6 | Highway 8 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ a b c Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2008). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ Shragge 1984, p. 74.
- ^ a b "2016 Average Annual Daily Traffic Counts" (PDF). Ontario Ministry of Transportation. 2016. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Highway 4 - Length and Route". Google Maps. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ "The King's Highway 4". The King's Highways of Ontario. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ^ "Highway 4 Re-Route". City of London. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
