Ontario Highway 2

Since 1998, Highway2 has remained in the provincial highway system solely as a connection between westbound Thousand Islands Parkway and eastbound Highway401. Highway2 begins at the eastern town limits of Gananoque, and travels east a short distance before gently curving northward. It meets an interchange with the Thousand Islands Parkway—once referred to as Highway2S, prior to becoming a temporary part of Highway401 in 1952—and ends at the westbound Highway401 offramp (Exit648). At one time it connected with Quebec Route 2, which was renumbered in 1966 as multiple highways, and onwards to New Brunswick Route 2 and Nova Scotia Trunk 2 to end in Halifax. New Brunswick reassigned Route2 to a new freeway running between Fredericton and Moncton in 2007, while Nova Scotia kept its portion of Highway2 intact, numbering its bypass as Highway 102 and Highway 104. In 1972, the Ontario and Quebec governments designated Highway/Route2 from Windsor to Rivière-du-Loup as the Heritage Highway (Route des Pionniers), a tourist route which continued eastward to the Gaspé Peninsula on what is now Quebec Route 132. This tourist route included various side trips, such as highways to Ottawa and Niagara Falls. While this signage is maintained in some counties, others have promoted local tours, including the Apple Route between Trenton and Brighton, the Arts Route in Hastings County, and the Chemin du Roy (The King's Way, now Route 138) between Montreal and Quebec City. It travelled nearby the south shoreline of Lake St. Clair as it bisected Emeryville and Belle River before curving south briefly. It then turned east and travelled through a rural setting to Tilbury, where it met Highway401 at two interchanges (Exit56 and 63). Crossing from Essex County to Kent County, the highway curved northeast and passed through Chatham—where it intersected Highway 40—Louisville and Thamesville—where it intersected Highway 21—before entering Middlesex County near Bothwell—where it met Highway 79. Between Chatham and Delaware, Highway2 travelled roughly parallel to and north of the Thames River. It passed through the communities of Wardsville, Strathburn—intersecting Highway 76 and Highway 80—and Melbourne before encountering an interchange with Highway 402 and crossing the Thames River. Within Delaware, the highway intersected Highway 81 and turned east. At Lambeth it met Highway 4 and the two highways travelled concurrent northeast into London. In downtown London, Highway2 and Highway4 parted at the intersection of York Street and Richmond Street, with Highway2 continuing east along the former. It intersected the northern end of Highway100, now known as the Veterans Memorial Parkway. While the route was south of the Thames River between Delaware and London, it continued east along Dundas Street between the two branches of the river between London and Woodstock, intersecting Highway 19 between the two in the community of Thamesford. Approaching the west bank of the Humber River which was the eastern terminus of the Queen Elizabeth Way until 1998, the Highway2 route merged onto the Gardiner Expressway via an on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard. Highway2 proceeded to follow the Gardiner around Humber Bay and then through Downtown Toronto on the Gardiner's elevated section. Beyond the Don Valley Parkway interchange, the Gardiner descended to ground level and ended, so Highway2 rejoined Lakeshore Boulevard near Leslie Street. Highway2 continued east, splitting into two routes; one continuing along Lake Shore until it curved north as it transitioned into Woodbine Avenue and the second via Coxwell Avenue and a short stretch of Queen Street to then follow Kingston Road. The two routes then rejoined at Woodbine and Kingston, following the latter northeast into Scarborough. All three routes rejoined at and followed Kingston Road along the newest pre-1998 alignment., although after the construction of Lake Shore, the aforementioned later branches along Coxwell and Woodbine Avenues were created. After crossing the Highland Creek valley, Highway2 and Kingston Road followed an off-ramp at the Highland Creek Overpass since the main road defaulted to Highway 2A, travelling parallel to and north of Highway 2A (the latter route being a short freeway connecting directly Highway401). Highway2 continued along Kingston Road as it passed under Highway401 and then crossed the Rouge River into Pickering and Durham Region, initially alongside Highway401 before departing farther north. It bisected Pickering Village and passed through Ajax. Entering Whitby—where it intersected Highway 12 at Brock Street—Kingston Road became Dundas Street, while in Oshawa it became King Street. Highway2 then split into a one-way pairing within the latter, with westbound traffic following the adjacent Bond Street. It continued eastward through Courtice, Bowmanville and Newcastle as it drifted closer to Highway401 and Lake Ontario; an interchange with Highway 35/115 was encountered immediately west of Newcastle. After passing through Newtonville, Highway2 entered Northumberland County, passing through the communities of Morrish and Welcome before turning southeast and crossing Highway401 into Port Hope and intersecting the southern end of Highway 28. It continued near the shoreline of Lake Ontario through the town of Cobourg, where it intersected the southern end of Highway 45, as well as the communities of Grafton, Wicklow, Colborne and Salem. At the town of Brighton, where it intersected the southern end of Highway 30, the highway entered Hastings County and moved inland from Lake Ontario. In Trenton, the route crossed the Trent–Severn Waterway, intersected Highway 33, and began to travel along the northern shoreline of the Bay of Quinte. Continuing northeast, Highway2 passed south of CFB Trenton and through the community of Bayside before travelling through the city of Belleville, where it intersected both Highway 62 and Highway 37. After passing through the communities of Shannonville and Marysville, it turned south and bisected the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Highway2 turned east at an intersection with Highway 49 and travelled through Deseronto, after which it entered Lennox and Addington County. At Napanee, the highway met the southern terminus of Highway 41 then travelled through the communities of Morven, Odessa and Westbrook before entering Kingston. Within Kingston, Highway2 followed Princess Street and intersected Highway 38 and Highway33, crossed the Cataraqui River and Rideau Canal on the La Salle Causeway, then intersected the southern end of Highway 15 near CFB Kingston. For the remainder of its length, the highway followed close to or along the northern shoreline of the St. Lawrence River. Travelling northeast from Kingston, Highway2 passed through the communities of Barriefield, Ravensview and Pitts Ferry before reaching Gananoque and intersected the southern terminus of Highway 32. By 1997, the portion of Highway2 between the interchanges at Exit648 east of Gananoque and Exit687 west of Brockville along Highway401 was maintained by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, serving the communities of Wilstead, Mallorytown and Butternut Bay. The highway intersected Highway 29 at Brockville, then passed through the communities of Maitland, Prescott and Johnstown, intersecting the southern end of Highway 16 at the latter. It passed through Cardinal, as well as the Lost Villages relocated towns of Iroquois, Morrisburg—where it intersected Highway 31—Ingleside and Long Sault before entering Cornwall. It met the southern terminus of Highway 138 and continued northeast through the communities of Glen Walter and Summerstown. At Lancaster—the final notable community along Highway2—the route met Highway 34, and shortly thereafter crossed into Quebec. Current routes Despite being decommissioned as a provincial highway in the 1990s, almost the entirety of the former highway remains driveable, and is now maintained by the various counties, regions, and cities through which it passes. The various sections have the following designations, from west to east: == History ==