The Middle Road
Middle Road | |
|---|---|
| Queen Street extension | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Ontario Department of Highways | |
| Length | 61.6 km (38.3 mi) |
| History | Constructed 1931–1939 renamed the Queen Elizabeth Way |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Highway 20 (Plains Road) – Burlington |
| Highway 10 (Hurontario Street) – Port Credit Highway 27 (Brown's Line) – Long Branch | |
| East end | Highway 2 (Lake Shore Boulevard) – Toronto |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Highway system | |
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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. It borrowed the name of Middle Road from a concession road in Toronto Township between 1st Concession South and 2nd Concession South during the early 1800s.
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 Melville Smith into a divided, limited access freeway, the first such intercity stretch in North America when it was opened in 1939.
The Middle Road provided the blueprint for Highway 401, an expressway that became a key contributor to the economic success of Ontario.