Ontario Highway 27

Route description

As of 2021, Highway27 begins to the south at the offramps from the collector lanes of Highway427 as a four-lane divided highway. While the express lanes, constituting the mainline Highway427, curve around the Richview Memorial Cemetery and shift west by approximately 1km (0.6mi), the collector lanes transitioning to Highway27 continue northward and cross Eglinton Avenue at a half-cloverleaf interchange (originally meant for the never-built Richview Expressway) before diving under Highway401. While there are no longer any visible route markers for Highway 27 along this stretch, the northbound on-ramp from westbound Eglinton Avenue still has signage displaying the highway number within the outline of the crown, signifying that this section of the highway is still provincially owned. Highway27 ends north of Mimico creek at the end of the divided highway, transitioning into an undivided highway with a rural cross-section with a wide right-of-way (rather than a typical suburban arterial street) of the same name.{{Google maps | access-date = October 5, 2021}}{{cite web

| access-date = February 1, 2021}}

Former route (1997)

Through Etobicoke, it encountered mostly industrial surroundings, meeting Dixon Road at a cloverleaf interchange near the Toronto Congress Centre, then crossing (but not interchanging with) Highway 409. Highway27 followed a mostly straight route throughout its length, as it passed through the suburb of Rexdale, then north of Kleinburg, with the vast majority of the highway being surrounded by rural farmland. Within Etobicoke, Highway27 travelled along the 3rd Concession, and in York Region followed the 9th Concession of Vaughan and King Township; both being approximately 16 km west of Yonge Street. It passed along the western edge of suburban sprawl in Vaughan, near the community of Woodbridge. South of Kleinburg, the highway dipped into the Humber River valley, connecting with Islington Avenue. North of the valley, it continued through King Township into the Oak Ridges Moraine, dividing the village of Nobleton and entering Schomberg immediately south of Highway 9, north of which the highway entered Simcoe County.{{Google maps | access-date = October 5, 2021}}

North of Highway9, the route curved 1.5 km to the east, then continued north, parallel to Highway400. It followed the townline between Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury townships. It travelled through the village of Bond Head and thereafter met Highway 89 in Cookstown. As the highway approached Barrie, it curved and followed Essa Road northeast until it met Highway400. Through Barrie, it was concurrent with Highway400 between Exit94 and Exit98, after which it was concurrent with Highway 26 along Bayfield Street, travelling north and exiting the city. At Midhurst, Highway27 diverged from its concurrency to continue north, parallel to and 4 km west of Highway 400. After passing through the village of Elmvale and the end of Highway 92, the highway abruptly turned to the east to a junction with Highway 93 in the community of Waverley, which assumed the section north of here in the 1980s. Continuing north again, the highway meandered towards Georgian Bay, departing from the old Penetanguishene Road at Mertz's Corner. The route curved around the western side of a large marsh before entering the community of Wyebridge, where it crossed the Wye River. Several kilometres north of Wyebridge, Highway27 met Highway 12 on the outskirts of Midland. It then rejoined Penetanguishene Road and continued north into Penetanguishene, ending at Robert Street near Penetanguishene Harbour.

History

Highway27 was first designated between Barrie and Penetanguishene on September14, 1927.{{cite report |access-date = October 3, 2021 |archive-date = October 9, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211009031100/http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050500.jpg |url-status = dead

In the mid-1950s, the Toronto Bypass was constructed between Highway 2A and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), widening Highway27 to a four lane freeway in the process. This section was reconstructed again starting in 1968 and continuing until the early 1970s to turn it into a twelve-lane collector-express system. The junction with the QEW was built over 48.5 ha and required the construction of 19 bridges and the equivalent of 42 km of two lane roadway.{{cite news | access-date = October 7, 2021}}{{cite map | access-date = October 7, 2021}}

On June21, 1968, a new bypass north of Schomberg opened. Originally, northbound traffic had to turn east at Highway9 then north at Leonard Road; a smooth curve is visible at this latter intersection, though it now forms the driveways of several residences. The new bypass made Highway27 a through route at Highway9.{{cite press release |access-date = October 7, 2021 |archive-date = April 15, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220415181501/http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050580.jpg |url-status = dead |access-date = October 7, 2021 |archive-date = May 14, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210514010631/http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050582.jpg |url-status = dead

Major intersections

(Midhurst)

Former exits

There were some exits to the highway that were removed after the southern portion of the highway from Highway 401 to the QEW was rebranded as Highway 427. This includes:

-Courtwright Drive; southbound entrance only.

-Wellesworth Drive; southbound entrance and exit.

-West Deane Valley Drive; northbound entrance and exit.

References

References

1. "North-South Roads - ''Third Concession''". Etobicoke Historical Society.
2. (1966). "Toronto Aerial Photographs 1966".