 Highway 48 | |||||||
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| Maintained byMinistry of Transportation | |||||||
| Length | 65.2 km[1] (40.5 mi) | ||||||
| Existed | March 24, 1937[2]–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end |  Major Mackenzie Drive(  Markham Road continues south) | ||||||
| North end |  Highway 12 nearBeaverton | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Counties | York Durham | ||||||
| Major cities | Markham Stouffville East Gwillimbury Georgina Brock (Beaverton) | ||||||
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King's Highway 48, also known asHighway 48, is aprovincially maintained highway in southernOntario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive inMarkham, throughWhitchurch-Stouffville andEast Gwillimbury, toHighway 12 south-east ofBeaverton. The route is generally rural and straight, passing near several communities within theRegional Municipality of York. The route is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long. Most part of the road has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), except within town limits, where the speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h (37 mph) or 50 km/h (31 mph).
Highway 48 was first designated in 1937 to connectPort Bolster with Highway 12 in Beaverton. It was extended south to meet withHighway 401 in the 1950s in anticipation of a planned freeway connection around the eastern shore ofLake Simcoe that ultimately becameHighway 404. In the mid-1970s, Highway 48 assumed a portion of the route ofHighway 46 inVictoria Country, now the city ofKawartha Lakes, extending the route toHighway 35 inCoboconk. Between then and 1998, the route was 128 km (80 mi). However, on January 1, 1998 the province transferred the responsibility of maintaining the southern and northern sections to the regional governments that those sections lie within.
Highway 48 is an L-shaped route, travelling north through York Region to the southern shores of Lake Simcoe before turning east towards Highway 12. The route is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long and travels through the municipalities of Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, and Brock.[3][4]
Beginning at Major Mackenzie Drive (York Regional Road 25), the route progresses northward from therural–urban fringe of theGreater Toronto Area into farmland. A future extension ofDonald Cousens Parkway will bypass former Highway 48 (Main Street) through downtown Markham in 2018 just north of Major Mackenzie. The route travels northward for 34 km (21 mi) along the 8th concession of York Region (Yonge Street being the 1st) to just south ofRegional Road 32 (Ravenshoe Road), intersecting withElgin Mills Road, formerHighway 47 (Stouffville Road and Bloomington Road), York Regional Road 15 (Aurora Road), York Regional Road 74 (Vivian Road), York Regional Road 31 (Davis Drive), York Regional Road 13 (Mount Albert Road) and Queensville Sideroad along the way.[3][4]
North of Ravenshoe Road, the highway diverts onto the boundary between York and Durham through the community of Baldwin before jogging east at York Regional Road 79 (Old Homestead Road). Just south of Sutton, the route curves east, meeting York Regional Road 9 (High Street), which travels into the town. Despite that the highway is now travelling directly east, directional signs still reference the direction of this highway as north. Passing through Virginia and approximately a kilometre inland fromLake Simcoe, the highway passes through a moderately developed area, with frequent businesses lining the route. It passes south ofDuclos Point Provincial Nature Reserve prior to meeting Durham Regional Road 23 (Lake Ridge Road) south of Port Bolster, where it crosses from the Regional Municipality of York to the Regional Municipality of Durham. The highway jogs northeastward several kilometres to align with the formerBrock–Thorah township line, crossing alongside a power transmission corridor several times along this segment. The final section travels eastward to Highway 12, south of Beaverton and west ofCannington andWoodville.[3][4]
The route is mostly rural, passing around the urban areas ofStouffville and south ofSutton. However, the east–west section that lies to the south of Lake Simcoe is slightly developed and features a lower speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph). The remainder of the route is signed at 80 km/h (50 mph).[4] Like other provincial routes in Ontario, Highway 48 is maintained by theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario. In 2010, traffic surveys conducted by the ministry showed that onaverage, 13,300 vehicles used the highway daily along the 6.0-kilometre (3.7 mi) section between York Regional Road 25 (Major Mackenzie Drive) and York Regional Road 14 (Stouffville Road) while 5,950 vehicles did so each day along the 5.8-kilometre (3.6 mi) section between Durham Regional Road 23 (Lake Ridge Road) and Brock Side Road 17 (former Highway 12), the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.[1]
Highway 48 incorporates a significant portion of the former Scarborough and Markham Plank Road, now known asMarkham Road, into its length. This section was not incorporated into the highway until 1954, yet predates the Highway 48 designation entirely.
Markham Road began as the eighth concession east ofYonge Street in theHome District ofUpper Canada, and wasblazed by settlers to whom land had been granted along theright-of-way. The right-of-way extended from Lake Ontario in the south to what is todayYork Region Road 8A (Baseline Road) in Sutton, just south of Lake Simcoe, in the north.[5][6] Improvements to the road and the necessary funds were authorized by an act of the Upper Canada provincial parliament on February 13, 1833 for the section in Scarborough township betweenDanforth Road (present day Painted Post Drive) and the Eighth Concession at the border with Markham township. These improvements were supervised by residents Peter Secor, Richard Houck and Robert Armstrong.[7]By 1847, the section between Scarborough and Markham had become known as theScarborough and Markham Road.[8] On July 28 of that year, the parliament of theProvince of Canada passed an act to establish the Scarborough and Markham Plank-road Company, which was authorized to further improve the road surface tomacadamized orplanked construction betweenKingston Road in Scarborough and Markham Village in the north, and further north and then east to Stouffville along the Markham-Stouffville township line,[8] a line then formed between today's Stouffville Road and Main Street Stouffville.[5][6] The company was allowed to erect gates and charge tolls to pay for the work.[8]
On March 24, 1937, the 9.6 km (6.0 mi)gravel road between Beaverton andPort Bolster, known as the Port Bolster Road, was assumed by the Department of Highways;[2]it was paved in 1947. On February 10, 1954, the highway designation was extended 82 km (51 mi) south to the future site of Highway 401 inScarborough[9] — though not all the way to the then-Highway 2 (Kingston Road) — where acloverleaf interchange was constructed in anticipation of it developing into a freeway around the eastern side of Lake Simcoe; Highway 404 was constructed for this purpose, but along or parallel to Woodbine Avenue instead. In 1962, the highway was extended to Highway 46 at Bolsover via a concurrency with Highway 12 north from Beaverton. This routing would last until November 4, 1966, when the 10.3 km (6.4 mi) Beaverton Bypass opened,[10] routing Highway 12 to the east. A new road was opened connecting Highway 48 south of Port Bolster with the bypass on the same day, and both Highway 12 and Highway 48 were rerouted. Portions of the former route of Highway 48 and Highway 12 were renumbered as Highway 48B. However, the segment between Port Bolster and what is now Brock Sideline 17 was decommissioned entirely.[11] The original route of Highway 48, prior to 1954, is now part ofDurham Regional Road 23.[3]The portion of Highway 48 within Scarborough, between Highway 401 and Steeles Avenue, was transferred toMetropolitan Toronto on September 28, 1963.[12]
On June 28, 1967, the routing of Highway 46 was shifted in the vicinity ofBalsam Lake on to a new inland bypass; the old route became known as West Bay Drive.[11]On 1975, Highway 46 was truncated at Bolsover; the severed section was renumbered as an extension of Highway 48, bringing it to its peak length of 129.2 km (80.3 mi).[13]The new section of highway between Highway 12 and Bolsover was reconstructed over the following year, opening to traffic on August 19, 1976.[14]
The section between Highway 401 and the then-unopenedHighway 407 interchange was turned over to the Region of York and the City of Toronto on April 1, 1995, and is known as Markham Road south of Highway 407, and Main Street thereafter to Sixteenth Avenue, where the name Markham Road resumes for 2 km (1.2 mi) until Major Mackenzie Drive. The section within York Region is also designated asYork Regional Road 68.[3]
On January 1, 1998, the section of Highway 48 between its southern junction with Highway 12 and Coboconk was transferred to theRegional Municipality of Durham andVictoria County (nowKawartha Lakes), removing the concurrency with Highway 12 in the process.[15]The section from Highway 12 to Highway 35 is now known as Portage Road and signed as Durham Regional Highway 48 and Kawartha Lakes Road 48.[3]
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 48, as noted by theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario.[1]
| Division | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | −14.1 | −8.8 | Markham Road (continues south) Highway 401 | Former Highway 48 southern terminus (pre-1998); Highway 401 exit 383 | |
| Toronto–York boundary | Toronto–Markham boundary | −8.3 | −5.2 | Steeles Avenue York Regional Road 68 begins | |
| York | Markham | −5.3 | −3.3 |  407 ETR | Highway 407 exit 92 |
| −4.0 | −2.5 |  Regional Road 7 (Highway 7) | FormerlyHighway 7 | ||
| 0.0 | 0.0 | Regional Road 25 (Major Mackenzie Drive East) Highway 48 begins York Regional Road 68 ends | Highway 48 southern terminus | ||
| 1.0 | 0.62 |  Regional Road 48 (Donald Cousens Parkway) | Proposed Donald Cousens Parkway extension[16] | ||
| Whitchurch-Stouffville | 6.0 | 3.7 |  Regional Road 14 west (Stouffville Road)Main Street –Stouffville | FormerlyHighway 47 (1954-1992) | |
| 10.1 | 6.3 |  Regional Road 40 (Bloomington Road) | Formersignalized intersection converted toroundabout in 2018;[17] formerlyHighway 47 (1993-1998) | ||
| 14.3 | 8.9 |  Regional Road 15 (Aurora Road) –Ballantrae | |||
| 18.5 | 11.5 |  Regional Road 74 (Vivian Road) – Vivian | |||
| Whitchurch-Stouffville–East Gwillimbury boundary | 20.5 | 12.7 |  Regional Road 31 (Davis Drive) | ||
| East Gwillimbury | 24.4 | 15.2 |  Regional Road 13 (Mount Albert Road) –Mount Albert | ||
| East Gwillimbury–Georgina boundary | 34.7 | 21.6 |  Regional Road 32 (Ravenshoe Road) – Brown Hill | ||
| Georgina | 40.6 | 25.2 |  Regional Road 79 (Old Homestead Road) | ||
| 43.4 | 27.0 |  Regional Road 9 north (High Street) –Sutton | |||
| 46.0 | 28.6 |  Regional Road 18 (Park Road) –Sibbald Point Provincial Park | |||
| 51.2 | 31.8 | Duclos Point Road | Virginia; access to Duclos Point Nature Reserve | ||
| 54.4 | 33.8 |  Regional Road 21 south (Pefferlaw Road) –Pefferlaw | |||
| York–Durham boundary | Georgina–Brock boundary | 57.0 | 35.4 |  Regional Road 23 (Lake Ridge Road) –Port Bolster,Beaverton | |
| Durham | Brock | 65.2 | 40.5 |  Highway 12 south /TCH –Whitby | Highway 48 northern terminus; former southern end of Highway 12concurrency |
| 77.9 | 48.4 | Highway 12 north /TCH –Orillia Durham Regional Highway 48 begins | Former northern end of Highway 12 concurrency | ||
| Durham–Kawartha Lakes boundary | Brock–Kawartha Lakes boundary | 84.5 | 52.5 | Durham Regional Highway 48 ends Kawartha Lakes Road 48 begins | |
| Kawartha Lakes | 87.5 | 54.4 |  Road 46 south –Woodville | FormerlyHighway 46 south | |
| 113.8 | 70.7 |  Highway 35 –Lindsay,Minden | Former Highway 48 northern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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