 Highway 89 | |||||||
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| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained byMinistry of Transportation | |||||||
| Length | 107.0 km[1] (66.5 mi) | ||||||
| Existed | 1937–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| West end |   Highway 9 /Highway 23 –Harriston | ||||||
| Major intersections |  Highway 6 –Mount Forest Highway 10 –Shelburne | ||||||
| East end |  Highway 400 –Cookstown | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Counties | Dufferin,Grey,Simcoe,Wellington | ||||||
| Towns | Alliston,Cookstown,Harriston,Mount Forest,Shelburne | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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King's Highway 89, commonly referred to asHighway 89, is an east–westprovincially maintained highway in the south central portion of theCanadian province ofOntario, stretching 107 kilometres (66 mi) from the junction ofHighway 9 andHighway 23 inHarriston in the west, toHighway 400 just east ofCookstown in the east. The principal urban centres along the highway includeAlliston,Shelburne andMount Forest. Outside these towns, the highway travels through rural farmland across a large part of southwestern Ontario.
Highway 89 was established in 1937 as a result of the rerouting of Highway 9 between Orangeville and Highway 27. In 1963, the route was extended west to Palmerston and east to Highway 400. Plans were conceived during the late 1970s to push the highway further east toHighway 12 via Ravenshoe Road, resulting in a brief extension toHighway 11. However, environmental protest over the chosen route through theHolland Marsh resulted in the cancellation of plans in 1986. In 1997, the section between Highway 400 and Highway 11 wasdecommissioned. The most recent change to the route took place in 2003, when the section of Highway 89 betweenPalmerston and Harriston was renumbered as part of Highway 23, creating a shared terminus at a junction with Highway 9.
The route forms the main streets of several of the small towns that dot the highway east to west, namely Cookstown, Alliston and Shelburne. The highway also forms the backbone of many small villages and hamlets between the larger centres, such as Conn, Keldon, Primrose, Violet Hill, Rosemont and Nicolston.[2]
The highway formerly continued past its current eastern terminus at Highway 400 toYonge Street, formerlyHighway 11, in thehamlet ofFennell. This section is now numbered asSimcoe County Road 89. East of Fennel, the roadway continues as Simcoe County Road 3 / Shore Acres Drive. The highway also continued past its current western terminus in Harriston, taking the route toPalmerston that is now numbered as Highway 23.[3]
The highway mostly runs through farmland and small communities, although the route does pass byEarl Rowe Provincial Park and theHonda car manufacturing plant in the Alliston area. Other parks and natural areas that are close to the route are Boyne Valley Provincial Park andMono Cliffs Provincial Park, both of which are located on theNiagara Escarpment. Further west is theLuther Marsh Conservation Area, a vast wilderness area that surrounds Luther Lake.[2]
Highway 89 was created out of a highway rerouting in the late 1930s. Originally, it formed the routing ofHighway 9, which until then turned north atOrangeville, travellingconcurrently with Highway 10, then turning east to Cookstown. On February 10, 1937, Highway 9 was rerouted along its present course east of Orangeville.[4]By 1938, Highway 89 was designated along the former route of Highway 9.[5]
Highway 89 remained as-is until the early 1960s, when it was extended west to Palmerston and east to Highway 400. On April 1, 1963, the highway was assumed through the counties of Dufferin, Grey and Wellington.[6]The section between Highway 27 and Highway 400 was assumed the following day.[7]
During the mid-1970s, Highway 89 was extended east toHighway 11 atFennell. This section was eventually returned to the jurisdiction of Simcoe County on April 1, 1997.[8]During the spring of 2003, the MTO renumbered several highways to improve route continuity. Among these was the renumbering of a section of Highway 89 between Harriston andPalmerston.[9]The result of this renumbering was a shared terminus between Highway 89 and Highway 23 at an intersection with Highway 9.
During the late 1970s, plans arose to create a new highway link on the south side ofLake Simcoe to connect Highway 400 and Highway 12. The route for this extension was announced on June 30, 1978. It was to follow 11th Line from Highway 400 east to theHolland Marsh, where it would cross towards the northeast onto the alignment of Ravenshoe Road (York Road 32). The extension would traverse the length of Ravenshoe Road to Lakeridge Road (Durham Road 23), where it would zig-zag onto Concession Road 7 to end immediately north ofSunderland.[10]However, heavy environmental protests ensued over the chosen route through the marsh. Consequently, then Transportation MinisterEd Fulton officially cancelled the extension on April 21, 1986.[11]The proposal has since been reborn as theBradford Bypass.[12]
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 89, as noted by theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario.[1]
| Division | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth–Wellington boundary | West Perth–Minto boundary | −9.7 | −6.0 | Highway 23 west –Listowel  County Line 93 east /County Road 123 east –Palmerston | Former Highway 89 western terminus; formerly Highway 23 east; present-day Highway 23 east follows former Highway 89 |
| Wellington | Minto | −1.6 | −0.99 |  County Road 87 west (Harriston Road) | FormerlyHighway 87 west |
| Harriston | 0.0 | 0.0 |  Highway 9 north /County Road 109 south (Elora Street) –Clifford,Teviotdale Highway 23 ends Highway 89 begins | Highway 89 western terminus; present-day Highway 23 northern terminus; beginning of HarristonConnecting Link agreement | |
| 0.5 | 0.31 | End of Harriston Connecting Link agreement | |||
| Minto | 5.3 | 3.3 |  County Road 2 west –Clifford | ||
| Grey–Wellington boundary | West Grey–Minto–Wellington North boundary | 13.8 | 8.6 |  Grey County Road 6 north Wellington County Road 6 south | |
| Wellington | Wellington North (Mount Forest) | 15.1 | 9.4 | Sligo Road / Lovers Lane | Beginning of Mount ForestConnecting Link agreement |
| 16.9 | 10.5 | Highway 6 (Main Street) –Guelph,Owen Sound | |||
| 18.2 | 11.3 | End of Mount Forest Connecting Link agreement | |||
| Grey–Wellington boundary | Southgate–Wellington North boundary | 30.2 | 18.8 |  Grey County Road 14 north –Flesherton Wellington County Road 14 south –Arthur | Conn |
| 35.6 | 22.1 |  County Road 16 south | |||
| Grey–Dufferin boundary | Southgate–Grand Valley boundary | 44.3 | 27.5 |  County Road 8 north | Keldon |
| Dufferin | Melancthon–Grand Valley boundary | 47.9 | 29.8 |  County Road 25 south –Grand Valley | FormerlyHighway 25 south |
| Melancthon–Amaranth boundary | 50.7 | 31.5 |  County Road 17 east | ||
| 58.1 | 36.1 |  County Road 12 south | |||
| Shelburne | 59.7 | 37.1 | Beginning of Shelburne Connecting Link agreement | ||
| 61.3 | 38.1 | Highway 10 north –Owen Sound | Western end of Highway 10concurrency | ||
| 62.7 | 39.0 |  County Road 124 north –Collingwood County Road 11 south (2nd Line) | FormerlyHighway 24 north; former western end of Highway 24 concurrency | ||
| 66.2 | 41.1 | Highway 10 south –Orangeville | Eastern end of Highway 10 / former Highway 24 concurrency; end of Shelburne Connecting Link agreement | ||
| Mulmur–Mono boundary | 75.7 | 47.0 |  County Road 18 (Airport Road) | ||
| Simcoe | Adjala-Tosorontio | 83.3 | 51.8 |  County Road 13 north –Everett | |
| 84.5 | 52.5 |  County Road 50 south –Bolton | FormerlyHighway 50 south | ||
| New Tecumseth (Alliston) | 86.8 | 53.9 | Industrial Parkway | Beginning of Alliston Connecting Link agreement | |
| 87.8 | 54.6 |  County Road 15 north (King Street) | |||
| 91.9 | 57.1 |  County Road 10 (Addison Road / Industrial Parkway) | End of Alliston Connecting Link agreement | ||
| Essa–New Tecumseth boundary | 96.2 | 59.8 |  County Road 56 north | ||
| Innisfil (Cookstown) | 101.9 | 63.3 | Beginning of Cookstown Connecting Link agreement | ||
| 102.5 | 63.7 |  County Road 27 (King Street) | FormerlyHighway 27 | ||
| 103.2 | 64.1 | End of Cookstown Connecting Link agreement | |||
| Innisfil | 106.1 | 65.9 |  County Road 53 (5th Sideroad) | ||
| 107.0 | 66.5 | Highway 400 –Toronto,Barrie Highway 89 ends Simcoe County Road 89 begins | Highway 400 exit 75; Highway 89 eastern terminus | ||
| 109.3 | 67.9 |  County Road 54 (10th Sideroad) | |||
| 112.4 | 69.8 |  County Road 4 (Yonge Street) County Road 89 ends County Road 3 east (Shore Acres Drive) | Fennell; formerlyHighway 11; former Highway 89 eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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