Ontario Highway 400

Ontario Highway 400

King's Highway 400, commonly referred to as Highway 400, historically as the Toronto–Barrie Highway, and colloquially as the 400, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking the city of Toronto in the urban and agricultural south of the province with the scenic and sparsely populated central and northern regions. The portion of the highway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe roughly traces the route of a historic trail between the Lower and Upper Great Lakes. Highway 400 is part of the highest-capacity route from southern Ontario to the Canadian West, via a connection with the Trans-Canada Highway in Sudbury. The highway also serves as the primary route from Toronto to southern Georgian Bay and Muskoka, areas collectively known as cottage country. North of the Jane Street exit in north-west Toronto, the 400 is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police and has a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph). To the south it is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service and the speed limit drops to 80 km/h (50 mph) approaching Maple Leaf Drive, where the freeway becomes known as Black Creek Drive.

Highway 400 is the second longest freeway in the province, the trans-provincial Highway 401 being the longest. It was the first fully controlled-access highway in Ontario when it was opened between North York and Barrie on July 1, 1952. On that date, it was also the first highway to be designated as a 400-series. The freeway was extended in both directions; north of Barrie to Coldwater in 1958, and south of Highway 401 to Jane Street in 1966. It was widened between North York and Barrie in the 1970s. Since 1977, construction on the freeway has been snaking north along Highway 69 towards Parry Sound and now Sudbury.

As of 2011, a four lane freeway is opened as far north as Nobel. At the north end of Highway 69, a segment of freeway is in operation between Murdock River and Sudbury; while this section will be part of the completed Highway 400 route, at present it remains signed as Highway 69. The remaining gap between Nobel and Murdock River will be opened in stages and is expected to be completed by 2017.