Route Description
At 3.3 km (2.1 mi), Highway 420 is the shortest 400-series highway, travelling through Niagara Falls from Montrose Road to Stanley Avenue, on the outskirts of the city's tourist district. East of Stanley Avenue (Regional Road 102) the highway becomes Niagara Regional Road 420 and is known as Roberts Street and Newman Hill on approach to the Rainbow Bridge. This portion was designated a part of Highway 420 until 2000, when it was transferred to the City of Niagara Falls and the Regional Municipality of Niagara, although the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) still assists with the maintenance of it under a Connecting Link agreement. East of Drummond Road, Highway 420 features stylized light fixtures with the letters "ER", which stand for Elizabeth Regina and are a tribute to the Queen mother.
Highway 420 begins in the west at a signalized intersection with Montrose Avenue (Regional Road 98), west of which it continues as Watson Street through the residential neighbourhood of Greens Corners to Beaverdams Road (Regional Road 53). East of Montrose Avenue, the highway is a four lane roadway divided by a raised paved median, and passes north of a forest as it approaches a large interchange with the QEW. In addition to a parclo interchange that provides almost all directional movements, this four-level stack interchange features two flyovers that arc from south to east as well as a four lane mainline that curves from north to east, directing most westbound Highway 420 traffic onto the Toronto-bound QEW.
East of the QEW, Highway 420 encounters an interchange with Dorchester Road as both cross the Chippewa Power Canal. This interchange was originally a traffic circle that was removed in the early 1970s; the Royal Manor Drive bridge over the power canal is the only remainder from this circle. The numerous lanes from the stack interchange to the west begin to converge between residential subdivisions east of Dorchester Road, gradually narrowing to four through lanes at the Drummond Road interchange. After passing beneath Portage Road, the route widens on approach to an at-grade intersection with Stanley Avenue. This intersection is the eastern end of both the freeway segment of the route and the signed King's Highway; east of Stanley Avenue the route is signed as Niagara Regional Road 420 and known as Falls Avenue.
Now separated by a landscaped median, the route progresses eastward, intersecting MacDonald Avenue and providing access to several residential/retail properties that adjoin the road. The route passes through a concrete trench and abruptly curves to the southeast as it passes beneath Victoria Avenue, with which there is a simple interchange. East of this point, the road was named Newman Hill until March 2012. Palmer Avenue and Ontario Avenue overpass the route as it descends a hill towards the Niagara Gorge. At the bottom, the route curves to the southwest, where it provides access to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing into the United States as well as the tourist district of the city.
Due to its association with the number 420 in cannabis culture, Highway 420 is also the location for the annual Cannabis Conference and Protest, usually taking place sometime around April 20. The event includes a march beginning near Niagara Falls and travelling to Highway 420.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Highway 420
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