Interactive map of Bruce County (outline in black), showing numbered roads within the county
King's Highways
Bruce county roads
The numbered roads in Bruce County account for approximately 660 kilometres (410.1 mi) of roads in the Canadian province of Ontario.[note 1][1]
These roads[note 2] include King's Highways that are signed and maintained by the province, as well as county roads under the jurisdiction of the Bruce County Transportation and Environmental Services Department. The third type of existing roadway in the county is locally maintained municipal roads, many of which are concession roads and sidelines; these are beyond the scope of this article.
The 29 numbered routes provide year-round access to the mostly rural municipality. The longest of these roads is Highway 6, which stretches 87.9 kilometres (54.6 mi) across the Bruce Peninsula—a long and narrow strip of land separating Lake Huron from Georgian Bay—between Hepworth and Tobermory. The shortest numbered road is Bruce Road25, which travels 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) from Highway 21 to the Lake Huron shoreline.[3]
Types of roads
King's Highways
There are 226.0 kilometres (140.4 mi) of provincially-maintained highways, termed "provincial highways" or "King's Highways" (a term adopted in 1930).[4][5]
As in the rest of Ontario, the provincially maintained highways in Bruce are designated with a shield-shaped sign topped with a crown. The highway number is in the centre, with the word ONTARIO below. These signs are known as shields, but may be referred to as reassurance markers.[4]
Provincially maintained highways generally have greater construction standards than municipally or locally maintained roads.[6]
Although they are usually one lane in either direction, several short sections with two lanes in one direction as a passing lane exist along the highways.[3]
County roads
There are 27 numbered county roads in Bruce County.[3] County roads are signed with a flowerpot-shaped sign, as are most regional and county roads in Ontario. The road number appears in the centre of the sign, with the word BRUCE above and the word COUNTY below. Like King's Highways, these signs are known as shields.[7]
The total length of Bruce County roads is 657.8 kilometres (408.7 mi), including concurrencies.
County roads are referred to on signage as Bruce Road X. The following table lists existing numbered roads maintained by the County of Bruce. The county also maintains Grey–Bruce Line between Scone and Highway21 as an unnumbered county road.[3]
Section from Hepworth to Highway 21 was former route of Highway 6 before it was rerouted along Highway 70, when the latter was decommissioned in 1998. The route of Highway6 prior to 1998 became an extension of Bruce Road10
^The total length only counts concurrent sections of roadways once.
^In Ontario, all roads are legally known as highways. However, road is the more prevalent term for common use. The Ontario Municipal Act defines a highway as any road, street or bridge that is not a Provincial Highway.[2]
^Thompson, Don W. (1969). Men and Meridians: The History of Surveying and Mapping in Canada. Vol. 3: 1917 to 1947. Canadian Government Publishing Centre. p. 141. ISBN0-660-00359-7.
^Ontario Provincial Standards for Roads and Public Works (Report). Vol. General & Construction Specifications. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. November 30, 2009.
