Highway Photos - Ontario King's Highway 11

Last updated: July 25, 2004
(C) 2003, 2004, Michael J. LaRochelle

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King's Highway 11

Hwy 11 is one of Ontario's longest King's Highways. It originally ran from Downtown Toronto to Rainy River, via Cocharne, but the section south of Barrie was downloaded in 1997. Today it serves as an important link to Muskoka from the south, as well as a vital highway link in far Northern Ontario. Hwy 11 is a freeway in some sections between Barrie and North Bay.

Highway 11 was one of seven conventional King's Highways that existed in Metropolitan Toronto prior to downloading in 1998. This is Highway 11 (Yonge Street) looking southbound towards Hayden Street from Bloor Street (formerly Highway 5) in Yorkville, in the City of Toronto. Photo taken 31 January 2004.

This is Bay Street looking southbound from Bloor Street (formerly Hwy 5) towards Charles Street in Yorkville, in the City of Toronto. This was a city-posted routing for Highway 11 southbound, since right turns from Bloor eastbound onto Yonge southbound are prohibited. From here, this Highway 11 routing turns east onto Wellsley Street, where it meets up with Yonge Street. While Highway 11 signs have mostly disappeared from Yonge Street in the Yorkville area of Toronto, the Bay/Wellsley routing is still very well signed. Note: Highway 11 shield at right is digitally enhanced for clarity. Photo taken 31 January 2004.

King's Highway crown image derived from Canadian Highway Markers - (C) 2000, James Lin

Some historical highway information courtesy The History of Ontario's King's Highways - (C) 2004, Cameron Bevers

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Highway 11 looking northbound towards Huntsville from the overpass at the Muskoka Road 117 (formerly Highway 117) junction, in the Town of Bracebridge. In the foreground is the twin bridges over the North Branch of the Muskoka River. The steel truss bridge at left was originally the bridge that carried a two-lane Highway 11 until the highway was "twinned" in the 1970s. In the background is an at-grade intersection with High Falls Road. Despite the at-grade intersection, this is not an RIRO expressway. This portion of Highway 11 is built to a freeway standard with interchanges, but there are a number of at-grade intersections located at roads that do not have enough traffic to warrant an interchange. The MTO plans to eliminate these intersections in the long term, by building bridges, interchanges, or simply closing down the road. Photo taken 29 May 2004. (Photo courtesy Scott Steeves, HHSO Member 12)

Highway 11 looking southbound towards South River from just north of the village. The curve to the left in the background is located just north of the Marie Street junction in South River. The MTO is presently "twinning" Highway 11 from South River north to Trout Creek. The new four-lane highway, scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2004, will start at a point just north of the site of this photo, and join with the existing four-lane Highway 11 near the Highway 522 junction. In the coming years, the MTO plans to extend this four lane highway south to Highway 124, bypassing both South River and Sundridge. Photo taken 29 May 2004. (Photo courtesy Scott Steeves, HHSO Member 12)

Highway 11 looking southbound towards Barrie from the Oro-Medonte Line 3 overpass north of Barrie, on 3 May 2004. This section of Highway 11 is often called "gasoline alley", as there is a huge number of gas stations located along this stretch of highway that many motorists stop at on the way to the cottage in Muskoka. This section of Highway 11 also has a very unique, yet controversial design. While it appears to be a controlled access freeway at first glance, it is actually what is known informally as an "RIRO expressway". RIRO stands for Right In, Right Out, referring to the intersections along this stretch of highway where motorists can only turn right to get on the highway, or turn right to get off the highway. All left turns are blocked by a rail-type barrier in the median. Motorists wishing to access the other side of the highway must follow special "Turn Around for Hwy 11" routes that you follow from an RIRO intersection on the highway, onto a special road that is carried over the highway by an overpass, and back to an RIRO intersection at the opposite side of the highway. In addition, complete at-grade access to adjacent homes and businesses is permitted. Much of this section of Highway 11 has always been on the same alignment, and a freeway bypass was never built. Instead an existing two-lane highway was widened to four lanes in the 1960s, and then made into an RIRO expressway in the 1980s, most likely as a measure of cutting costs and to continue access to the numerous adjacent homes and businesses.

This is a very controversial design for Highway 11, as there are many houses right on the side of the highway, meaning pedestrians can easily access the highway where cars and trucks are pummeling by at 90 km/h or more. In the summer of 2003, a young boy was killed during the night when he ran out onto this highway from an adjacent house just south of Orillia. This proves that cutting costs in the short term leads to major problems in the long term, such as the safety of residents living on this expressway.

Photo courtesy Scott Steeves, HHSO Member 12

Highway 11 looking northbound towards Orillia from the 14th Line/Sideroad 15 & 16 overpass in Oro-Medonte Township. A typical RIRO intersection can be seen in this shot, complete with a Highway 11 South trailblazer (at right), directing traffic to the "turnaround" to access Highway 11 southbound. The overpass that this photo is taken from is part of the Turnaround route. Prior to the 1950s, Highway 11 southbound turned to the left at the present-day RIRO intersection at left towards the hamlet of East Oro, then rejoined the present Highway 11 via Line 11 (merely a coincidence). In the background is a large blue sign to alert motorists that they are entering Orillia. In the distant background is the end of the Barrie-Orillia portion of the Highway 11 RIRO expressway, as the Highway 11 freeway bypass of Orillia begins, complete with a speed limit increase to 100 km/h and no at-grade access to adjacent properties. The RIRO expressway then resumes north of West Street in Orillia, to just south of Washago, and then again from Severn Bridge to Gravenhurst. Photo taken 3 May 2004. (Photo courtesy Scott Steeves, HHSO Member 12)

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