King's Highway 420, commonly referred to as Highway 420, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connects the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) with downtown Niagara Falls. It continues east as a limited-access expressway named Niagara Regional Road 420 to connect with the Rainbow Bridge international crossing between Canada and the United States over the Niagara River; this expressway was part of Highway 420 until 1998. West of the QEW, the freeway ends at an at-grade intersection with Montrose Road (Niagara Regional Road 98). The highway has a speed limit of , making it the only 400-series highway to have a speed limit less than for its entirety.
Originally constructed as a divided four-lane road with two roundabouts, the route of Highway 420 formed part of the QEW in 1940 initially as the southeastern terminus, but after the QEW extension from Niagara Falls to Fort Erie opened in 1941, this bypassed highway became a spur route designated as the Rainbow Bridge Approach. It was assigned a unique route number as part of the 400-series after being upgraded into a freeway in 1972, including construction of a large interchange with the QEW. In 1998, the section of Highway 420 east of Stanley Avenue was transferred to the responsibility of the Regional Municipality of Niagara and redesignated as Regional Road 420.
Route description
thumb|left|An [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|"ER" lightpost along Highway 420, recounting the route's historical connection to the QEW]]
At , Highway 420 is the shortest 400-series highway, travelling through Niagara Falls from Montrose Road to Stanley Avenue,
East of Drummond Road,
Highway 420 features stylized light fixtures with the letters "ER", which stand for Elizabeth Regina and are a tribute to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Highway 420 begins in the west at a signalized intersection with Montrose Road (Regional Road 98),
East of Montrose Road, the highway is a four lane roadway divided by a raised paved median, and passes north of a forest as it approaches a four-level interchange with the QEW. The five parclo ramps provide almost all directional movements, though the QEW off-ramps meet Highway 420 at at-grade intersections. These at-grade connections can be bypassed by a pair of connectors carried by a dual on-and-off ramp flyover that arcs over the CN rail line and the QEW Toronto-bound carriageway, directing Fort Erie-bound QEW traffic onto Highway 420 eastbound and westbound Highway 420 traffic onto the Toronto-bound QEW. Another set of ramps links Toronto-bound QEW traffic to Highway 420 eastbound and Highway 420 westbound to the Fort Erie-bound QEW.
right|thumb|A view of Regional Road 420 proceeding east past Stanley Avenue at the terminus of Highway 420
East of the QEW, Highway encounters an interchange with Dorchester Road as both cross the Queenston-Chippawa 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. --- Confirmed by Niagara Public Works Department -->
The numerous lanes from the QEW 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.
History
Rainbow Bridge Approach
The history of Highway 420 predates its designation by nearly 75 years, tied in with the crossing of the Niagara Gorge between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The first level crossing between the two cities was the Honeymoon Bridge, constructed in 1898. The wide structure spanned between the Canadian and American sides, above the Niagara River. Its narrow design proved to be a fatal flaw, and on January 27, 1938, under the weight of a massive ice jam in the river, the structure collapsed.
A day later, the owners of the previous bridge—the International Railway Company (IRC)—as well as Ontario Minister of Highways Thomas Baker McQuesten announced intentions to construct a new span; a long political battle ensued for several years over the merits of private or public ownership of border crossings. In the end, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) paid the IRC $615,000 to purchase the right-of-way of the old bridge as well as the rights to construct the new one.
The future Rainbow Bridge was dedicated by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on June 7, 1939, just hours after the couple dedicated the QEW.
The new bridge was assembled over the following 18 months; the design was prepared by New York engineering firm Waddell & Hardesty and supervised by the Edward Lupfer Corporation, the latter the designers of the Peace Bridge.
The new structure was located downstream from the Honeymoon Bridge, as the gorge is slightly wider at that point, resulting in a span.
Meanwhile, McQuesten was overseeing construction of the QEW between Toronto and Fort Erie. The new dual highway, inspired by German Autobahns, was the first of its kind in Canada.
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 temporarily halted McQuesten's ambitions, as funding was quickly shifted to the war effort. As a result, construction on the new superhighway was put on hold south of Niagara Falls. McQuesten officially opened the QEW on August 23, 1940; the pavement ended south of Lundy's Lane. Despite the war, work began on a link between the opened QEW and the Rainbow Bridge through the centre of Niagara Falls. This link would not be completed in time for the opening of the new bridge.
On November 1, 1941, the Rainbow Bridge was officially opened during a simple ceremony. The oldest living couple known to have wed in Niagara Falls, a pair from Pennsylvania, were the first to cross, followed by a newlywed couple from Georgia. This symbolically tied the history of the two bridges together, and was followed by McQuesten and Johnson walking towards the centre of the structure from the Canadian and American sides, respectively, and shaking hands at the centre. Several pyrotechnic explosions at both ends capped the ceremony, and the bridge was opened to traffic.
and the Rainbow Bridge Approach.
In 1971, construction began on a four-level interchange between the QEW and the Rainbow Bridge Approach. This removed the two traffic circles along the approach.
By April 1972, the Rainbow Bridge Approach was designated as Highway 420.
thumb|left|Highway 420 westbound past Niagara Regional Road 102 in Niagara Falls, when it becomes a freeway until the QEW
In 1998, the Niagara Falls Transportation Study was released, recommending that Roberts Street be rebuilt as a gateway to the city as opposed to a freeway. Highway 420 east of Stanley Avenue was transferred to Niagara Region and redesignated as Niagara Regional Road 420, but despite no longer being a provincial route it is still colloquially referred to as Highway 420. The "ER" style lighting poles are themselves a historical decorative lighting pole model, discontinued decades earlier, that was revived originally for the early 2000s Highway 420 reconstruction and would also be later used for QEW's bridges in Mississauga, Oakville, and St. Catherines. The Drummond Road and Portage Road overpasses that originally built in 1941 and rehabilitated in the early 1970s were demolished in 2004; their new replacement bridges plus Highway 420's concrete median barrier feature decorative stone facades, which in combination with the "ER" light poles restores the heritage look that was lost in the 1970s reconstruction.
On September 23, 2010, Highway 420 was designated as the Niagara Veterans Memorial Highway.
On January 31, 2012, Niagara Regional Council approved the renaming of Roberts Street and Newman Hill as an extension of Falls Avenue, beginning March 1. Prior to this, Falls Avenue curved into Newman Hill at the Rainbow Bridge.
In 2016, the flyovers of the Highway 420-QEW interchange were rehabilitated.[https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2016/06/20/photo-facelift-for-420.html]
Exit list
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