Highway 131 was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Simcoe County and the city of Barrie. The route, which connected Highway 27 with Highway 90, existed from 1984 until 1998, after which it was transferred to the responsibility of Simcoe County. Highway 131 was a straight rural highway, located west of Barrie's suburban fringe, though since then those suburbs have grown out to reach the former highway. Otherwise, the highway is abutted by the occasional farm and surrounded by several forests.

Highway 131 marker
Highway 131
Townline Road, Simcoe County Road 27
Map
A map of Highway 131, highlighted in red
(as of December 31, 1997)
Route information
Maintained by County of Simcoe, City of Barrie
Length6.7 km[1] (4.2 mi)
Existed1984–January 1, 1998[2]
Major junctions
South end Highway 27 (Essa Road)
North end Highway 90 (Dunlop Street West)
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
CountiesSimcoe
Major citiesBarrie
Highway system
Highway 130 Highway 132

Route description

edit
 
Highway 131 facing north, south of Highway 90

Highway 131 began at an intersection with Highway 27 (Essa Road), travelling north through the outskirts of Barrie. Although the city of 125,000 residents lay immediately east of the highway, Highway 131 was a two lane road throughout its length. North of Highway 27, the route travelled north through farmland, then west of the suburb of Holly. North of Mapleview Drive, the route entered a forested area. After travelling through a valley, the highway met Ardagh Road. It crossed the newly commissioned Barrie Collingwood Railway and shortly thereafter ended at Highway 90 (Dunlop Street), which travelled east to Barrie and west to Angus and CFB Borden.[3]

History

edit

In 1984 or 1985, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) assumed ownership of Simcoe County Road 31.[4][5] The purpose was to divert Georgian Bay and Wasaga Beach -bound traffic from Highway 26 in Downtown Barrie.[citation needed] Highway 131 remained unchanged throughout its existence.[5][3]

As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premier Mike Harris under his Common Sense Revolution platform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to a lower level of government, a process referred to as downloading. Highway 131 was downloaded in its entirety on January 1, 1998, and responsibility for the maintenance and signing of the route transferred to the County of Simcoe and City of Barrie.[2] The route was redesignated as Simcoe County Road 27; the former route of Highway 27 into Barrie is now known as Essa Road.[6]

Major intersections

edit

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 131, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] The entire route is located in Simcoe County.[3] 

Locationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Innisfil0.00.0  Highway 27TorontoNow Simcoe County Road 27 (Essa Road)
Barrie6.74.2  Highway 90BarrieNow Simcoe County Road 90 (Dunlop Street West)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

edit

References

edit
KML is not from Wikidata
  1. ^ a b "Provincial Highways Distance Table" (PDF). Provincial Highways Distance Table: King's Secondary Highways and Tertiary Roads. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario: 80. 1997. ISSN 0825-5350. Retrieved March 13, 2021 – via Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  2. ^ a b Highway Transfers List - "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001. p. 14.
  3. ^ a b c Golden Horseshoe StreetFinder (Map). 1:250,000. Cartography by Rand McNally. Allmaps Canada. 1996. p. 239. §§ N22–23. ISBN 0-88640-768-0.
  4. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1984–85. § G23. Retrieved November 11, 2021 – via Archives of Ontario.
  5. ^ a b Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1986–87. Barrie inset. Retrieved November 11, 2021 – via Archives of Ontario.
  6. ^ "Highway 131 – Length and route" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved April 9, 2022.