COLUMN: 400-series highways have fuelled region’s growth – Barrie Today
November 8, 2023
Area historian takes closer look at 400-series highways and their economic benefits around the GTA
For this column, I turn my attention to the history of our highway system, in particular the development of the 400 series of highways.
If you have been reading some of my columns over the past few years, you will remember a key factor in the region’s development is its strategic positioning in the provincial transportation system, whether it be the railroad, water system, or the development of the road system beginning with Yonge Street.
Long before we arrived, Indigenous peoples had set up a network of transportation choices and, in most cases, we simply adopted their existing pathways and trails for our own use. I have previously examined many of these transportation routes. Today, I intend to look at 400-series highways, beginning with the establishment of the Don Valley Parkway and highways 404 and 400.
