Skip to main content

King's Highway 402

While recently visiting Ontario I drove the entirety of King's Highway 402 from the Blue Water Bridge to KH 401 near London.


The western terminus of KH 402 is in Sarnia of Lambton County on the St. Clair River at the Blue Water Bridge.  The history of the Blue Water Bridge can be found on the previous blog below.

Blue Water Bridge; east terminus of Interstate 94 and north terminus of Interstate 69

KH 402 is a limited access freeway which is 102.5 Kilometers (63.7 miles) in length.  The first section of KH 402 was designated in 1953 when a limited access approach road from the Blue Water Bridge to KH 7 and KH 40 was opened.  Although plans had been announced to connect KH 402 to KH 401 near London had been announced by 1957 construction of the extension began in 1972.  KH 402 was fully completed to KH 401 by 1982.

Functionally KH 402 serves as a limited access replacement of KH 7 and KH 22 from Sarnia east to London.  This is very apparent comparing the 1931 and 1955 Province Road Maps to a modern roadway map.

1931 Ontario Road Map

1955 Ontario Road Map 

KH 402 eastbound begins beyond the Customs Station at the end of the Blue Water Bridge.  Traffic is almost immediately notified at Exit 1 that KH 401 near London is the primary control city.





Speed limits on freeways in Ontario are signed usually slower than their American counterparts.  KH 402 gradually ascends to a terminal 100 KM/H which equates to about 62 MPH.  At Exit 6 KH 402 meets KH 40.






London is signed as being 107 Kilometers away east of KH 40.  The design difference between Ontario freeways and American Interstates (this is an American highway page after all) east of KH 40.  KH 402 largely lacks inside shoulders and has guard rails surprisingly close to the left travel lane.  This gives the impression when viewed that KH 402 is very narrow.


Exit 15 on KH 402 east accesses County Route 26 on Mandaumin Road. 



East of Exit 15 KH 402 has a truck inspection station.


At KH 402 Exit 25 there is signed access to County Routes 21 and 30 via Oil Heritage Road.



At KH 402 east Exit 402 there is signed access to County Route 8 and KH 21 via Forest Road.



KH 402 crosses over KH 22 east of Exit 34.  KH 22 from Sarnia east to just past Exit 34 runs south of the freeway.  KH 22 remains north of the remainder of KH 402 all the way to London.

At KH 402 east Exit 44 there is signed access to County Route 79 via Nauvoo Road.



East of County Route 79 KH 402 enters Middlesex County.  At Exit 56 KH 402 east accesses County Route 6 on Kerwood Road.



At Exit 65 KH 402 east meets County Route 81 on Centre Road.



At KH 402 east Exit 69 there is signed access to County Route 39 on Hickory Drive.



At KH 402 east Exit 82 there is access to County Route 14 on Glendon Drive.



At KH 402 east Exit 86 there is signed access to County Route 2 on Longwoods Road.



At KH 402 east Exit 98 there is signed access to KH 4 on Colonel Talbot Road.  At Exit 100 there is access to Wonderland Road.



KH 402 east terminates at KH 401 on the outskirts of London.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...