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

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

Kuakini Highway (former Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona)

Kuakini Highway east of Palani Road in Kailua-Kona is the original alignment of Hawaii Route 11.  The highway upon being commissioned in 1955 began at the Palani Road (then Hawaii Route 19) and followed Kuakini Highway southeast towards Holualoa.  Hawaii Route 11 was shifted to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the late 1970s which bypassed downtown Kailua-Kona.   This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 11 and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles.  The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona.  From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of ...

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...