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

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...