King's Highway 404

The highway over this bridge – King’s Highway 404 - is the main reason East Gwillimbury is rapidly transforming from a rural town into a bedroom community. Currently, the highway ends (or begins) on the boundary between Newmarket and EG, extending northerly from Highway 401 in Toronto 36 kilometres (22 miles) to EG -- or from Downtown Toronto 53 kilometres (34 miles).

As you can see, the 404 is about to invade move into EG. When entering the 404 from East Gwillimbury, the 404 is four lanes wide. But in Toronto, it’s an eight-lane highway (four lanes each way). Eight lanes and yet it's a major bottleneck where it joins the 401. You know those 404 error messages your computer sometimes sends you? Commuters have been known to compare Highway 404 to them.

The highway’s exit/entrance numbers are based on their distance from Downtown Toronto, even though the first exit/entrance is at Highway 401 and numbered 17. Currently, the last exit is number 53.

Theoretically, if you drive the posted speed (100 kph or 60 mph) from exit 53 south, you should reach Downtown Toronto in about 35 minutes. 404 ERROR!! Don’t forget to figure in the bottleneck at the 401!

To learn about all kinds of bridges, visit RuneE