View source for Ontario Highway 2

{{short description|Former Ontario provincial highway}}
{{Infobox road
|province     = ON
|type         = Hwy
|route        = 2
|history      = 1794 as the Governor's Road<br />August 21, 1917, as ''The Provincial Highway''
|map          = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=260|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Ontario Highway 2}}}}
|map_custom   = yes
|map_notes    = Highway 2 highlighted in red
|length_km    = 0.9
|length_ref   = <ref name="km">{{cite web
 | title         = Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts
 | author        = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
 | publisher     = Government of Ontario
 | year          = 2025
 | pages         = 8–9
 | url           = https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Theme.aspx?r=702797&f=files%2fProvincial+Highways+Traffic+Volumes+2016+AADT+Only.pdf&m=resource
 | access-date   = September 27, 2022
 | archive-date  = April 9, 2022
 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20220409133142/https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Theme.aspx?r=702797&f=files%2fProvincial+Highways+Traffic+Volumes+2016+AADT+Only.pdf&m=resource
 | url-status    = live}}</ref>
|length_notes = {{convert|834.56|km|mi|abbr=on}} before 1997<ref name="1997km">{{cite journal
 | title       = Provincial Highways Distance Table
 | author      = Transportation Capital Branch
 | journal     = Provincial Highways Distance Table: King's Secondary Highways and Tertiary Roads
 | publisher   = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
 | year        = 1997
 | issn        = 0825-5350
 | pages       = 2–8
 | url         = https://collections.ola.org/ser/5129/1997.pdf
 | access-date = October 11, 2022
 | via         = Legislative Assembly of Ontario}}</ref>
|direction_a    = West
|terminus_a     = [[Gananoque]] eastern limits
|direction_b    = East
|terminus_b     = {{jcon|Hwy|401}} westbound off ramp
|cities         = (Before 1996) [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]], [[Chatham-Kent|Chatham]], [[London, Ontario|London]], [[Brantford]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Burlington, Ontario|Burlington]], [[Mississauga]], [[Toronto]], [[Oshawa]] [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]], [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], [[Cornwall, Ontario|Cornwall]]
|counties       =
|previous_type  = ON
|previous_route = 811
|next_type      = ON
|next_route     = 3
|browse         = {{ON former|next=2A}}
}}
'''King's Highway{{nbsp}}2''', commonly referred to as '''Highway{{nbsp}}2''', is the lowest-numbered [[Ontario Provincial Highway Network|provincially maintained highway]] in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Ontario]], and was originally part of a series of identically numbered highways which started in [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]], stretched through [[Quebec]] and [[New Brunswick]], and ended in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]]. Prior to the 1990s, Highway{{nbsp}}2 travelled through many of the major cities in [[Southern Ontario]], including Windsor, [[Chatham-Kent|Chatham]], [[London, Ontario|London]], [[Brantford]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Burlington, Ontario|Burlington]], [[Mississauga]], [[Toronto]], [[Oshawa]], [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]], [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]] and [[Cornwall, Ontario|Cornwall]], and many other smaller towns and communities.

Once the primary east–west route across the southern portion of Ontario, most of Highway{{nbsp}}2 was bypassed by [[Highway 401]], which was completed in 1968. The August 1997 [[Ontario Highway 403#Bridging the gaps|completion of Highway&nbsp;403]] bypassed one final section through Brantford. Virtually all of the {{convert|847.3|km|abbr=on}} length of Highway{{nbsp}}2 was deemed a local route and removed from the provincial highway system by January{{nbsp}}1, 1998, with the exception of a {{convert|1|km|adj=on|spell=in}} section east of [[Gananoque]]. The entire route remains driveable, but as ''County Road{{nbsp}}2'' or ''County Highway{{nbsp}}2'' in most regions.

[[File:Highway 2 Gananoque.png|thumb|left|The [[Gananoque]] welcome arch, facing east towards the remaining provincial portion of Highway{{nbsp}}2]]
Portions of what became Highway{{nbsp}}2 served as early settlement trails, [[post road]]s and [[stagecoach|stagecoach routes]]. While the arrival of the railroad in the mid-19th century diminished the importance of the route, the advent of the bicycle and later the automobile renewed interest in roadbuilding. A {{convert|73.7|km|adj=on}} segment of Highway{{nbsp}}2 between [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]] and [[Port Hope, Ontario|Port Hope]] was the first section of roadway assumed by the newly-formed Department of Public Highways (DPHO) on August{{nbsp}}21, 1917. By the end of 1920, the department had taken over roads connecting Windsor with the Quebec boundary at [[Rivière-Beaudette]], which it would number as Provincial Highway{{nbsp}}2 in the summer of 1925. In 1930, the DPHO was renamed the Department of Highways (DHO), and provincial highways became King's Highways. By this time, it was one of the dominant transportation arteries across [[southern Ontario]] and was {{convert|878.2|km|adj=on}} long.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/n06ontariosession64ontauoft/page/87/mode/2up?view=theater | title=Ontario Sessional Papers, 1932, No.27-47 | year=1932 }}</ref>

The section of Highway{{nbsp}}2 between Hamilton and Toronto along [[Lakeshore Road]] became the first paved intercity road in Ontario in 1914. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the DHO began reconstructing several portions of the highway into the new German-inspired "dual highway", including east from Scarborough along Kingston Road. This would be the progenitor to Highway{{nbsp}}401, which was built in a patchwork fashion across Southern Ontario throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, often as bypass of and parallel to Highway{{nbsp}}2 (except between [[Woodstock, Ontario|Woodstock]] and Toronto). Conversely, the importance of Highway{{nbsp}}2 for long-distance travel was all but eliminated, and coupled with the increasing suburbanization of the [[Greater Toronto Area]], it became simply a series of urban arterials street between Hamilton and Oshawa.

Having been replaced in importance by the parallel [[controlled-access highway|freeways]] of Highway{{nbsp}}401, the [[Queen Elizabeth Way]], and finally Highway{{nbsp}}403, the province gradually transferred sections of the route back to the municipal, county and regional governments that it passed through, a process known as ''downloading''. In 1997 and 1998, the province downloaded {{convert|391.6|km}} of Highway{{nbsp}}2 and rescinded dozens of [[Connecting Link]] agreements, reducing the route to its current length.

== Route description ==
Since 1998, Highway{{nbsp}}2 has remained in the provincial highway system solely as a connection between westbound [[Thousand Islands Parkway]] and eastbound Highway{{nbsp}}401. Highway{{nbsp}}2 begins at the eastern town limits of Gananoque, and travels east a short distance before gently curving northward. It meets an [[Interchange (road)|interchange]] with the Thousand Islands Parkway—once referred to as Highway{{nbsp}}2S,<ref>{{cite news
 | title       = A Forest of Highway Signs
 | work        = The Ottawa Journal
 | date        = September 21, 1948
 | page        = 4
 | via         = Newspapers.com
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67987952/ontario-highway-2s/
 | access-date = January 19, 2021}}</ref>
prior to becoming a temporary part of Highway{{nbsp}}401 in 1952{{sfn|Shragge|Bagnato|1984|pp=89, 93}}<ref>{{cite news
 | title       = Tasteless Names For Ontario Roads
 | first       = Charles J.  |last = Woodsworth
 | publisher   = Southam Newspapers
 | work        = The Evening Citizen
 | location    = Ottawa
 | date        = October 17, 1952
 | page        = 40
 | volume      = 110
 | issue       = 93
 | url         = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8wAxAAAAIBAJ&pg=3146%2C3392246
 | access-date = February 9, 2010 }}</ref>—and ends at the westbound Highway{{nbsp}}401 offramp (Exit{{nbsp}}648).<ref name="km" /> The roadway continues as [[List of numbered roads in Leeds and Grenville United Counties|Leeds and Grenville County Road&nbsp;2]] both east and west of the remaining highway segment.{{sfn|MapArt|2011|loc=p. 37, section C59}}

[[File:ON 2 - Heritage Highway.jpg|thumb|right|A former portion of Highway{{nbsp}}2 in [[Lennox and Addington County]] cosigned as the [[Heritage Highway]]]]

=== Before 1997 ===
Before being mostly-decommissioned as a provincial highway in the mid-1990s, Highway{{nbsp}}2 was a continuous route from [[Ontario Highway 3|Highway&nbsp;3]] in Windsor to the Quebec border.<ref name="1997km" />
Prior to the arrival of Highway{{nbsp}}401 in the 1950s and early 1960s, Highway{{nbsp}}2 was the primary east–west route across the southern portion of Ontario.<ref>{{cite book
 | first       = Elamin | last = Abdelmahmoud
 | title       = Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces
 | publisher   = [[McClelland & Stewart]]
 | year        = 2022
 | isbn = 9780771002236
 | url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=iCU-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT119
 | access-date = October 15, 2022
 | quote       = "Take Ontario Highway 2, for example. The road was once the main east-west artery of Southern Ontario ... But most of its route was bypassed by the 401, a wider highway with a faster speed limit."}}</ref>
At one time it connected with [[Quebec Route&nbsp;2]], which was renumbered in 1966 as multiple highways,<ref>{{cite news
 | first       = Grant | last = Johnston
 | title       = Quebec to Amend Highway Numbering System
 | work        = [[Montreal Gazette]]
 | date        = July 13, 1966
 | page        = 17
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83213456/qc-renumbering-july-13-1966/
 | access-date = October 13, 2022
 | via         = Newspapers.com}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
and onwards to [[New Brunswick Route&nbsp;2]] and [[Nova Scotia Trunk&nbsp;2]] to end in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]]. New Brunswick reassigned Route{{nbsp}}2 to a new freeway running between [[Fredericton]] and [[Moncton]] in 2007,<ref>{{cite press release
 | title        = The Four Lane Trans-Canada Highway In New Brunswick: Route numbers, names and exits changes
 | publisher    = New Brunswick Department of Transportation
 | year         = 2007
 | url          = http://www.gnb.ca/0113/Fed-prov/changes-e.asp
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123172532/http://www.gnb.ca/0113/Fed-prov/changes-e.asp
 | archive-date = November 23, 2008
 | access-date  = October 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release
 | title       = Four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick open to traffic
 | publisher   = New Brunswick Department of Transportation
 | date        = November 1, 2007
 | url         = https://www1.gnb.ca/cnb/multimedia/display-e.asp?ID=1253&num=1
 | access-date = October 14, 2022}}</ref>
while Nova Scotia kept its portion of Highway{{nbsp}}2 intact, numbering its bypass as [[Nova Scotia Highway 102|Highway&nbsp;102]] and [[Nova Scotia Highway 104|Highway&nbsp;104]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1972, the Ontario and Quebec governments designated Highway/Route{{nbsp}}2 from Windsor to [[Rivière-du-Loup]] as the [[Heritage Highway]] (Route des Pionniers), a [[scenic route|tourist route]] which continued eastward to the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] on what is now [[Quebec Route 132]].<ref name="1973hh">{{cite news
 | title       = Canadian Heritage Highways...Route of the Pioneers
 | work        = [[The Times Herald]]
 | date        = February 11, 1973
 | page        = 2C
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111217082/canadian-heritage-highwaysroute-of/
 | access-date = October 13, 2022
 | via         = Newspapers.com}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="1979hh">{{cite news
 | first       = Bill | last = Corbett
 | title       = The Heritage Highways Span 400 Years of Canadian History
 | work        = [[Hartford Courant]]
 | date        = May 6, 1979
 | page        = 11F
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111217030/the-heritage-highways-span-400-years-of/
 | access-date = October 13, 2022
 | via         = Newspapers.com}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
This tourist route included various side trips, such as highways to [[Ottawa]] and [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]].<ref>{{cite news
 | first       = G. J. | last = Fitzgerald
 | title       = Heritage Highway Link Between Early Settlements
 | work        = Montreal Gazette
 | date        = July 26, 1975
 | page        = 23
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111267529/heritage-highway-link-between-early/
 | access-date = October 13, 2022
 | via         = Newspapers.com}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
While this signage is maintained in some counties, others have promoted local tours, including the Apple Route between [[Trenton, Ontario|Trenton]] and [[Brighton, Ontario|Brighton]],<ref>{{cite news
 | first        = Andre | last = Ramshaw
 | title        = A Town Without Pier
 | work         = [[The Windsor Star]]
 | date         = December 26, 2020
 | page         = ES5
 | url          = https://www.newspapers.com/image/699085622/
 | access-date  = October 15, 2022
 | via          = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
the Arts Route in [[Hastings County]],<ref>{{cite web
 | title        = Arts Route
 | website      = Artsroute.ca
 | date         = April 10, 2012
 | url          = http://www.artsroute.ca/
 | url-status   = dead
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110122002941/http://www.artsroute.ca/
 | archive-date = January 22, 2011
 | access-date  = June 11, 2012}}</ref>
and the Chemin du Roy (The King's Way, now [[Quebec Route 138|Route 138]]) between Montreal and [[Quebec City]].<ref name="1973hh" /><ref name="1979hh" />

==== Windsor–Mississauga ====
Within Ontario and prior to 1997,<ref name="1997km" /> Highway{{nbsp}}2 began in Windsor at the interchange between the E. C. Row Expressway and Highway{{nbsp}}3 ([[Huron Church Road]]), where it also met the northern terminus of [[Ontario Highway 18|Highway&nbsp;18]]. It followed the expressway east through Windsor, with the divided highway transitioning to an urban [[arterial road]] near Lesperance Road.<ref>{{cite map
 | cartography  = Cartographic Unit, Surveys and Design Office
 | title        = Ontario Road Map
 | publisher    = Ministry of Transportation and Communications
 | edition      = 1994
 | inset        = Windsor
 | url          = http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050591.jpg
 | access-date  = October 14, 2022
 | via          = Archives of Ontario
 | archive-date = May 22, 2022
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20220522014544/http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050591.jpg
 | url-status   = live}}</ref>
It travelled nearby the south shoreline of [[Lake St. Clair]] as it bisected [[Emeryville, Ontario|Emeryville]] and [[Belle River, Ontario|Belle River]] before curving south briefly. It then turned east and travelled through a rural setting to [[Tilbury, Ontario|Tilbury]], where it met Highway{{nbsp}}401 at two interchanges (Exit{{nbsp}}56 and 63). Crossing from [[Essex County, Ontario|Essex County]] to [[Kent County, Ontario|Kent County]], the highway curved northeast and passed through Chatham—where it intersected [[Ontario Highway 40|Highway&nbsp;40]]—[[Louisville, Ontario|Louisville]] and [[Thamesville]]—where it intersected [[Ontario Highway 21|Highway&nbsp;21]]—before entering [[Middlesex County, Ontario|Middlesex County]] near [[Bothwell]]—where it met [[Ontario Highway 79|Highway&nbsp;79]].<ref name="1994 ORM">{{cite map
 | cartography  = Cartographic Unit, Surveys and Design Office
 | title        = Ontario Road Map
 | publisher    = Ministry of Transportation and Communications
 | edition      = 1994
 | sections     = E1-O20<!-- Better described as O1 to E20 -->
 | url          = http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050591.jpg
 | access-date  = October 14, 2022
 | via          = Archives of Ontario
 | archive-date = May 22, 2022
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20220522014544/http://ao.minisisinc.com/FS_IMAGES/I0050591.jpg
 | url-status   = live}}</ref>

Between Chatham and [[Delaware, Ontario|Delaware]], Highway{{nbsp}}2 travelled roughly parallel to and north of the [[Thames River (Ontario)|Thames River]]. It passed through the communities of [[Wardsville, Ontario|Wardsville]], [[Strathburn, Ontario|Strathburn]]—intersecting [[Ontario Highway 76|Highway&nbsp;76]] and [[Ontario Highway 80|Highway&nbsp;80]]—and [[Melbourne, Ontario|Melbourne]] before encountering an interchange with [[Ontario Highway 402|Highway&nbsp;402]] and crossing the Thames River. Within Delaware, the highway intersected [[Ontario Highway 81|Highway&nbsp;81]] and turned east. At [[Lambeth, London, Ontario|Lambeth]] it met [[Ontario Highway 4|Highway&nbsp;4]] and the two highways travelled [[concurrency (road)|concurrent]] northeast into London. In downtown London, Highway{{nbsp}}2 and Highway{{nbsp}}4 parted at the intersection of York Street and Richmond Street, with Highway{{nbsp}}2 continuing east along the former. It intersected the northern end of Highway{{nbsp}}100, now known as the [[Veterans Memorial Parkway]]. While the route was south of the Thames River between Delaware and London, it continued east along Dundas Street between the two branches of the river between London and Woodstock, intersecting [[Ontario Highway 19|Highway&nbsp;19]] between the two in the community of [[Thamesford, Ontario|Thamesford]].<ref name="1994 ORM" />

At Woodstock, Highway{{nbsp}}2 intersected [[Ontario Highway 59|Highway&nbsp;59]] and met Highway{{nbsp}}401 at an interchange near the split with Highway{{nbsp}}403. It then continued east, becoming parallel with the latter towards Hamilton. It intersected with [[Ontario Highway 53|Highway&nbsp;53]] at [[Eastwood, Ontario|Eastwood]] and passed through the communities of [[Creditville, Ontario|Creditville]], [[Gobles, Ontario|Gobles]] and [[Falkland, Ontario|Falkland]] before entering [[Paris, Ontario|Paris]]. Within Paris, the highway intersected [[Ontario Highway 24A|Highway&nbsp;24A]] and met the western terminus of [[Ontario Highway 5|Highway&nbsp;5]], with which it remained within {{convert|15|km}} through to Toronto. Highway{{nbsp}}2 branched southeast through Brantford, where it intersected [[Ontario Highway 24|Highway&nbsp;24]] and became concurrent with Highway{{nbsp}}53 before meeting the end of Highway{{nbsp}}403 at [[Cainsville, Ontario|Cainsville]]; [[Ontario Highway 54|Highway&nbsp;54]] branched south from there.<ref name="1994 ORM" />

Before 1997, Highway{{nbsp}}403 was discontinuous between Cainsville and [[Ancaster, Ontario|Ancaster]], intersecting and merging into Highway{{nbsp}}2 at both locations. The combined Highway{{nbsp}}2/53 travelled east through [[Alberton, Ontario|Alberton]], before splitting at [[Duff's Corners]]. Highway{{nbsp}}2 split to the northeast, and Highway{{nbsp}}403 resumed at what is now Exit{{nbsp}}58. Highway{{nbsp}}2 then travelled through Ancaster, became concurrent with [[Ontario Highway 8|Highway&nbsp;8]] and entered into Hamilton. Following a series of streets, the routes split, and Highway{{nbsp}}2 travelled north, now concurrent with [[Ontario Highway 6|Highway&nbsp;6]]. The two routes split northeast of [[Burlington Bay]], with Highway{{nbsp}}2 turning northeast into Burlington, encountering an interchange with the [[Queen Elizabeth Way]] at North Shore Boulevard. North Shore becomes Lakeshore Road, which the highway followed through [[Oakville, Ontario|Oakville]] and Mississauga along the shore of [[Lake Ontario]] towards Toronto.<ref name="1994 ORM" />

{{clear}}

==== Toronto–Quebec ====
[[File:Highway 2 Trailblazer.jpg|thumb|A former Highway{{nbsp}}2 [[reassurance marker]] along Lake Shore Blvd. in [[Toronto]]]] 
At the [[Etobicoke Creek]], Highway{{nbsp}}2 entered [[Etobicoke]], one of the six municipalities in [[Metropolitan Toronto]] that [[Merger (politics)|amalgamated]] to form the present City of Toronto in 1998. At that point Lakeshore Road also transitioned to Lake Shore Boulevard. It intersected the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 27|Highway&nbsp;27]] and travelled through the community of [[New Toronto]], where numerous motels flourished during the [[1950s American automobile culture|golden age of the automobile]] which have since given way to condominium development.<ref name="1994 ORM" /><ref>{{cite news
 | title       = The End of an Era – Last Remnants of Lakeshore Motel Strip Disappears
 | publisher   = [[CityMedia Group]]
 | work        = The Lakeshore Villages
 | date        = December 2012 – January 2013
 | volume      = 5 | issue = 5
 | page        = 11
 | url         = https://issuu.com/citymedianetwork/docs/lakeshorevillages_12_12
 | access-date = October 15, 2022}}</ref> Approaching the west bank of the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]] which was the eastern terminus of the [[Queen Elizabeth Way]] until 1998, the Highway{{nbsp}}2 route merged onto the [[Gardiner Expressway]] via an on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard. Highway{{nbsp}}2 proceeded to follow the Gardiner around Humber Bay and then through [[Downtown Toronto]] on the Gardiner's elevated section. Beyond the [[Don Valley Parkway]] interchange, the Gardiner descended to ground level and ended, so Highway{{nbsp}}2 rejoined Lakeshore Boulevard near [[Leslie Street]]. Highway{{nbsp}}2 continued east, splitting into two routes; one continuing along Lake Shore until it curved north as it transitioned into [[Woodbine Avenue]] and the second via [[Coxwell Avenue]] and a short stretch of [[Queen Street, Toronto|Queen Street]] to then follow [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]]. The two routes then rejoined at Woodbine and Kingston, following the latter northeast into [[Scarborough, Toronto|Scarborough]].<ref name="1994 ORM" />{{CSS image crop|Image=Ontario Road Map, 1955 (I0050528).jpg|bSize=3000|cWidth=220|cHeight=130|oLeft=173|oTop=1014|Align=right|Description=The original alignment of Highway 2 through [[Downtown Toronto]]}}Prior to the construction of the Gardiner and Lakeshore Boulevard, the original alignment of Highway 2 through [[Downtown Toronto]] split into three separate routes to disperse traffic through the core. The northernmost route ran along Queen Street until Kingston Road. Another route split from Queen from its western terminus at [[Roncesvalles Avenue]] and ran along the entire length of [[King Street (Toronto)|King Street]] until it rejoined Queen. The southernmost route consisted of streets which are now partially or wholly absorbed into Lake Shore: Fleet, Cherry, and Keating Streets; as well as short sections of Leslie Street and [[Eastern Avenue (Toronto)|Eastern Avenue]] until meeting with the Queen Street route at Kingston Road.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://jpeg2000.eloquent-systems.com/toronto.html?image=ser12/s0012_fl1947_it0023a.jp2 |publisher= City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.) |title= Aerial photo of the now-defunct Keating St, with Leslie St. and Eastern Ave. collectively designed to carry through-traffic in 1947 (Upper left)| accessdate=February 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://jpeg2000.eloquent-systems.com/toronto.html?image=ser12/s0012_fl1957_it0151.jp2 |publisher= City of Toronto Archives (via Eloquent Systems Inc.) |title= Aerial photo of the former eastern section of Fleet St. and section of Cherry St. and the now-defunct Keating St. (north of ship turning basin with median section at far right) in 1957 | accessdate=February 3, 2023}}</ref> All three routes rejoined at and followed Kingston Road along the newest pre-1998 alignment.,<ref>{{Cite map|title=Official Ontario Road Map|date=1955|publisher=[[Department of Highways, Ontario]]|via=[[Archives of Ontario]]|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ontario_Road_Map,_1955_(I0050528).jpg}}</ref> although after the construction of Lake Shore, the aforementioned later branches along Coxwell and Woodbine Avenues were created.

After crossing the [[Highland Creek (Toronto)|Highland Creek]] valley, Highway{{nbsp}}2 and Kingston Road followed an off-ramp at the Highland Creek Overpass since the main road defaulted to [[Ontario Highway 2A|Highway&nbsp;2A]], travelling parallel to and north of Highway&nbsp;2A (the latter route being a short freeway connecting directly Highway{{nbsp}}401). Highway{{nbsp}}2 continued along Kingston Road as it passed under Highway{{nbsp}}401 and then crossed the [[Rouge River (Ontario)|Rouge River]] into [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]] and [[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham Region]], initially alongside Highway{{nbsp}}401 before departing farther north. It bisected [[Pickering Village]] and passed through [[Ajax, Ontario|Ajax]]. Entering Whitby—where it intersected [[Ontario Highway 12|Highway&nbsp;12]] at Brock Street—Kingston Road became Dundas Street, while in Oshawa it became King Street. Highway{{nbsp}}2 then split into a [[one-way pair]]ing within the latter, with westbound traffic following the adjacent Bond Street. It continued eastward through [[Courtice]], [[Bowmanville]] and [[Newcastle, Ontario|Newcastle]] as it drifted closer to Highway{{nbsp}}401 and Lake Ontario; an interchange with [[Ontario Highway 35|Highway&nbsp;35]]/[[Ontario Highway 115|115]] was encountered immediately west of Newcastle.<ref name="1994 ORM" />

[[File:Hwy 2 Trenton, Ontario.png|thumb|left|Former Highway{{nbsp}}2 facing southwest into downtown [[Trenton, Ontario|Trenton]]]]
After passing through [[Newtonville, Ontario|Newtonville]], Highway{{nbsp}}2 entered [[Northumberland County, Ontario|Northumberland County]], passing through the communities of [[Morrish, Ontario|Morrish]] and [[Welcome, Ontario|Welcome]] before turning southeast and crossing Highway{{nbsp}}401 into [[Port Hope, Ontario|Port Hope]] and intersecting the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 28|Highway&nbsp;28]]. It continued near the shoreline of Lake Ontario through the town of [[Cobourg]], where it intersected the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 45|Highway&nbsp;45]], as well as the communities of [[Grafton, Ontario|Grafton]], [[Wicklow, Ontario|Wicklow]], [[Colborne, Ontario|Colborne]] and [[Salem, Northumberland County|Salem]]. At the town of [[Brighton, Ontario|Brighton]], where it intersected the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 30|Highway&nbsp;30]], the highway entered [[Hastings County]] and moved inland from Lake Ontario. In [[Trenton, Ontario|Trenton]], the route crossed the [[Trent–Severn Waterway]], intersected [[Ontario Highway 33|Highway&nbsp;33]], and began to travel along the northern shoreline of the [[Bay of Quinte]].<ref name="1994 ORM" />

Continuing northeast, Highway{{nbsp}}2 passed south of [[CFB Trenton]] and through the community of [[Bayside, Ontario|Bayside]] before travelling through the city of [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]], where it intersected both [[Ontario Highway 62|Highway&nbsp;62]] and [[Ontario Highway 37|Highway&nbsp;37]]. After passing through the communities of [[Shannonville, Ontario|Shannonville]] and [[Marysville, Hastings County, Ontario|Marysville]], it turned south and bisected the [[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory]]. Highway{{nbsp}}2 turned east at an intersection with [[Ontario Highway 49|Highway&nbsp;49]] and travelled through [[Deseronto, Ontario|Deseronto]], after which it entered [[Lennox and Addington County]]. At [[Napanee, Ontario|Napanee]], the highway met the southern terminus of [[Ontario Highway 41|Highway&nbsp;41]] then travelled through the communities of [[Morven, Ontario|Morven]], [[Odessa, Ontario|Odessa]] and [[Westbrook, Ontario|Westbrook]] before entering Kingston.<ref name="1994 ORM" />

Within Kingston, Highway{{nbsp}}2 followed [[Princess Street (Kingston, Ontario)|Princess Street]] and intersected [[Ontario Highway 38|Highway&nbsp;38]] and Highway{{nbsp}}33, crossed the [[Cataraqui River]] and [[Rideau Canal]] on the [[La Salle Causeway]], then intersected the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 15|Highway&nbsp;15]] near [[CFB Kingston]]. For the remainder of its length, the highway followed close to or along the northern shoreline of the [[St. Lawrence River]]. Travelling northeast from Kingston, Highway{{nbsp}}2 passed through the communities of [[Barriefield, Ontario|Barriefield]], [[Ravensview]] and [[Pitts Ferry, Ontario|Pitts Ferry]] before reaching Gananoque and intersected the southern terminus of [[Ontario Highway 32|Highway&nbsp;32]].<ref name="1994 ORM" /> By 1997, the portion of Highway{{nbsp}}2 between the interchanges at Exit{{nbsp}}648 east of Gananoque and Exit{{nbsp}}687 west of [[Brockville]] along Highway{{nbsp}}401 was maintained by the [[United Counties of Leeds and Grenville]],<ref name="1997km" /> serving the communities of [[Wilstead, Ontario|Wilstead]], [[Mallorytown, Ontario|Mallorytown]] and [[Butternut Bay, Ontario|Butternut Bay]]. The highway intersected [[Ontario Highway 29|Highway&nbsp;29]] at [[Brockville]], then passed through the communities of [[Maitland, Ontario|Maitland]], [[Prescott, Ontario|Prescott]] and [[Johnstown, Ontario|Johnstown]], intersecting the southern end of [[Ontario Highway 16|Highway&nbsp;16]] at the latter. It passed through [[Cardinal, Ontario|Cardinal]], as well as the [[Lost Villages]] relocated towns of [[Iroquois, Ontario|Iroquois]], [[Morrisburg, Ontario|Morrisburg]]—where it intersected [[Ontario Highway 31|Highway&nbsp;31]]—[[Ingleside, Ontario|Ingleside]] and [[Long Sault, Ontario|Long Sault]] before entering Cornwall. It met the southern terminus of [[Ontario Highway 138|Highway&nbsp;138]] and continued northeast through the communities of [[Glen Walter, Ontario|Glen Walter]] and [[Summerstown, Ontario|Summerstown]]. At [[Lancaster, Ontario|Lancaster]]—the final notable community along Highway{{nbsp}}2—the route met [[Ontario Highway 34|Highway&nbsp;34]], and shortly thereafter crossed into Quebec.<ref name="1994 ORM" />

=== Current routes ===
Despite being decommissioned as a provincial highway in the 1990s, almost the entirety of the former highway remains driveable, and is now maintained by the various counties, regions, and cities through which it passes. The various sections have the following designations, from west to east:<ref name="1997km" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Location
!Name
!Notes
|-
| [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]
| [[E. C. Row Expressway]]
| Dougall Avenue to Banwell Road
|-
| [[Essex County, Ontario|Essex County]]
| Essex County Road{{nbsp}}22, Essex County Road{{nbsp}}42
|
|-
| [[Chatham-Kent]]
| Chatham-Kent Road{{nbsp}}2
| A {{convert|6.1|km|abbr=on}} of the route follows the extant [[Ontario Highway 40|Highway&nbsp;40]]
|-
| [[Middlesex County, Ontario|Middlesex County]]
| Middlesex County Road{{nbsp}}2, Longwoods Road, [[Dundas Street]]
|
|-
| [[London, Ontario|London]]
| Longwoods Road, Main Street, [[Wharncliffe Road]], Stanley Street, [[York Street (London, Ontario)|York Street]], Florence Street, Dundas Street
|
|-
| [[Oxford County, Ontario|Oxford County]]
| Oxford Road{{nbsp}}2
|
|-
| [[County of Brant]]
| Brant County Highway{{nbsp}}2
|
|-
| [[Brantford]]
| Paris Road, Brant Road, Colborne Street East
|
|-
| [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]
| Wilson Street, [[Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|Main Street]], Paradise Road, [[King Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|King Street]], [[Dundurn Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|Dundurn Street]], [[York Boulevard]]
| [[One-way pair]]ing; eastbound traffic follows Main Street and Dundurn Street, westbound traffic follows King Street and Paradise Road
|-
| [[Regional Municipality of Halton|Halton Region]]
| Plains Road, King Road, North Shore Boulevard, [[Lakeshore Road]]
| 
|-
| [[Regional Municipality of Peel|Peel Region]] ([[Mississauga]])
| Southdown Road, Lakeshore Road
|
|-
| [[Toronto]]
| [[Lake Shore Boulevard]], [[Gardiner Expressway]], Lake Shore Boulevard, [[Woodbine Avenue]], [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]]
| 1950s maps pre-Gardiner Expressway show [[King Street (Toronto)|King Street]] and [[Queen Street (Toronto)|Queen Street]] as parallel alternate routes{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
|-
| [[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham Region]]
| [[Durham Regional Highway 2]]
| Kingston Road within [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]] and [[Ajax, Ontario|Ajax]], Dundas Street within [[Whitby, Ontario|Whitby]], King Street/Bond Street ([[one-way pair]]) within [[Oshawa]], King Street within [[Bowmanville]]
|-
| [[Northumberland County, Ontario|Northumberland County]]
| Northumberland County Road 2
|
|-
| [[Hastings County]]
| Hastings County Road 2
|
|-
| [[Quinte West]]
| Quinte West Municipal Road 2, Dundas Street
|
|-
| [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]]
| Old Highway{{nbsp}}2, Dundas Street
| A {{convert|1.0|km|abbr=on}} section follows the extant [[Ontario Highway 62|Highway&nbsp;62]] over the [[Moira River]]
|-
| [[Lennox and Addington County]]
| Lennox and Addington County Road{{nbsp}}2
|County Rd 2 West, also known as "Highway 2 West"
|-
| [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]]
| Kingston Road{{nbsp}}2
| [[Princess Street (Kingston, Ontario)|Princess Street]], Queen Street, [[La Salle Causeway]], Ontario Street
|-
| [[United Counties of Leeds and Grenville]]
| Leeds and Grenville County Road{{nbsp}}2
| Excluding section from Gananoque east to Highway{{nbsp}}401, which remains Highway{{nbsp}}2
|-
| [[Cornwall, Ontario|Cornwall]]
| Vincent Massey Drive, Brookdale Avenue, Ninth Street West, Marleau Avenue, Boundary Road, Montreal Road
| 
|-
| [[United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry]]
| Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road{{nbsp}}2
| Continues into Quebec as [[Quebec Route 338]] towards [[Montreal]]
|}

== History ==
Highway 2 was the first roadway assumed under the maintenance of the [[Department of Highways, Ontario|Department of Public Highways]] (today's Ministry of Transportation of Ontario). The {{convert|73.5|km|adj=on}}<!-- listed as 45.7 miles --> section from the [[Rouge River (Ontario)|Rouge River]] to Smith's Creek, now Port Hope, was inaugurated on August 21, 1917, as ''The Provincial Highway''. On June 7, 1918, the designation was extended east approximately {{convert|379|km|mi}} to the Quebec border.<ref>Shragge p.73</ref>

=== Footpaths ===
[[File:KingstonRd1830.jpeg|thumb|left|A painting of Kingston Road east of Toronto in the 1830s.]]
The forerunners to Highway 2 are numerous paths constructed during the colonization of Ontario. While some portions may have existed as trails created by Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years, the first recorded construction along what would become Highway 2 was in late October 1793, when Captain Smith and 100 [[Queen's Rangers]] returned from carving [[Dundas Street#History|''The Governor's Road'']] {{convert|20|mi}} through the thick forests between [[Dundas, Ontario|Dundas]] and the present location of [[Paris, Ontario|Paris]]. [[John Graves Simcoe]] was given the task of defending [[Upper Canada]] (present day Ontario) from the United States following the [[American Revolution]] and with opening the territory to settlement. After establishing a "temporary" capital at [[Toronto#History|York]] (present day Toronto), Simcoe ordered an inland route constructed between [[Dundas, Ontario|Cootes Paradise]] at the tip of [[Lake Ontario]] and his proposed capital of [[London, Ontario|London]]. By the spring of 1794, the road was extended as far as ''La Tranche'', now the [[Thames River (Ontario)|Thames River]], in London. In 1795, the path was connected with York. [[Asa Danforth Jr.]], recently immigrated from the United States, was awarded the task, for which he would be compensated $90 per mile.<ref>Shragge p.11</ref>

{{anchor|Extension east of York}} <!-- Linked to by [[Dundas Street#History]] -->
Beginning on June 5, 1799, the road was extended eastwards. Danforth was hired once more, and tasked with clearing a {{convert|10|m|adj=on}} road east from York through the bush, with {{convert|5|m}} (preferably in the centre) cut to the ground. It was carved as far as Port Hope by December,<ref name=ftf13>Shragge p.13</ref> and to the [[Trent River (Ontario)|Trent River]] soon after. Danforth's inspector and acting surveyor general [[William Chewett]] declared the road "good" for use in the dead of winter, but "impassible" during the wet summers, when the path turned to a bottomless mud pit. He went on to suggest that rather than setting aside land for government officials which would never be occupied, the land be divided into {{convert|200|acre}} lots for settlers who could then be tasked with [[statute labour]] to maintain the path.<ref name=ftf13 /> Danforth agreed, but the province insisted otherwise and only four settlers took up residence along the road between Toronto and Port Hope;<ref>{{cite news
 | first       = Alvin | last = Armstrong
 | title       = Historic Kingston (Part 53): Danforth the Road Builder
 | work        = [[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]
 | date        = March 15, 1973
 | volume      = 47 | issue = 87
 | page        = 3
 | url         = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96314224/danforth-the-road-builder/
 | access-date = October 16, 2022
 | via         = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
like many other paths of the day, it became a [[:wikt:quagmire|quagmire]].<ref>Brown p. 93</ref>

[[File:Highway 2 at Rouge River, 1909.png|thumb|right|Kingston Road at the [[Rouge River (Ontario)|Rouge River]], {{circa|1909}}]]
Danforth's road did not always follow the same path as today's Kingston Road. Beginning near [[Victoria Park Avenue]] and [[Queen Street East]], the road can be traced along Clonmore Drive, [[Danforth Road]], Painted Post Drive, Military Trail and Colonel Danforth Trail. Other sections of the former roadway exist near Port Hope and [[Cobourg, Ontario|Cobourg]],<ref>{{Google maps

 | title      = Danforth Road near Port Hope
 | url        = http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dale+Rd%2FRegional+Road+74&daddr=Slater+St&hl=en&geocode=FQZxnwIdZldW-w%3BFcpEnwIdsVVX-w&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=14&sll=43.991333,-78.15279&sspn=0.0247,0.052614&ie=UTF8&ll=43.997507,-78.193817&spn=0.049395,0.105228&t=h&z=13
 | accessdate = June 7, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Google maps

 | title      = Danforth Road near Cobourg
 | url        = http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Densmore+Rd&daddr=W+Rd&hl=en&geocode=FbBDnwIdW2NX-w%3BFQRlnwId7gJZ-w&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=14&sll=43.996952,-78.04842&sspn=0.024698,0.052614&ie=UTF8&ll=43.992568,-78.10421&spn=0.098799,0.210457&t=h&z=12
 | accessdate = June 7, 2010}}</ref> as well as within [[Grafton, Ontario|Grafton]].<ref>{{Google maps

 | title      = Old Danforth Road in Grafton
 | url        = http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Ontario+King's+Hwy%2FCounty+Road+2&daddr=43.9900019,-78.0223557+to:Benlock+Rd&hl=en&geocode=FbZDnwIdFGpZ-w%3BFfE7nwIdLXlZ-ynfsjrT_dvViTFcSSKTow4Ezw%3BFThEnwIdbsRZ-w&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=14&sll=43.985713,-78.009281&sspn=0.024703,0.052614&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=14&via=1
 | accessdate = June 7, 2010}}</ref> Otherwise the two roads more or less overlap until they reach the Trent River; beyond this point Danforth's road is continued (1802) on a [[Ontario Highway 33|more southern route]] to reach the [[Bay of Quinte]] at Stone Mills (now [[Glenora, Ontario|Glenora]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the settlement of upper Canada (Ontario): with special reference to the bay Quinté
|author=William Canniff, Great Britain. Army. King's Royal Regiment, 2nd Battalion
|url=https://archive.org/details/historysettleme01battgoog|publisher=Dudley & Burns|year=1869}}</ref> As the route straying through Scarborough avoided many of the settlers who had taken up residence near the lake, Danforth's road was bypassed by 1814 by William Cornell and Levi Annis. The ''Cornell Road'' (as it was known for a short time) shortened the journey from Victoria Park to West Hill, but remained mostly impassible like Danforth's route to the north. Finally succumbing to increasing pressures, the government raised funds to straighten the road and extend it through [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]] to [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]]. The work was completed by 1817 and the road renamed [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|''The Kingston Road'']].

Downriver from Kingston, roads built along the [[St. Lawrence River|St. Lawrence]] for [[War of 1812]] military use became a popular means to avoid rapids on the river by travelling overland.
{{blockquote|[[Prescott, Ontario|Prescot]], now called [[Fort Wellington]], is important as being the chief stage between this port and [[Montreal]], from which it is distant 130 miles, and between which [[stagecoach|coaches]] run every day, except Sundays. From the position of this place, however, as at the head of the [[Port of Montreal|Montreal boat-navigation]], and at the foot of the [[sloop]] and [[steam navigation]] from the [[Great Lakes|lakes]], it must soon increase in extent, as it will rise in importance.|George Henry Hume, 1832<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/canadaasitiscom00humegoog |title=Canada, as it is: comprising details relating to the domestic policy, commerce and agriculture, of the Upper and Lower Provinces : comprising matters of general information and interest, especially intended for the use of settlers and emigrants |author=George Henry Hume |publisher=W. Stodart |year=1832|isbn=9780665451003 }}</ref>}}

===Stagecoach and mail road===
[[Image:Ontario Highway 2 - York Road milestone - Napanee 11 Kingston 12 (9734029137).jpg|thumb|1839 milestone near Odessa]]
[[File:Ontario Highway 2 - York Road - milestone Napanee 18 Kingston 5 - sign.jpg|thumb|Original milestone marker in Kingston]]
The creation of a [[post road]] extended year-round communication which had already existed on the [[Chemin du Roy]] from [[Quebec City]]-[[Montreal]] westward, with the first stagecoaches reaching [[name of Toronto|York]] ([[Toronto]]) in January 1817.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmo.com/bmo/files/images/4/1/BMOHistoryEng.pdf |title=History of the Bank of Montreal |publisher=[[Bank of Montreal]] |date= |accessdate=2013-08-31}}</ref> This link proved economically vital to enterprises such as the [[Bank of Montreal]], established 1817 with [[Branch (banking)|branches]] in Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Toronto. The original coaches left Montreal every Monday and Thursday, arriving in Kingston two days later; the full Montreal-York run took a week.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/BankofMontreal-QuebecHistory.htm |title=Bank of Montreal - Quebec History |author=Claude Bélanger |publisher=[[Marianopolis College]], [[Westmount, Quebec|Westmount]] |date=January 2005 |accessdate=2013-08-31 |archive-date=2016-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322123936/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/BankofMontreal-QuebecHistory.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As with earlier routes (such as the [[Danforth Road]]),<ref>{{cite book|title=Tavern in the town: early inns and taverns of Ontario|author1=Margaret McBurney|author-link1=Margaret McBurney|author2=Mary Byers|page=66|publisher=University of Toronto Press|date=Oct 1, 1987}}</ref> [[coaching inn]]s prospered in every wayside village as the [[stagecoach]]es made frequent stops for water, food or fresh [[horse]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Old York road and its stage coach days|author=Emogene Dymock Van Sickle|pages=66–71|year=1937}}</ref>

The original ''York Road'' (from Kingston) aka ''Kingston Road'' (from York) was initially little more than a muddy horse path. In 1829, a ferry crossing on the [[Cataraqui River]] in Kingston was replaced by a [[draw bridge]].<ref>Armstrong, Alvin. Buckskin to Broadloom - Kingston Grows Up. Kingston Whig-Standard, 1973.</ref> In the 1830s, efforts were made by various [[toll road]] operators to [[macadam]]ise the trail as a gravel stagecoach road. On one section between [[Cobourg, Ontario|Cobourg]] and [[Port Hope, Ontario|Port Hope]] the Cobourg Star on October 11, 1848, expressed "surprise and deep regret, that the Cobourg and Port Hope Road Company have placed a tollgate on their road, although only just gravelled" adding a week later "On Sunday night last, the Toll House and Gate on the Port Hope Road were burned to the ground. We regret to say that there is no doubt as to its having been done designedly as a very hard feeling has grown up against the Company, from their having exacted Toll before the road was properly packed. They might have known that no community would quietly submit to drive their teams and heavy loads through six inches of gravel and pay for the privilege. But we would not be understood to sanction the lawless proceeding which has taken place."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://images.ourontario.ca/Cobourg/53503/data |title=Shameful and Disgraceful Conduct (October 11) and Burning of Toll House and Gate (October 18) |publisher=Cobourg Star |year=1848 |accessdate=2013-08-31}}</ref>

Despite these issues, this road would remain the principal means of winter travel until the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] connected Montreal and Toronto in 1856. As intercity traffic formerly carried by the various stagecoach operators migrated to the iron horse, stagecoach roads faded to primarily local importance, carrying regional traffic.

This changed as the 20th century and the invention of the motorcar quickly made evident a need for better roads in the young but growing Dominion. The macadamised Lake Shore Road between Toronto and Hamilton, in poor condition with ongoing [[erosion]], was the first section to be upgraded with concrete. The Toronto–Hamilton Highway, proposed in 1914, was opened along the lakeshore in November 1917.<ref>{{cite news

 | title      = Toronto–Hamilton Highway Proposed
 | work       = The Toronto World
 | date       = January 22, 1914
 | page       = 14
 | volume     = 34
 | issue      = 12125
 | url        = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7jEBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zSgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6083%2C3025629
 | accessdate = February 9, 2010}}</ref> The Cataraqui Bridge, a toll [[swing bridge]], was replaced by the [[La Salle Causeway]] that same year.

In 1918, the province subsidised the county and municipal purchase of various former toll roads ([[Brockville, Ontario|Brockville]]-[[Prescott, Ontario|Prescott]], [[Paris, Ontario|Paris]]-[[Brantford, Ontario|Brantford]], Cobourg-Port Hope and Cobourg-Baltimore) to be improved and incorporated into the provincial highway system.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6VkDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nigDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2205,5507544 Toll road purchased], page 6, The Toronto World - Jul 22, 1918</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=guhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xSgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6861,1005468 Government buys old toll road], The Toronto World - Dec 31, 1918</ref> Later acquisitions included a road from Cobourg to Grafton. As the roads became publicly owned, toll gates were removed.

In 1925, the [[Galipeault Bridge]] and [[Taschereau Bridge]], both adjacent to 1854 Grand Trunk Railway bridges which were the first fixed mainland links to Montreal, brought Route 2 onto Montreal Island.

=== Provincial highway ===
[[File:Lakeshore Boulevard Winter 1925.jpg|thumb|left|Lake Shore Boulevard, winter 1925]]
Ontario has published an official highway map since at least 1923, an era when many provincial highways were still gravel or unimproved road. To accommodate the passenger cars of the [[Roaring Twenties]], efforts to pave Ontario's roads had begun in earnest. The 1926 Official Road Map of Ontario boasted the "Highway from Windsor to the Quebec border, via London will all be paved at the end of the present year" and "a person will then be able to travel over 700 miles of pavement without a detour".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130609112519/http://www.ontarioroadmaps.ca/index.php/official-ontario-maps/official-ontario-road-maps/29-official-ontario-road-maps/official-ontario-road-map/11-1926-official-road-map-of-ontario Official Road Map of Ontario], Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1926. Promotional text on map attributed to "S. L. Squire, deputy minister".</ref> Twenty-five years after the first provincial road improvement efforts, Ontario maps boastfully listed fifteen king's highways (numbered 2-17, as 1 and 13 were never assigned) and a growing network of county roads. While thousands of miles of dirt and gravel road still remained throughout the system, the [[railway|steel rails]] which crossed the region now had a credible rival in southern Ontario.

Beginning in 1935, Highway Minister [[Thomas McQuesten]] applied the concept of a [[dual carriageway|second roadway]] to several projects along Highway&nbsp;2:<ref name="JShragge">{{cite web|last=Shragge|first=John G.|year=2007|title=Highway 401 - The story|url=http://www.roadscholar.on.ca/lateststory.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328001341/http://www.roadscholar.on.ca/lateststory.html|archivedate=March 28, 2008|accessdate=February 12, 2010|website=}}</ref> a {{convert|4|mi|km|abbr=on}} stretch west of Brockville,<ref name="maps.google.com">{{Google maps

 | title      = "Dual Highway" 2 east from Woodstock
 | url        = https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dundas+St+E&daddr=43.142018,-80.672565&hl=en&geocode=FTwtkgId_TAw-w%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=43.140922,-80.674582&sspn=0.013121,0.02738&ie=UTF8&ll=43.136819,-80.700245&spn=0.052486,0.10952&t=h&z=13
 | accessdate = March 8, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Hwy2con" /> a {{convert|4.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} stretch from [[Woodstock, Ontario|Woodstock]] eastward,<ref name="maps.google.com"/> and a section between [[Birchmount Road]] to east of [[Morningside Avenue (Toronto)|Morningside Avenue]] in [[Scarborough Township, Ontario|Scarborough Township]].<ref name="Hwy2con">{{cite news

 | title      = Highway Conditions In Eastern Ontario
 | work       = The Ottawa Citizen
 | date       = November 13, 1936
 | page       = 29
 | volume     = 94
 | issue      = 127
 | url        = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jPAuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=z9sFAAAAIBAJ&dq=highway%20woodstock%20ontario&pg=5736%2C2815251
 | accessdate = February 16, 2010}}</ref> When widening in Scarborough reached the [[Highland Creek (Toronto)|Highland Creek]] ravine in 1936, east of Morningside, the Department of Highways began construction on a second bridge over the large valley (the original having been constructed as a bypass of the former alignment through [[West Hill, Ontario|West Hill]] in 1919).<ref>Brown p. 105</ref> From here the highway was constructed on a new alignment to Oshawa, avoiding construction on the congested Highway&nbsp;2.<ref name="FtF93">Shragge pp. 93–94</ref> As [[land grading|grading]] and bridge construction neared completion between Highland Creek and Ritson Road in September 1939, [[World War II]] broke out and gradually money was siphoned from highway construction to the war effort.<ref name="JShragge" />

[[File:Highway 2 near Brockville, Ontario, Canada - 1952.jpg|thumb|Highway 2 near Brockville, 1952]]
The wartime rationing of the 1940s soon gave way to the fifties [[neon lighting|neon]] era of growing prosperity, increased vehicle ownership and annual paid vacations. Service stations, diners, [[motel]]s and [[tourism|tourist-related establishments]] were proliferating on long strips of highway such as [[Hotels in Toronto#Motel era|Toronto's Lakeshore Boulevard and Kingston Road]] to accommodate the growing number of travellers.

Increased traffic initially led to a construction boom, but soon the most congested sections were among the first candidates to be bypassed by [[freeway]]. By 1955, businesspeople along the north shore of [[Lake Erie]] were organising efforts to promote tourism on Highways 2 and [[Ontario Highway 3|3]], both of which stood to lose traffic upon the construction of [[Ontario Highway 401|Highway 401]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YzEvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dN0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1923,3050629 Towns along the superhighways] (backpage editorial), Ottawa Citizen, page 56, May 27, 1955</ref> In 1956, the 401 provided a continuous Toronto Bypass from Weston to [[Oshawa, Ontario|Oshawa]].

A portion of the highway in the area of [[Morrisburg, Ontario|Morrisburg]] was permanently submerged by the creation of the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] in 1958. The highway was rebuilt along a [[Canadian National Railway]] [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] in the area to bypass the flooded region. The town of [[Iroquois, Ontario|Iroquois]] was also flooded, but was relocated 1.5 kilometres north rather than abandoned. This event led to the nickname of ''[[The Lost Villages]]'' for a number of communities in the area.<ref>{{cite web

 | title      = The Lost Villages
 | publisher  = The Lost Villages Historical Society
 | url        = https://lostvillages.ca/history/the-lost-villages/
 | accessdate = September 30, 2007}}</ref>

Countless roadside motels from Windsor to Montreal were bypassed in the 1960s, with the 401 freeway completed in 1968. Growing hotel chains built new facilities near the 401 offramps, saturating the market in some areas. By the 1980s, Toronto's portion of the [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]] was in steep decline.<ref>{{cite news|author=Dave LeBlanc |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/its-check-out-time-for-scarboroughs-storied-motel-strip/article789909/ |title=It's check-out time for Scarborough's storied motel strip |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date= |accessdate=2013-08-31}}</ref> Some motels were used to shelter homeless or refugee populations,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/64313-at-issue-displaced-families-continue-to-call-kingston-road-motels-home/ |title=AT ISSUE: Displaced families continue to call Kingston Road motels home |publisher=Inside Toronto |date=2011-05-24 |accessdate=2013-08-31}}</ref> others were simply demolished.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2008/02/23/motel_gives_way_to_mews.html |title=Motel gives way to mews |publisher=Toronto Star |date=2008-02-23 |accessdate=2013-08-31}}</ref>

[[File:Highway 2 at Thornton, Oshawa, 1965.jpg|thumb|left|Highway 2 being widened to four lanes through Oshawa, 1965]]
The section of Highway 2 between Woodstock and [[Ancaster, Ontario|Ancaster]] (today a part of Hamilton) was not bypassed by 401 (which followed a more northerly corridor to serve [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]]-[[Waterloo, Ontario|Waterloo]] and [[Guelph]]), but was ultimately bypassed by [[Ontario Highway 403|Highway 403]]. As the [[Main Street|main street]] in many communities Highway 2 remained busy with stop-and-go local traffic, sustaining countless shopkeepers and [[restaurateur]]s but offering little comfort to independent tourist motels. Outside urban areas, numerous former service stations were converted to other uses,<ref>{{cite web|title=Old B/A station, Newtonville|url=http://www.oldgas.com/info/banewtonville.html|author1=Betty Stapleton|author2=Jim Potts|publisher=oldgas.com|year=1999}}</ref> demolished or abandoned.

The last section from Ancaster to [[Brantford, Ontario|Brantford]], was bypassed on August 15, 1997.<ref name="AncasterSection">{{cite news|last=|first=|date=August 15, 1997|title=Highway 403 extension opens Friday|work=The Toronto Star|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/13473550.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Aug+13%2C+1997&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.11&desc=Highway+403+extension+opens+Friday|url-status=dead|accessdate=June 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102191054/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/13473550.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Aug+13%2C+1997&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.11&desc=Highway+403+extension+opens+Friday|archive-date=2 November 2012}}</ref> On January 1, 1998, most of the former length of Highway 2 was ''downloaded'', transferring the highway from provincial responsibility to local counties or [[municipalities]]. The route lost its King's Highway designation in the process, along with much of its visibility on printed Ontario maps. Many Ontario highways which originally ended at Highway 2 (as the backbone of Ontario's highway system) were truncated or simply [[decommissioned highway|decommissioned]], most often becoming county roads.

One token provincially maintained section of Highway 2 remains east of Gananoque; this section remains provincially maintained because the [[Thousand Islands Parkway]] does not have a complete interchange with Highway 401, meaning that some drivers must use the Highway 2 interchange to transfer between the two roads.

== Major intersections ==
{{ONinttop
| length_ref        = <ref name="gmaps">{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@43.9559806,-80.0097033,7.89z |access-date=February 7, 2024}}</ref>
| append            = Based on the {{circa|1998}} routing but using present-day roadway designations.<ref>{{cite map
 |title       = Ontario Official Road Map
 |trans-title = Carte Routière
 |date        = January 1, 1994
 |scale       = 1:700000
 |edition     = 1994 - 1995
 |publisher   = Ontario Ministry of Transportation; Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation
}}</ref> While the route remains drivable for its entire length, officially only a {{cvt|1.1|km|mi|1}} stub currently remains under provincial control.
| location_ref     = <ref name="OSM">{{OpenStreetMap maps |url= https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=8/43.874/-79.321 |access-date= February 7, 2024}}</ref> 
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Windsor
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 0.0
| road             = [[E. C. Row Expressway]]<hr/>{{jcon|Hwy|3|[[Huron Church Road]]}}
| notes            = Former Highway&nbsp;2 western terminus; Highway&nbsp;2 follows E.&nbsp;C. Row Expressway east; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|18|dir=south|nosh=y}}
}}
{{Jctgap
| type             = closed
| text             = ''See [[E. C. Row Expressway#Exit list|E. C. Row Expressway § Exit list]]''
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 12.7
| road             = {{jcon|Essex|43|dir=south|Banwell Road}}<hr/>{{jcon|Essex|22|dir=begins}}
| notes            = E. C. Row Expressway eastern terminus; {{jcon|Essex|22|fulltext=y|ot=y}} western terminus
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Essex
| dspan            = 2
| location         = Lakeshore
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 32.8
| road             = {{jcon|Essex|42|dir=west}}
| notes            = {{jcon|Essex|22|fulltext=y|ot=y}} eastern terminus; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows {{jcon|Essex|42|dir=east|fulltext=y|ot=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 51.6
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Windsor|city2=London}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;56
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Essex County, Ontario|Essex]]–[[Chatham-Kent]] boundary
| km               = 52.3
| road             = {{jcon|Essex|42|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|CK|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Chatham-Kent
| dspan            = 6
| location         = Tilbury
| lspan            = 
| km               = 53.7
| road             = {{jcon|CK|1|Queen Street}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = &nbsp;
| km               = 58.8
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Windsor|city2=London}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;63
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Chatham
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 80.9
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|40|dir=north|St. Clair Street}}
| notes            = Former western end of Highway&nbsp;40 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 84.6
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|40|dir=south|Communication Road}}<br/>{{jcon|CK|30|dir=north|Prince Albert Road}}
| notes            = Former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;40 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Thamesville
| km               = 105.6
| road             = {{jcon|CK|21|Victoria Road}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|21|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Bothwell
| km               = 116.2
| road             = {{jcon|CK|16|dir=north|West Bothwell Road}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|79|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Chatham-Kent]]–[[Middlesex County, Ontario|Middlesex]] boundary
| location         = Southwest Middlesex
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 120.0
| road             = {{jcon|CK|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|Middlesex|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}<hr/>{{jcon|CK|121|con=14|contype=Middlesex|Clachan Road|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Middlesex
| dspan            = 3
| km               = 133.4
| road             = {{jcon|Middlesex|76|dir=south|Graham Road}}
| notes            = [[Woodgreen, Ontario|Woodgreen]]; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|76|dir=south|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 138.3
| road             = {{jcon|Middlesex|80|dir=west|town=Glencoe}}
| notes            = [[Strathburn, Ontario|Strathburn]]; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|80|dir=west|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Strathroy-Caradoc
| km               = 166.7
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|402|city=Sarnia|city2=London}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;402 exit&nbsp;86
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = London
| lspan            = 7
| km               = 174.1
| road             = {{jcon|Middlesex|2|dir=breaks}}
| notes            = London city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 178.4
| road             = [[Colonel Talbot Road]]
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|4|dir=south|nosh=y}}; former western end of Highway&nbsp;4 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 180.5
| road             = Bostwick Road&nbsp;/ Exeter Road
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|135|dir=east|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 180.9
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|4|[[Wonderland Road]]}}
| notes            = Present-day Highway&nbsp;4 alignment; former Highway&nbsp;2 continues on [[Wharncliffe Road]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 187.6
| road             = [[Wharncliffe Road]]&nbsp;/ Stanley Street
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|4|dir=north|nosh=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;4 concurrency; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows Stanley Street and [[York Street (London, Ontario)|York Street]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 194.7
| km2              = 195.0
| road             = [[Highbury Avenue]]<br/>[[Dundas Street]]
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|126|nosh=y}}; former Highway&nbsp;2 followed Highbury Avenue for {{cvt|300|m}} to Dundas Street; western end of Dundas Street concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 197.3
| road             = [[Veterans Memorial Parkway]]
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|100|dir=south|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Middlesex
| location         = Thames Centre
| km               = 199.8
| road             = {{jcon|Middlesex|2|dir=resumes}}
| notes            = London city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Middlesex County, Ontario|Middlesex]]–[[Oxford County, Ontario|Oxford]] boundary
| location_special = [[Thames Centre]]–[[Zorra]] boundary
| km               = 207.7
| km2              = 208.9
| road             = {{jcon|Middlesex|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|Oxford|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = {{cvt|1.2|km}} concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Oxford
| dspan            = 5
| location         = Zorra
| km               = 211.3
| km2              = 211.5
| road             = {{jcon|Oxford|119|Allan Street&nbsp;/ Milton Street}}
| notes            = [[Thamesford, Ontario|Thamesford]]; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|19|nosh=y}}; intersections offset and {{cvt|200|m}} concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Woodstock
| lspan            = 4
| km               = 231.9
| road             = {{jcon|Oxford|59|dir=north|Vansittart Avenue}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|59|dir=north|nosh=y}}; former western end of Highway&nbsp;59 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 233.2
| road             = {{jcon|Oxford|54|dir=north|Huron Street}}<br/>{{jcon|Oxford|59|dir=south|Wilson Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|59|dir=south|nosh=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;59 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 238.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Toronto|city2=London}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;238
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 239.7
| road             = {{jcon|Oxford|55|dir=east}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|53|dir=east|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Oxford County, Ontario|Oxford]]–[[County of Brant|Brant]] boundary
| location         = Blandford-Blenheim
| km               = 244.7
| km2              = 258.3
| road             = {{jcon|Oxford|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|bch|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = {{cvt|14.1|km}} concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Brant
| dspan            = 3
| location         = Paris
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 263.6
| road             = {{jcon|bch|24|dir=south|Rest Acres Road}}
| notes            = To {{jcon|Hwy|24|dir=south|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 264.6
| road             = {{jcon|bch|24A|dir=north|Dumfries Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|24A|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 266.3
| road             = {{jcon|Brant|55|dir=north|Green Lane}}<hr/>{{jcon|bch|5|dir=east|[[Governors Road|Governors Road East]]}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|5|dir=east|nosh=y}}; eastern end of Dundas Street concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Brantford
| lspan            = 4
| km               = 269.0
| road             = {{jcon|bch|2|dir=breaks}}
| notes            = Brantford city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 271.9
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|403|city=Hamilton|city2=London}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;403 exit&nbsp;33; present-day {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|403|Hwy|24|noshield=y|nolink1=y}} concurrency; no eastbound access to Highway&nbsp;403 west
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 274.8
| road             = St. Paul Avenue
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|24|dir=north|nosh=y}}; former western end of Highway&nbsp;24 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 276.3
| road             = Colborne Street&nbsp;W
| notes            = Formerly {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|24|Hwy|53|dir1=west|dir2=south|noshield=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;24 concurrency; former western end of Highway&nbsp;53 concurrency; to {{jcon|bch|53|dir=west|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Brant
| location         = Cainsville
| km               = 282.8
| road             = {{jcon|Brant|18}}<hr/>{{jcon|bch|2|con=53|condir=resumes}}
| notes            = Brantford city limits; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|54|dir=east|nosh=y}}; western end of {{jcon|bch|2|con=53|ot=y}} concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Hamilton
| lspan            = 10
| km               = 290.8
| road             = {{jcon|bch|2|con=53|condir=ends|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = Hamilton city limits; former {{jcon|Hwy|2|con=53|nosh=y|ot=y}} follows [[Wilson Street (Ancaster, Hamilton, Ontario)|Wilson Street]] and [[Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|Main Street]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 296.1
| road             = {{jcon|Hamilton|52}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|52|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 297.6
| road             = Garner Road West
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|53|dir=east|nosh=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;53 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 299.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|403|city=Toronto|city2=Brantford}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;403 exit&nbsp;58
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 330.2
| road             = {{jcon|Hamilton|8|dir=west|Cootes Drive}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|8|dir=west|nosh=y}}; former western end of Highway&nbsp;8 concurrency; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows present-day {{jcon|Hamilton|8|dir=east|ot=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 299.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|403|city=Toronto|city2=Brantford}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;403 exits&nbsp;69 & 70; one-way transition where eastbound follows Main Street and westbound follows [[King Street, Hamilton, Ontario|King Street]]; present-day {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|403|Hwy|6|noshield=y|nolink1=y}} concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 335.6
| road             = {{jcon|Hamilton|8|dir=east|[[Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|Main Street&nbsp;W]]}}&nbsp;/ [[Dundurn Street (Hamilton, Ontario)|Dundurn Street]]
| notes            = Formerly {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|8|Hwy|6|dir1=east|dir2=south|noshield=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;8 concurrency; former western end of Highway&nbsp;6 concurrency; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows Dundurn Street
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 336.6
| road             = [[York Boulevard]]
| notes            = Former Highway&nbsp;2 follows York Boulevard
}}
{{Jctbridge
| type             = closed
| km               = 337.0
| bridge           = [[Thomas B. McQuesten]] High Level Bridge crosses [[Desjardins Canal]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 338.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|403|dir=east|city=Toronto}}
| notes            = Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound exit and eastbound entrance from Highway&nbsp;403; Highway&nbsp;403 exit&nbsp;73
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Halton
| dspan            = 4
| location         = Burlington
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 339.6
| road             = Plains Road&nbsp;W
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|6|dir=north|nosh=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;6 concurrency; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows Plains Road&nbsp;W
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 345.7
| road             = Plains Road&nbsp;W&nbsp;/ King Road
| notes            = Former Highway&nbsp;2 follows King Road and North Shore Boulevard
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 348.2
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|QEW|city=Toronto|city2=[[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara]]}}
| notes            = Queen Elizabeth Way exit&nbsp;97; former Highway&nbsp;2 continues on [[Lakeshore Road]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Oakville
| km               = 359.7
| road             = Bronte Road
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|25|dir=north|nosh=y}}; to {{jcon|Halton|25|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Peel
| location         = Mississauga
| km               = 382.3
| road             = [[Hurontario Street]]
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|10|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Toronto
| lspan            = 8
| km               = 387.5
| km2              = 387.8
| road             = {{jct|province=ON||[[Brown's Line]]|Hwy|427|dir2=north|to2=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 396.5
| road             = {{jcon|Toronto|Gardiner}}
| notes            = Gardiner Expressway exit&nbsp;145; former {{jcon|Hwy|QEW|ot=y}} Toronto terminus; former Highway&nbsp;2 followed Gardiner Expressway
}}
{{Jctgap
| type             = closed
| text             = ''See [[Gardiner Expressway#Exit list|Gardiner Expressway § Exit list (exits 145-157)]]''
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 408.0
| road             = {{jcon|Toronto|DVP}}<hr/>[[Lake Shore Boulevard]]
| notes            = Gardiner Expressway eastern terminus; former Highway&nbsp;2 follows Lake Shore Boulevard and [[Woodbine Avenue]]; ramps to Lake Shore Boulevard closed August 31, 2021<ref>{{cite web |title=Lake Shore Boulevard East Project Archives |url=https://portlandsto.ca/faq-category/lake-shore-boulevard-east-project/ |website=Waterfront Toronto |access-date=February 5, 2024}}</ref>
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 412.8
| road             = [[Woodbine Avenue]]&nbsp;/ [[Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]]
| notes            = Former Highway&nbsp;2 follows Kingston Road
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 418.6
| road             = [[Danforth Avenue]]
| notes            = Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|5|dir=west|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 430.3
| road             = {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|2A|Hwy|401|dir1=east|dir2=east|noshield1=y|to2=y||Lawson Road}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 432.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|dir=west}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;390; eastbound exit and westbound entrance from Highway&nbsp;401
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Toronto]]–[[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham]] boundary
| location_special = [[Toronto]]–[[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]] boundary
| km               = 434.2
| road             = {{jcon|drh|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Durham
| dspan            = 10
| location         = Pickering
| km               = 439.1
| road             = {{jcon|Durham|29|Liverpool Road}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Ajax
| km               = 445.2
| road             = {{jcon|Durham|44|Harwood Avenue}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Whitby
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 449.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|412|dir=north}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;412 exit&nbsp;1; southbound exit and northbound entrance from Highway&nbsp;412; constructed after Highway&nbsp;2 was downloaded
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 450.1
| road             = {{jcon|drh|2|dir=breaks}}<hr/>Fothergill Court
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 452.2
| road             = Brock Street
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|12|nosh=y}}; to {{jcon|drh|12|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Oshawa
| km               = 458.6
| km2              = 458.8
| road             = {{jcon|Durham|2A|dir=south|Centre Street}}<br/>{{jcon|Durham|2|dir=north|Simcoe Street}}
| notes            = One-way pair
}}
{{ONint|former
| location_special = [[Oshawa]]–[[Clarington]] boundary
| km               = 463.0
| road             = {{jcon|drh|2|dir=resumes}}<hr/>{{jcon|Durham|55|Townline Road}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Clarington
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 467.1
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|418}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;418 exit&nbsp;3; constructed after Highway&nbsp;2 was downloaded
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 472.2
| road             = {{jcon|Durham|57|Bowmanville Avenue}}
| notes            = [[Bowmanville, Ontario|Bowmanville]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 479.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|35|con=115|town=Lindsay|city2=Peterborough}}
| notes            = [[Newcastle, Ontario|Newcastle]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Regional Municipality of Durham|Durham]]–[[Northumberland County, Ontario|Northumberland]] boundary
| location_special = [[Clarington]]–[[Port Hope, Ontario|Port Hope]] boundary
| km               = 493.0
| road             = {{jcon|drh|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|Northumberland|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Northumberland
| dspan            = 4
| location         = Port Hope
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 503.6
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Kingston|city2=Toronto}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;461
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 507.6
| road             = {{jcon|Northumberland|28|dir=north|Mill Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|28|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Cobourg
| km               = 519.1
| road             = {{jcon|Northumberland|45|dir=north|Division Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|45|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Brighton
| km               = 555.9
| road             = {{jcon|Northumberland|30|dir=north|Young Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|30|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Northumberland County, Ontario|Northumberland]]–[[Quinte West]] boundary
| location_special = [[Brighton, Ontario|Brighton]]–[[Quinte West]] boundary
| km               = 561.5
| road             = {{jcon|Northumberland|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|QW|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Quinte West
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 570.1
| road             = {{jcon|QW|33|dir=south|Dufferin Avenue}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|33|dir=south|nosh=y}}; former western end of Highway&nbsp;33 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 570.6
| road             = {{jcon|QW|33|dir=north|Division Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|33|dir=north|nosh=y}}; former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;33 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality_special = [[Quinte West]]–[[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]] boundary
| km               = 583.8
| road             = {{jcon|QW|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<hr/>Wallbridge Loyalist Road
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Belleville
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 587.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|62|dir=south|Baybridge Road}}
| notes            = Former western end of Highway&nbsp;62 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 588.3
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|62|dir=north|Pinnacle Street}}
| notes            = Former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;62 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality_special = [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]]–[[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory]] boundary
| km               = 599.1
| road             = {{jcon|Hastings|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = Hasting County Road&nbsp;2 western terminus
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Hastings
| location         = Tyendinaga
| km               = 612.0
| road             = {{jcon|Hastings|15|dir=north|Marysville Road}}<hr/>{{jcon|Hastings|24|dir=east|Belleville Road}}
| notes            = [[Marysville, Hastings County, Ontario|Marysville]]; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|49|dir=north|nosh=y}} north; former western end of Highway&nbsp;49 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality_special = [[Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory]]
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 613.1
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|49|dir=begins|shield=y}}<br/>{{jcon|Hastings|2|dir=breaks}}
| notes            = Territorial boundary; Highway&nbsp;49 northern terminus
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 616.2
| road             = {{jcon|Hastings|2|dir=resumes}}<hr/>{{jcon|Hwy|49|dir=south|town=Picton}}
| notes            = Former eastern end of Highway&nbsp;49 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[Hastings County, Ontario|Hastings]]–[[Lennox and Addington County|Lennox and Addington]] boundary
| location_special = [[Deseronto]]–[[Greater Napanee]] boundary
| km               = 620.6
| road             = {{jcon|Hastings|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|LA|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}<hr/>{{jcon|LA|10|Deseronto Road|dir=north}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Lennox and Addington
| dspan            = 2
| location         = Greater Napanee
| km               = 630.0
| road             = {{jcon|LA|41|con=8|dir=north|condir=south|Centre Street}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|41|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| location         = Loyalist
| km               = 645.1
| road             = {{jcon|LA|4}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|133|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Kingston
| lspan            = 5
| km               = 655.0
| road             = {{jcon|LA|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|Kingston|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = Kingston city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 662.1
| road             = {{jcon|Kingston|38|dir=north|Gardiners Road}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|38|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 667.3
| road             = {{jcon|Kingston|33|Bath Road}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|33|dir=west|nosh=y}}
}}
{{Jctbridge
| type             = closed
| km               = 670.8
| bridge           = [[La Salle Causeway]] crosses [[Cataraqui River]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 672.2
| road             = {{jcon|Kingston|15|dir=north}}
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|15|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Leeds and Grenville
| location_special = [[Leeds and the Thousand Islands]]
| km               = 692.7
| road             = {{jcon|Kingston|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|LG|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = Kingston city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Gananoque
| lspan            = 2
| km               = 696.8
| road             = {{jcon|LG|2|dir=breaks}}
| notes            = Gananoque city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 699.0
| road             = Stone Street
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|32|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{Jctint
| county_special   = [[United Counties of Leeds and Grenville|Leeds and Grenville]]
| cspan            = 4
| location_special = [[Leeds and the Thousand Islands]]
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 0.0
| km2              = 725.8
| line             = yes
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|2|dir=begins|nolink=y|shield=y}}
| notes            = Gananoque city limits; present-day Highway&nbsp;2 western terminus
}}
{{Jctint
| km               = 0.3
| km2              = 726.1
| line             = yes
| road             = {{jct|province=ON||[[Thousand Islands Parkway]]|Hwy|401|dir2=west|to2=y|city1=Kingston}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{Jctint
| type             = incomplete
| km               = 1.1
| km2              = 726.9
| line             = yes
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|2|dir=ends|nolink=y|shield=y}}<br/>{{jcon|LG|2|dir=resumes}}<hr/>{{jcon|Hwy|401|dir=east|city=Cornwall}}
| notes            = Westbound exit and eastbound exit from Highway&nbsp;401; Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;648; present-day Highway&nbsp;2 eastern terminus is at the offramp from westbound Highway&nbsp;401; continues as Leeds and Grenville County Road&nbsp;2
}}
{{ONint|former
| location_special = [[Elizabethtown-Kitley]]
| km               = 764.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Cornwall|city2=Kingston}}
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;687
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Brockville
| km               = 774.0
| road             = {{jcon|LG|29|dir=north|Courthouse Avenue}}&nbsp;/ Broad Street
| notes            = Formerly {{jcon|Hwy|29|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Leeds and Grenville
| location         = Elizabethtown-Kitley
| km               = none
| bridge           = No major junctions
| rcspan           = 4
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Prescott
| km               = 793.4
| road             = {{jcon|LG|18|dir=north|Edward Street}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Leeds and Grenville
| location_special = [[Elizabethtown-Kitley]]
| km               = 798.9
| road             = {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|16|Hwy|416|NY|812|NY|37|dir1=north|to2=y|noshield3=y|city1=Ottawa}}
| notes            = [[Johnstown, Ontario|Johnstown]]; to [[Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| division_special = [[United Counties of Leeds and Grenville|Leeds and Grenville]]–[[United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry|Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry]] boundary
| location_special = [[Elizabethtown-Kitley]]–[[South Dundas]] boundary
| km               = 810.1
| road             = {{jcon|LG|2|dir=ends|fulltext=y}}<br/>{{jcon|SDG|2|dir=begins|fulltext=y}}
| notes            = 
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
| location         = South Dundas
| km               = 828.9
| road             = {{jcon|SDG|31|dir=north}}&nbsp;/ Ottawa Street
| notes            = [[Morrisburg, Ontario|Morrisburg]]; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|31|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| municipality     = Cornwall
| lspan            = 3
| km               = 861.6
| road             = {{jcon|SDG|2|dir=breaks}}
| notes            = Cornwall city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 868.1
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|138|dir=north|Brookdale Avenue|town=Hawkesbury}}
| notes            = Former western end of Highway&nbsp;138 concurrency
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 868.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|138|dir=ends}}&nbsp;/ Brookdale Avenue&nbsp;/ 9th Street West
| notes            = Highway&nbsp;138 southern terminus; to [[Seaway International Bridge]]
}}
{{ONint|former
| division         = Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
| dspan            = 4
| location         = South Glengarry
| lspan            = 4
| km               = 876.8
| road             = {{jcon|SDG|2|dir=resumes}}
| notes            = Cornwall city limits
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 897.5
| road             = {{jcon|Hwy|401|city=Cornwall|city2=[[Montreal]]}}<hr/>{{jcon|SDG|34|dir=north}}
| notes            = [[Lancaster, Ontario|Lancaster]]; Highway&nbsp;401 exit&nbsp;814; formerly {{jcon|Hwy|34|dir=north|nosh=y}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 908.9
| road             = {{jcon|SDG|23|dir=north}}
| notes            = To {{jcon|Hwy|401|nosh=y|exit 825}}
}}
{{ONint|former
| km               = 912.1
| road             = {{jct|province=QC|QC|338|dir1=east|city1=Rivière-Beaudette|city2=Vaudreuil-Dorion}}
| notes            = {{jcon|SDG|2|ot=y|fulltext=y}} eastern terminus; continuation into [[Quebec]]; formerly {{jct|province=QC|QC OLD|2|dir1=east|noshield=y}}
}}
{{jctbtm|keys=closed,incomplete}}

== See also ==
* [[Heritage Highway]]

==References==
;Footnotes
{{Reflist|2}}
;Bibliography
*{{cite book
 | title      = Toronto's Lost Villages
 | first      = Ron
 | last       = Brown
 | publisher  = Polar Bear Press
 | year       = 1997
 | isbn       = 1-896757-02-2}}
*{{cite book
 | title      = From Footpaths to Freeways
 | last1      = Shragge
 | first1     = John
 | last2      = Bagnato
 | first2     = Sharon
 | publisher  = Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee
 | year       = 1984
 | isbn       = 0-7743-9388-2}}
*{{cite map
 | title       = Ontario Back Road Atlas
 | cartography = [[MapArt]]
 | publisher   = Peter Heiler Ltd
 | year        = 2011
 | isbn        = 978-1-55198-226-7
 | ref         = {{harvid|MapArt|2011}}}}

{{Interprovincial highway
| curr = 2
| curr_type = Hwy
| curr_province = ON 
| name = 2
| next = 2
| next_type = QC OLD
| next_province = QC
}}
{{Ontario King's Highways}}

[[Category:Former Ontario provincial highways|002]]
[[Category:Ontario provincial highways|002]]
[[Category:Transport in Cobourg]]
[[Category:Ingersoll, Ontario]]
[[Category:Transport in Quinte West]]
[[Category:Roads in London, Ontario]]
[[Category:Roads in Hamilton, Ontario]]
[[Category:Roads in Mississauga]]
[[Category:Transport in Brantford]]
[[Category:Transport in Brockville]]
[[Category:Transport in Burlington, Ontario]]
[[Category:Roads in Chatham-Kent]]
[[Category:Transport in Clarington]]
[[Category:Transport in Cornwall, Ontario]]
[[Category:Transport in Kingston, Ontario]]
[[Category:Transport in Oakville, Ontario]]
[[Category:Transport in Oshawa]]
[[Category:Transport in Whitby, Ontario]]
[[Category:Roads in Toronto]]
[[Category:Transport in Woodstock, Ontario]]