GC32H1W Old King's Hwy 8 (Traditional Cache) in Ontario, Canada created by The MnMs

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GC32H1W ▼

A cache by The MnMs Message this owner

Hidden : 8/18/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Old Hwy 8....

History of King's Highway 8:

King's Highway 8 is one of the oldest provincial highways in Ontario. The highway was first established in 1918 and has since evolved into an important arterial highway linking Hamilton to Goderich, via Kitchener-Waterloo. Until the early 1970s, the highway was much longer, extending from Hamilton to Niagara Falls. In 1970, the Province of Ontario deemed that the section of Highway 8 from Winona to Niagara Falls was no longer of provincial significance, since most through traffic between Hamilton and Niagara used the Queen Elizabeth Way. The old, winding route of Highway 8 was transferred to the newly-formed Regional Municipality of Niagara, who subsequently renamed the highway as Niagara Road 81. On March 31, 1997, another portion of Highway 8 from Highway 5 (Peters Corners) to Winona was turned over to the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, including the connecting link portions of Highway 8 running through Stoney Creek, Hamilton and Dundas.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kitchener-Waterloo was bypassed by a new four-lane freeway known as the Conestoga Parkway. Additional improvements were also made to Highway 8 between the Conestoga Parkway and Cambridge in order to improve access to Highway 401 from Kitchener-Waterloo. A new four-lane freeway was constructed in several stages, with the first phase completed in 1963 and the final phase completed in 1987. The portion of Highway 8 from the Conestoga Parkway to the Grand River Bridge is currently being reconstructed to provide eight through lanes. Construction is now underway to widen the remainder of Highway 8 from the Grand River Bridge to Sportsworld Drive to at least six lanes. This project is expected to be completed in 2012. Planning is underway to widen the Conestoga Parkway (Highway 7 & 8) to six lanes between Courtland Avenue and Fischer-Hallman Road, with construction expected to begin in 2011.

Highway 8 traverses a predominantly rural portion of Southern Ontario, although it does pass through several large cities and towns along its route. The principal towns located along the highway are Goderich, Stratford, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge. A 45 km section of Highway 8 is signed concurrently with Highway 7 between Kitchener and Stratford. Most sections of Highway 8 are two lanes, but a 22 km section of the highway is now a controlled-access freeway. The Highway 8 Freeway begins near Baden and continues easterly to Highway 401 in Cambridge. The freeway is mostly four lanes, but one section is currently being widened to eight lanes. There are also some undivided four-lane sections through towns and cities along the highway's 154 km length. Services along Highway 8 are generally quite plentiful. The speed limit on Highway 8 is 80 km/h (50 mph), unless posted otherwise. Most of the Highway 8 Freeway is posted at 90 km/h (55 mph), although one section near Highway 401 is posted at 100 km/h (60 mph).

Winter Driving Tip: The western section of Highway 8 is known for poor winter road conditions. The highway is sometimes closed during periods of poor winter weather between Stratford and Goderich, due to blowing and drifting snow. Blowing snow will often result in zero-visibility conditions. The weather conditions on this highway can deteriorate very rapidly when snowsqualls blow in from nearby Lake Huron.

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The cache is a micro, slightly smaller than a 35mm film canister. It contains only a log, so BYOP.

Congrats go to talonnfenton & juicebox83 for sharing FTF!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)