Ontario Highway 3B

Not to be confused with Highway 3B that became Highway 51 in Norfolk County.

Highway 3B shield

Highway 3B
Route information
Maintained by City of Windsor
Length: 11 km (7 mi)
Existed: 1935 – 1998
Location
Counties: Essex
Highway system

King's Highway 3B, commonly referred to as Highway 3B, was a provincially maintained highway within Windsor, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its purpose was to link Highway 3 and Highway 401 with the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel and downtown Windsor. The portion of the route between Howard Avenue and Highway 401 is a short divided highway known as the Dougall Parkway.

Route description

The former route of Highway 3B begins at an interchange with Highway 401 as the Dougall Parkway, proceeding westward as a four-lane divided highway, and encountering interchanges with Concession Road 6 and with Howard Avenue (formerly Highway 3). It turns northwestward at that point and intersects Essex County Road 42 (Cabana Road).

At E.C. Row Expressway, the road gains a central divider, but has traffic lights for full access to and from the freeway. It then travels under the CN Rail tracks (still with a central reservation), and along the curve to Ouellette Avenue. It continues north before terminating at the intersection with Wyandotte Street in downtown Windsor, just two blocks from the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel.

History

Highway 3B was originally named Highway 3A, when its parent road (Highway 3) was re-routed to meet the newly finished Ambassador Bridge. The original alignment was then named Highway 3A. In 1935, the road was renamed Highway 3B. This road originally travelled along Howard Avenue and Dougall Avenue, before making a short 3-block jog east along Tecumseh Road to Ouellette Avenue, continuing to downtown Windsor's ferry docks. When the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel was completed in 1930, the Highway was truncated about one kilometre from the ferry docks, at the intersection of Ouellette Avenue and London Street (now University Avenue), just two blocks from the tunnel entrance at Goyeau Street.

When the Ouellette Avenue curve was constructed in 1963, the portion north of the curve along Dougall Avenue and Tecumseh Road was reverted to municipal control, and the designation of Highway 3B was placed on the re-aligned curve leading along Dougall Avenue and Ouellette Avenue. In 1966, the road was also designated as a connecting link. This meant that while Windsor would have more responsibility in maintaining and repairing the road, the Ministry of Transportation would still contribute and help. The road's status as a provincial highway was repealed in 1975, but the connecting link agreement was kept, allowing the road to still be signed as Highway 3B, to reduce confusion among motorists. The connecting link was repealed in 1998. Today, the road is simply known as Howard Avenue, Dougall Avenue, and Ouellette Avenue.

In 2008 and 2009, the Dougall Parkway interchange with Highway 401 was completely rebuilt, removing a one-lane 1950s-era tunnel, replacing it with a modern two-lane overpass.

Confusion

During the 1980s and 1990s, many maps listed both Dougall Parkway and Highway 401's as Highway 401, with Dougall Parkway being less-commonly listed as Highway 3B. This is no longer the case, however, since Highway 3B no longer technically exists as a provincial highway, and Dougall Parkway is now maintained by the City of Windsor.

Highway 3B Maidstone

This road existed from 1931 to 1938 in Maidstone, Ontario, between Windsor and Essex, Ontario. This road became Highway 98A in 1938, which was later re-designated as Highway 114, and ultimately decommissioned.

Exit list

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 3B, as noted by the City of Windsor. The entire route is located in Windsor, Ontario. 

kmmiDestinationsNotes
0.00.0Darcey StreetAt grade; beginning of divided highway
0.30.19Howard Avenue
1.81.16th Concession RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
3.01.9 Highway 401 east – London, TorontoEastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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