:Ontario Highway 129

{{short description|Ontario provincial highway}}

{{Infobox road

|province = ON

|type = Hwy

|route = 129

|alternate_name =

|map =

|maint = the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario

|length_km = 220.7

|length_ref =

|history = Established 1956
Extended February 27, 1957

|direction_a = South

|terminus_a = {{jcon|Hwy|17}} in Thessalon

|junction = {{jcon|Hwy|554}} near Wharncliffe
{{jcon|Hwy|556}} near Aubrey Falls Provincial Park
{{jcon|Hwy|667}} near Five Mile Lake Provincial Park
{{jcon|Hwy|101}}

|direction_b = North

|terminus_b = Chapleau south limits

|previous_type = Hwy

|previous_route = 127

|next_type = Hwy

|next_route = 130

|browse = {{ON former|previous=128}}

}}

King's Highway 129, commonly referred to as Highway 129, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located in the Algoma and Sudbury districts, the highway extends for {{convert|221|km}} from a junction with Highway 17 in Thessalon to the town of Chapleau, just north of Highway 101. The route is isolated and lightly travelled throughout its length; while providing access to several remote settlements, the only sizable communities along the route are the two termini. The highway was established in 1956 along the Chapleau Road. From the early 1960s to mid-1970s, Highway 129 was designated as the Chapleau Route of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Route description

File:Hwy 129 Ontario.JPG and sightlines that are below King's Highway standards]]

Highway 129 is one of the most isolated in Ontario and among the least used of the King's Highways. Although the highway is an important access route for several isolated communities, including Little Rapids, Sultan, Kormak and Nemegos, as well as provincial parks such as Aubrey Falls, Five Mile Lake and Wakami Lake,{{cite news

|title = Improving Highway 129 Near Thessalon

|author = Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry

|publisher = Government of Ontario

|date = July 12, 2010

|url = http://news.ontario.ca/mndmf/en/2010/07/improving-highway-129-near-thessalon.html

|access-date = March 22, 2011

|archive-date = July 6, 2011

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192620/http://news.ontario.ca/mndmf/en/2010/07/improving-highway-129-near-thessalon.html

|url-status = live

}}

the only community located directly on the highway's route between its termini is Wharncliffe.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Back Road Atlas

| cartography = MapArt

| publisher = Peter Heiler

| year = 2010

| isbn = 978-1-55198-226-7

| page = 104

| section = J–K14}}

There are very few services along Highway 129. Tunnel Lake Trading Post and Aubrey Falls Trading Post & Resort offer some basic goods, fuel and lodging for travellers and local residents (albeit with limited hours).{{cite web |title=Aubrey Falls |url=http://www.aubreyfallstradingpost.ca/ |website=Aubrey Falls Trading Post & Resort |language=en |access-date=2021-11-07 |archive-date=2020-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221195810/http://www.aubreyfallstradingpost.ca/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.algomatrails.com/businessfull.php?tokenID=15 |title=Welcome to Algoma Trails |access-date=2021-11-07 |archive-date=2016-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507183838/http://www.algomatrails.com/businessfull.php?tokenID=15 |url-status=live }}

The route begins in the town of Thessalon at Highway 17, north of Lake Huron.{{cite web

| title = Welcome to Thessalon

| publisher = Town of Thessalon

| url = http://townthessalon.ca/index.php

| access-date = March 22, 2011

| archive-date = July 6, 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205723/http://townthessalon.ca/index.php

| url-status = live

}}

It travels northeast through the Municipality of Huron Shores, passing the Thessalon Township Heritage Museum southeast of Little Rapids.{{cite web

| title = Thessalon Township Heritage Park and Museum

| publisher = Thessalon Union Public Library

| url = http://www.thesslibcap.com/business/Thessalon%20Township%20Heritage%20Park/default.htm

| access-date = March 22, 2011

| archive-date = July 17, 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717032441/http://www.thesslibcap.com/business/Thessalon%20Township%20Heritage%20Park/default.htm

| url-status = usurped

}}

Wedging between Basswood Lake and the Byrnes Lake White Birch Provincial Conservation Reserve, it enters the unorganized portions of Algoma District. It passes through Wharncliffe, crosses the Mississagi River and encounters Highway 554, which travels east to Kynoch.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Back Road Atlas

| year = 2010

| publisher = Peter Heiler

| cartography = MapArt

| page = 87

| section = A98–E1

| isbn = 978-1-55198-226-7}}

North of Highway 554, the route is generally parallel to the river and Mississagi River Provincial Park. After passing west of Wakomata Lake on its journey through completely undeveloped forest and muskeg, it reaches a junction with Highway 556 southwest of Aubrey Falls Provincial Park. Thereafter, the highway roughly follows the Wenebegon River through Wenebegon River Provincial Park to Wenebegon Lake. Highway 129 encounters the entrance to Five Mile Provincial Park and meets Highway 667, which travels east through Sultan, becoming the Sultan Industrial Road and connecting with Highway 144.

From this junction, the route travels northwest towards Highway 101, where drivers must turn right to continue north on the route. Both highways travel concurrently northeast for {{convert|7.6|km}}, at which point Highway 101 branches off to the east.

Highway 129 continues north alongside the Sudbury–White River CPR line. It ends at the southern town limits of Chapleau, continuing north as a local road through the town and into the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve, the largest game preserve in the world.{{cite book

| title = Welcome to Chapleau - Four Seasons Guide to Northern Adventure

| publisher = Chapleau Regional Development Corporation

| location = Chapleau}}

History

File:Highway 129 Mississagi River 1926.png

Highway 129 was first designated between Aubrey Falls and Chapleau in 1956, following the Thessalon–Chapleau Highway, a dirt road along the banks of the Mississagi River that opened to traffic on January 28, 1949.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Road Map

| cartography = C.P. Robins

| publisher = Ontario Department of Highways

| year = 1956

| section = J13–14}}

Though opened, this initial road was almost impassable, and certainly dangerous. Despite this, it quickly gained notoriety for its breathtaking scenery and seemingly limitless hunting and fishing potential.{{cite news

|title = Go North, Old Man, and Fish

|first = Gordon

|last = MacQuarrie

|work = The Milwaukee Journal

|date = March 28, 1954

|department = Men's and Recreation Section

|page = 4

|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pAQkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6429%2C5502998

|access-date = March 22, 2011

}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book

|title = Vacation Guide

|publisher = Rand McNally & Company

|year = 1961

|page = 166

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ku9KAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Chapleau+Road%22+129

|access-date = March 22, 2011

|archive-date = November 7, 2021

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211107203539/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ku9KAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Chapleau+Road%22+129

|url-status = live

}}

However, the poor condition of the road often left a terrible impression on tourists. John Austin Moore described his voyage up the road during the summer of 1951:{{cite book

|title = Two in the Bush

|first = John Austin

|last = Moore

|publisher = Trafford Publishing

|year = 2008

|isbn = 978-1-4251-3382-5

|chapter = A Nod to Necessity

|pages = 175–176

|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kytaWSMbxGkC&q=%22Chapleau+Road%22&pg=PA175

|access-date = March 22, 2011

|archive-date = November 7, 2021

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211107203602/https://books.google.com/books?id=kytaWSMbxGkC&q=%22Chapleau+Road%22&pg=PA175

|url-status = live

}}

File:Chapleau Road Opening.png

:"Our first trip by car took us over the famed Chapleau Road, the scenery and unique loneliness of which have been often reported in magazines. And surely its condition not long after it had opened to travel, when we first drove it in June 1951, was unforgettable. One trip over its 145 miles was almost guaranteed to shorten your life"

The route was extended south on February 27, 1957,{{cite report

| title = Annual Report

| publisher = Department of Highways

| date = March 31, 1957

| section = Appendix 3 - Schedule of Assumptions of Sections

| page = 281}} absorbing the entire length of Highway 559, itself designated in 1956. The Highway 559 designation has since been reused in Parry Sound District.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Back Road Atlas

| cartography = MapArt

| publisher = Peter Heiler

| year = 2010

| isbn = 978-1-55198-226-7

| page = 56

| section = Q25–26}}

In 1961, the partially gravel surfaced highway was designated as the Chapleau Route of the Trans-Canada Highway, despite being only a spur in the network at that time.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Road Map

| cartography = C.P. Robins

| publisher = Ontario Department of Highways

| year = 1961

| section = K25–N26}}

This designation lasted until as early as 1974 and as late as 1978.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Road Map

| cartography = Cartography Section

| publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications

| year = 1974

| section = N–P11}}{{cite map

| title = Ontario Road Map

| cartography = Cartography Section

| publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications

| year = 1978–79

| section = N–Q11}}

Highway 129 was the last King's Highway to be paved; the section immediately south of Aubrey Falls remained a gravel road as late as 1982.{{cite map

| title = Ontario Road Map

| cartography = Cartography Section

| publisher = Ministry of Transportation and Communications

| date = January 1, 1982

| section = N–Q11}}

The one-lane Rapid River Bridge was replaced by an adjacent two-lane bridge in the second quarter of 2010.{{cite news

|title = Province Funds Highway Projects

|first = Dan

|last = Bellerose

|publisher = Sun Media

|work = The Sault Star

|year = 2008

|url = http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=621865

|access-date = March 22, 2011

|archive-date = July 16, 2011

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716010435/http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=621865

|url-status = live

}}

{{-}}

Major intersections

{{ONinttop|maint=MTO|location_ref=|length_ref={{cite web

|title = Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts

|author = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario

|author-link = Ministry of Transportation of Ontario

|year = 2016

|url = https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Portal/tp/tvSplash.aspx

|access-date = January 1, 2021

|archive-date = December 15, 2020

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201215141651/https://www.library.mto.gov.on.ca/SydneyPLUS/TechPubs/Portal/tp/tvSplash.aspx

|url-status = live

}}}}

{{ONint

| division = Algoma

| dspan = 3

| location = Thessalon

| km = 0.0

| road = River Street


{{jcon|Hwy|17|tch=y|city=Sault Ste. Marie|city2=Sudbury}}

| notes = Highway 129 southern terminus; River Street formerly Highway 17B west

}}

{{ONint

| location_special = Unorganized North Algoma

| lspan = 2

| km = 30.8

| road = {{jcon|Hwy|554|to=546|dir=east|town=Iron Bridge}}

| notes =

}}

{{ONint

| km = 96.6

| road = {{jcon|Hwy|556|dir=west|town=Ranger Lake|town2=Searchmont|town3=Heyden}}

| notes =

}}

{{ONint

| division = Sudbury

| dspan = 4

| location_special = Unorganized North Sudbury

| lspan = 2

| km = 189.7

| road = {{jcon|Hwy|667|dir=east|town=Sultan}}

| notes =

}}

{{ONint

| type = concur

| km = 210.1

| road = {{jcon|Hwy|101|dir=west|city=Wawa}}

| notes = Southern end of Highway 101 concurrency

}}

{{ONint

| location = Chapleau 74A

| type = concur

| km = 217.7

| road = {{jcon|Hwy|101|dir=east|city=Timmins}}

| notes = Northern end of Highway 101 concurrency

}}

{{ONint

| location = Chapleau

| km = 220.7

| road = Chapleau town limits

| notes = Highway 129 northern terminus

}}

{{jctbtm|keys=concur}}

References

{{reflist}}

{{clear}}

{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}

{{Ontario King's Highways}}

{{good article}}

129

Category:Former segments of the Trans-Canada Highway