ONroute

History

Construction of Ontario Highways 400 and 401 began in the early 1950s, with the last section of 401 completed in 1968. Both roads were intended as bypasses, going around populated areas instead of through them (the highways 11/27 and 2 which they replaced were Main Street in nearly every served community) and therefore initially had few services. A series of rest stops was constructed as part of the highway in the 1960s in rural areas to provide a full-service restaurant (later replaced with franchised fast food) and a service station (eventually curtailed to fuel only, no repair services). All but a few of these dated from the same era with strong similarity in design.

From the late 1980s to 2010, rest areas on the two highways were individually franchised to different fast food operators (mainly McDonalds) and gasoline distributors (mainly Esso and Petro Canada); however around the financial crisis of 2007–2008, many of the companies announced that they would not renew their leases once they expired. The government of Ontario also explicitly banned McDonald's from ever operating at the new ONroute service centres to reduce competition with local chains.

The government of Ontario selected HKSC as the new franchisee for all of its rest areas in 2010. Since 2010-11, HKSC has demolished the 1960s-era rest stops, leaving most rest stops out of operation for a year or more, and used the sites to construct new ONroute service stations. Most of the remaining redevelopment projects were completed in 2013. Partners in the redevelopment projects included EllisDon Construction, Quadrangle Architects and Bruce Mau Design. All of the redeveloped locations were designed to meet the LEED certification standards of the Canadian Green Building Council, as well as current standards of accessibility for travellers with disabilities.

The rest areas on Highway 401 at Ingersoll and Newcastle (both serving only the westbound carriageway), as well as southbound rest area on Highway 400 at King City were redeveloped in the late 1990s, before the ONroute design, and the original structures remain in service. Unlike all other ONRoute rest area, Esso remaining as gasoline distributor at these locations.

Services

Each ONroute location features a Canadian Tire gas station. While each location offers a different selection of fast food providers, all locations feature some combination of A&W, Big Smoke Burger, Brioche Dorée, Burger King, Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, East Side Mario's Pronto, Extreme Pita, KFC, Taco Bell, Mr. Sub, New York Fries, Pizza Pizza, PurBlendz, Starbucks, Swiss Chalet, Tim Hortons, Wendy's or Yogen Fruz outlets, as well as a Nicholby's Express or The Market convenience store. In some cases, selection is more limited or prices higher than in non-highway locations of the same-brand chains. Tim Hortons is found at every ONroute location. In addition, the westernmost (Tilbury) and easternmost (Bainsville) locations along Highway 401, serving as "gateway" locations for tourists entering the province from Michigan or Quebec, also feature Ontario Tourist Information Centres.

All ONroute locations also provide wi-fi service.

Locations

ONroute locations are located along Highway 401's entire length, while there are only 4 rest areas located on Highway 400 along the freeway's southern section between Toronto and Barrie (south bound at Innisfil and Maple and northbound at King City and Barrie).

As of 2016, ONroute locations are open along Highway 401 in Tilbury (2), West Lorne, Dutton, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Cambridge (2), Newcastle, Port Hope, Trenton (2), Napanee, Odessa, Mallorytown (2), Morrisburg, Ingleside and Bainsville, and along Highway 400 in Vaughan (Maple), King City), Barrie and Innisfil. In most locations, individual ONroute service centres are accessible only from one carriageway of the highway, with a separate nearby ONroute location serving the other carriageway. Bainsville (near Highway 401's eastern terminus just west of the Quebec boundary) is the only current exception, having only a westbound location, with services for eastbound motorists available at a similar freeway rest area located on Quebec's Autoroute 20 just east of the provincial boundary. The Highway 400 location in Cookstown was accessible directly by southbound motorists but could be reached by northbound traffic exiting on westbound Highway 89 then turning at driveway just west of Highway 400) and relocated in mid-2015 from the Highway 89 interchange to another location 5 km north at 5th line. The new location is only accessible by southbound motorists and the original rest area is now demolished and sits vacant.