King's Highway 52, commonly referred to as Highway 52, was a provincially maintained highway located in the former Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, now the City of Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

. The route began at a junction with former Highway 2

Ontario Highway 2

King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...

 and Highway 53

Ontario Highway 53

Highway 53 is a former provincial highway in Southern Ontario, connecting Woodstock to Hamilton via Brantford. For much of its history, the road was co-signed with Highway 2 from Woodstock to Eastwood, where they parted ways...

 near Ancaster

Ancaster, Ontario

Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...

 and travelled north to Highway 5 and Highway 8

Ontario Highway 8

Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...

 in Peters Corners. An older section travelled concurrently

Concurrency (road)

A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 with Highway 8 northwest to Rockton, where it turned north and travelled to the Hamilton–Wellington

Wellington County, Ontario

Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...

 boundary, ending inexplicably at a township road

Township (Canada)

The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...

.

Route description

Highway 52 was a rural highway on the outskirts of Hamilton. Although it has been locally maintained for a number of years, the surrounding have remained relatively unaltered since then. The route begins at an intersection with former Highway 2 and Highway 53 west of Ancaster. From there the highway travelled north, interchanging

Interchange (road)

In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...

 with Highway 403 at Exit 55. The route passes through the communities of Summit and Copetown

Copetown, Ontario

Copetown is a community that is east of Brantford in the southern region of Ontario, Canada. Dundas Hill is located nearby, signifying its closeness to Dundas. There are a various number of golf courses within the local area.-General summary:...

, intersecting the former Highway 99, the Governors Road, in the latter. Soon thereafter, it intersects the former western leg of Highway 5. Immediately north of this, the route encounters Highway 8 at a second intersection, where it ended during the final decade of its existence.

History

Highway 52 originally travelled from Highway 8 in Rockton north along at least five different township roads over 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), ending at a local township road at the Wellington/Wentworth County Line. This section was assumed by the Department of Highways on September 1, 1937.
On April 13, 1938, a dirt road from Peter's Corners south to Highway 2 and Highway 53 (Wilson Street) in Ancaster was assumed as Highway 52. This added a 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) multiplex with Highway 8, a full quarter of Highway 52's entire length.
Throughout World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the new section of Highway 52 remained unimproved; in 1945 it was gravelled

Gravel road

A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the United States. In New Zealand, they are known as 'metal roads'...

. The road was paved between Highway 2 and Highway 97 in 1955, with the remainder being paved three years later.
The original section of Highway 52 north of Peters Corners was downloaded to the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth in the mid-1980s, around the same time as the decommissioning of Highway 97. The road's length was reduced to 10.7 kilometres (6.6 mi) and the concurrency with Highway 8 removed. On April 1, 1998, the remainder of Highway 52 was downloaded to the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth, now the City of Hamilton.
The road has not been given a new numerical designation, and is simply known as Westover Road and Trinity Road.