Ontario. Municipal Roads Branch

• Municipal Roads Branch

• Ontario. Municipal Roads Office

• Ontario. Municipal Roads Division

• Ontario. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Municipal Branch

• Ontario. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Municipal Transportation Branch

The Municipal Roads Branch, under the direction of the Engineer of Municipal Roads (later the Chief Municipal Engineer) was established within the Ontario Department of Public Highways by 1922. Prior to this, responsibility over financial and advisory assistance to municipalities, with respect to roads, seems to have rested with the Office of the Chief Engineer. The first Engineer of Municipal Roads was Robert C. Muir. The branch itself, has undergone a number of name changes: from 1922-1960, it was known as the Municipal Roads Branch; from 1960-1969, the Municipal Roads Division; from 1969-1971, the Municipal Roads Office; from 1971-1974, the Municipal Branch; from 1974- 1976, the Municipal Transportation Branch; from 1976- 1987, the Municipal Roads Office again; and from 1987-1992, the Municipal Roads Office once again.

The branch, in turn, reported to a number of different offices during its existence. These include: the Deputy Minister of Public Highways (1922-1931); the Deputy Minister of Highways (1931-1937; and 1948-1962); the Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Highways (1937-1948); the Operations Branch (1962-1971); the Operations Division (1971- 1976); the Municipal/Provincial Transportation Branch (1976- 1980); the Transportation Programs Division (1980-1982); the Municipal Transportation Division (1982-1991); and the Planning Division (1991-1992). As a part of these offices, the branch has also formed a part of five different government departments/ministries. These are: the Ontario Department of Public Highways (1922-1931); the Ontario Department of Highways (1931-1971); the Ontario Department of Transportation and Communications (1971-1972); and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications (1972-1992).

The Municipal Roads Branch was replaced with the Roads Transportation Office in 1992.

The Municipal Roads Branch administered the Ontario Highway Improvement Act and was responsible for providing financial assistance by way of subsidies to municipalities for the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. The branch also provided advice and education to county and township councils, engineers and roads superintendents with respect to the planning and design of roads.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

KWIC Index to Government Services, 1989-1992; Ministry of Transportation/Transportation and Communications Annual Reports, 1971-1989; Department of Highways/Public Highways Annual Reports, 1921-1971.

Not found in Canadiana Authorities, 1996-12-24.

Archivist(s):
Lisa Singer, Mark Epp