The "Firsts"
The Queen Elizabeth Highway was the first "superhighway" built in Canada.
It contained the first cloverleaf.
It was the longest, continuous divided highway in the country. It lost that distinction in the 1960s when Highway 401, from Windsor to Montreal was completed.
It contained the longest stretch of illuminated highway in the world. Incandescent lights between Browns Line and Oakville made the highway safer at night. The lights were shining between 1938 to 1939 but were extinguished in order to conserve energy in World War II. Post-war shortages meant that the lights were never as bright as they were in 1938-39. Highway widening made it necessary to remove the light standards in the 1950s and 1960s.
The grand opening was held during the first time a reigning monarch visited Canada.
Cloverleaf interchange at the QEW and Highway 10 in 1940
Indandescent lights near Oakville in 1938