 Highway 48 | |||||||
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| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained by Ministry of Transportation | |||||||
| Length | 65.2 km[1] (40.5 mi) | ||||||
| Existed | March 24, 1937[2]–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end |  Major Mackenzie Drive(  Markham Road continues south) | ||||||
| North end |  Highway 12 near Beaverton | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||
| Province | Ontario | ||||||
| Counties | York Durham | ||||||
| Major cities | Markham Stouffville East Gwillimbury Georgina Brock (Beaverton) | ||||||
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King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville and East Gwillimbury, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton. The route is generally rural and straight, passing near several communities within the Regional Municipality of York. The route is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long. Most part of the road has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), except within town limits, where the speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h (37 mph) or 50 km/h (31 mph).
Highway 48 was first designated in 1937 to connect Port Bolster with Highway 12 in Beaverton. It was extended south to meet with Highway 401 in the 1950s in anticipation of a planned freeway connection around the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe that ultimately became Highway 404. In the mid-1970s, Highway 48 assumed a portion of the route of Highway 46 in Victoria Country, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, extending the route to Highway 35 in Coboconk. Between then and 1998, the route was 128 km (80 mi). However, on January 1, 1998 the province transferred the responsibility of maintaining the southern and northern sections to the regional governments that those sections lie within.