River was awarded in November 1960. Dinsmore Construction of Windsor was awarded a separate contract to grade and pave the extension in April 1962. Construction also began that year on an overpass of the tracks north of Trafalgar Street. The CNR overpass and Highbury Avenue extension were opened together by a motorcade ceremony on December9, 1963. The extension was built by the Department of Highways (DHO), and was signed as Highway126 from Wilton Grove Road to Hamilton Road. This became a contentious issue for the City of London, which had adopted a resolution in August of that year to name the extension the Wenige Expressway, in honour of nine-term mayor of London, George Wenige. Despite objections from the DHO, which preferred the readability of a number on signage for safety reasons, London ordered signs erected with the name in May 1965. However, the DHO prevailed and these signs were only installed along a section between Power Street and Hamilton Road. The signs remained in place until at least 1981, when it was described by a city traffic official as a "20-second expressway". By the time construction had begun on the extension, proposals for a freeway to connect London with St. Thomas were also being considered. In October 1964, potential route locations for several controlled-access highways around London were revealed to Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford county officials. Among them were what would eventually become Highway 402, a link between London and St. Thomas, as well as a route around the northern edge of London. Several months later, deputy minister of highways, A.T.C. McNab, announced on May19 that planning was underway on the London–St. Thomas link. The DHO-commissioned London Area Highway Planning Study, published in July 1966, examined traffic patterns and determined ideal travel lines and redundant routes. It confirmed the need for and priority of the new link, as well as continuing Highway126 north then west to Highway402. Planning studies for the London–St. Thomas route were completed by 1968. The proposed route was presented to the public at the Western Fair on September8, 1972, along with the St. Thomas Expressway. Ultimately, the St. Thomas Expressway would open alone on September7, 1981. With the outward growth of suburban London and the proposed annexation of Westminster Township in the early 1990s, responsibility for Highway126 was transferred from the provincial government to the City of London effective June12, 1991. That year also saw an