length to . map Prior to the early 1970s, there were no roads linking Highway 11 with Highway 35 between Orillia–Norland and Bracebridge–Dorset. The newly formed District Municipality of Muskoka decided to extend the Peterson Road, which fell into disuse east of Vankoughnet in the 1870s, to Carnarvon, despite nearly half of the route lying in neighbouring Haliburton County. Muskoka District Road 4, as it was then-known, was opened between Highway 11 near Muskoka Airport and Highway 35 at Carnarvon in the fall of 1972. The road east of Carnarvon to Haliburton incorporates portions of the Peterson Road to West Guilford, and the North West Road thereafter. These two colonization roads were assumed by the DHO in 1956 as Highway 530 and a portion of Highway 519. That year also saw the creation of Highway 121 between Fenelon Falls and Tory Hill via Minden and Haliburton. To the east, the discovery of uranium deposits near Cardiff in 1952 resulted in a large mining boom for the Bancroft area. As a result, the DHO began constructing a new highway in 1956 which would connect the mines with Highway 28. This new road would open as Highway 109 in 1958, connecting Highway 500 northeast of Tory Hill with Highway 28 at Paudash; the road was paved in 1961. On March 1, 1964, several highways were renumbered in the Bancroft area. Highway 121 was extended from Tory Hill to Paudash via Highway 500 and Highway 109 as a result of this renumbering. The renamed MTO assumed control of Muskoka Road 4 between Highway 11 and Highway 35 on November 27, 1981, and designated it as an extension of Highway 118. On the same day, the entirety of Highway 530 and the southernmost section of Highway 519 were renumbered as part of Highway 118, bringing the highway to a length of with the eastern terminus at a junction with Highway 121 (Highland Street) in Haliburton Village. map Highway transfers Between 1981 and 1998, Highway 118 remained unchanged. However, budget constraints brought on by a recession in the 1990s resulted in the Mike Harris provincial government forming the Who Does What? committee to determine cost-cutting measures in order to balance the budget after a deficit incurred by former premier Bob Rae. It was determined that many Ontario highways no longer served long-distance traffic movement and should therefore be maintained by local or regional levels of