The highway alignment remained generally unchanged for the next three decades until it was decommissioned in 1997 and transferred to Lanark County and what is now the City of Ottawa.

It crossed the Mississippi River, where it became Main Street and passed through the central portion of the town.

From the junction of these two highways, the route was paved eastward into Almonte already, but remained a gravel road elsewhere.

[7] As a result, the eastern end of Highway 44 was truncated by approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) to the new bypass Highway 44 remained generally unchanged until March 31, 1997, when the entire route was decommissioned and transferred to Lanark County and the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton, which later became the City of Ottawa.

[5] The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 44, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.