National Highway System (Canada)
| National Highway System | |
|---|---|
| System information | |
| Length: | 38,021 km (23,625 mi) |
| Formed: | 1988 |
| Highway names | |
| Interprovincial: |
Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) Yellowhead Highway Crowsnest Highway Alaska Highway Mackenzie Highway |
| Provincial: | Varies by province |
| System links | |
The National Highway System in Canada is a federal designation for a strategic transport network of highways and freeways.[1] The system includes but is not limited to the Trans-Canada Highway,[1] and currently consists of 38,021 kilometres (23,625 mi) of roadway designated under one of three classes: Core Routes, Feeder Routes, and Northern and Remote Routes.[1]
The Government of Canada maintains very little power or authority over the maintenance or expansion of the system beyond sharing part of the cost of economically significant projects within the network. Highways within the system are not given any special signage, except where they are part of a Trans-Canada Highway route.
History
The system was first designated in 1988 by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, a council consisting of the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Transport.[1] A total of 24,500 kilometres (15,200 mi) of highway were originally designated as part of the system. Highways selected for the system were existing primary routes that supported interprovincial and international trade and travel, by connecting major population or commercial centres with each other, with major border crossings on the Canada–United States border, or with other transport hubs.[1]
The system was further expanded in 2004,[2] with the addition of approximately 14,000 kilometres (8,700 mi) of highway that was not part of the original 1988 network.[1] It was in this era that the current "core", "feeder" and "northern or remote" classes of route were established.[1] Not all highways within the system are designated in their entirety, but may instead be part of the system over only part of their length; a few highways even have two or more discontinuous segments designated as part of the system. In some locations, the National Highway System may also incorporate city arterial streets to connect highway routes which are part of the system but do not directly interconnect, or to link the system to an important intermodal transport hub—such as a shipping port, a railway terminal, an airport or a ferry terminal—which is not directly located on a provincial-class highway.
Routes within the system continue to be maintained, funded and signed as provincial, rather than federal, highways. However, the federal government provides some funding assistance for important maintenance and expansion projects on designated highways through cost sharing programs.[3] For instance, several recent maintenance projects on National Highway System routes in Saskatchewan were partly funded under the federal government's Building Canada Fund–Major Infrastructure Component,[3] while several four-laning projects in Ontario in the 2000s accessed federal funding under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program.[4]
There is no single, ongoing program for federal contributions to the National Highway System;[5] rather, these contributions have been made through a variety of separate infrastructure investment programs of defined length and scope.[5] Recent transportation planning proposals have identified public-private partnerships and dedicated fuel taxes as possible mechanisms for providing more stable funding, although no comprehensive program has been implemented to date.[5]
The National Highway System has been criticized for lacking a truly comprehensive expansion plan.[6] In many parts of the country, the system relies on two-lane highways, or expressways which are not fully up to international freeway standards; according to Lakehead University economics professor Livio di Matteo, many parts of the system, even on the main Trans-Canada Highway portion of the network, still leave "the nation’s east-west flow of personal and commercial traffic subject to the whims of an errant moose".[6] American transportation planning academic Wendell Cox has also identified improvements to the system, so that Canada would have a comprehensive national freeway network comparable to the American Interstate Highway System, as an economically critical project for the country to undertake in the 21st century. It is faster, for example, to travel from Winnipeg or Calgary to Toronto through the United States than on Canadian highways.[7]
Routes
In its current form, the National Highway System includes routes in all Canadian provinces and territories except Nunavut, which has no conventional road connections to any other Canadian province or territory.[1]
Officially the system maintains three classifications of road: Core, Feeder and Northern/Remote. Within the core and feeder classes, the system's official register makes additional distinctions between conventional core or feeder routes and intermodal links or "anomalies", where a highway that does not meet the normal criteria for inclusion, or a municipal arterial road, has been adopted into the system to fill in a gap in the network. The "intermodal" and "anomaly" classes are not distinct designations, however, but simply represent an additional clarification of why the road holds "core" or "feeder" status—regardless, the tables below include "intermodal" and "anomaly" as separate classifications for clarity.
Alberta
The system includes 4,384 kilometres (2,724 mi) of highway in Alberta.[2]
| Route | Classification | Segment(s) | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta Highway 1 | C | Entire route | 536.4 | 333.3 | Trans-Canada Highway |
| Alberta Highway 2 | C | Highway 3 to Edmonton Donnelly to Highway 35 | 555.6 | 345.2 | |
| Alberta Highway 3 | C | Entire route | 324.1 | 201.4 | Crowsnest Highway |
| Alberta Highway 4 | C | Coutts to Lethbridge | 103.4 | 64.2 | |
| Alberta Highway 9 | C | Entire route | 326.8 | 203.1 | |
| Alberta Highway 15 | C | Edmonton to Highway 28A | 14.0 | 8.7 | |
| Alberta Highway 16 | C | Entire route | 636.8 | 395.7 | Yellowhead Highway |
| Alberta Highway 28 | C | Gibbons to Highway 63 | 36.6 | 22.7 | |
| F | Highway 63 to Cold Lake | 217.0 | 134.8 | ||
| Alberta Highway 28A | C | Highway 15 to Gibbons | 17.6 | 10.9 | |
| Alberta Highway 35 | C | Entire route | 465.3 | 289.1 | Mackenzie Highway |
| Alberta Highway 43 | C | Entire route | 498.6 | 309.8 | |
| Alberta Highway 49 | C | Valleyview to Donnelly | 76.6 | 47.6 | |
| Alberta Highway 58 | N | Rainbow Lake to Highway 88 | 196.6 | 122.2 | |
| Alberta Highway 63 | C | Highway 28 to Fort McMurray | 363.4 | 225.8 | |
| Alberta Highway 69 | I | Highway 63 to Fort McMurray Airport | 6.0 | 3.7 | |
| 96 Avenue NE and Barlow Trail (Calgary) | I | Highway 2 to Calgary International Airport | 2.9 | 1.8 | |
| Barlow Trail, 114 Avenue SE, 52 Street SE and Dufferin Place SE (Calgary) | I | Highway 2 to CP Rail terminal | 3.4 | 2.1 | |
| Barlow Trail, 54 Avenue SE and 27 Street SE (Calgary) | I | Highway 2 to CN Rail terminal | 1.9 | 1.2 | |
| 184 Street (Edmonton) | I | Highway 16 to CN Rail terminal | 0.9 | 0.56 |
British Columbia
The system includes 7,032 kilometres (4,369 mi) of highway in British Columbia.
- British Columbia Highway 1 (C) - Trans-Canada Highway
- British Columbia Highway 2 (C) - Alberta border to Dawson Creek
- British Columbia Highway 3 (C) - Crowsnest Highway
- British Columbia Highway 4 (F) - Highway 19 to Port Alberni
- British Columbia Highway 5 (C) - Tete Jaune Cache to Hope
- British Columbia Highway 11 (C) - Abbotsford to Huntingdon
- British Columbia Highway 15/8th Avenue (C) - Douglas
- British Columbia Highway 16 (C) - Yellowhead Highway
- British Columbia Highway 17 (C) - Victoria to Highway 99
- British Columbia Highway 19 (C, F) - core from Nanaimo to Parksville; feeder from Parksville to Campbell River; intermodal link from Highway 1 to Duke Point ferry terminal
- British Columbia Highway 37 (F, N) - feeder from Terrace to Kitimat; northern from Highway 16 at Kitwanga to BC-Yukon border
- British Columbia Highway 95 (F) - feeder from US-Canada border crossing at Kingsgate to Highway 3 at Curzon
- British Columbia Highway 97 (C, F) - core from Peachland to 97A/97B near Vernon and from Cache Creek to Yukon Highway 1; feeder from US border to Peachland
- British Columbia Highway 97A (C) - Highway 97 spur into Sicamous
- British Columbia Highway 97B (C) - Highway 97 spur into Salmon Arm
- British Columbia Highway 97C (C) - Connecting link between Highways 5 and 97
- British Columbia Highway 99 (C) - Douglas to Whistler
- British Columbia Highway 101 (F) - Powell River to Langdale
- McGill Street in Vancouver (C) - intermodal link from Highway 1 to Port Metro Vancouver (Vanterm/Centerm)
- Deltaport Way in Delta (C) - intermodal link from Highway 17 to Roberts Bank Superport
- River Road and Elevator Road in Surrey (C) - intermodal link from Highways 17 and 99 to Port Metro Vancouver (Fraser River)
- Fairview Terminals Road in Prince Rupert (C) - intermodal link from Highway 16 to Port of Prince Rupert
- Bridgeport Road and Sea Island Way in Richmond (C) - intermodal link from Highway 99 to Vancouver International Airport
- McTavish Road, Canora Road and Willingdon Road in North Saanich (C) - intermodal link to Victoria International Airport
- Airport Way in Kelowna (C) - intermodal link to Kelowna Airport
- Mount Lehman Road in Abbotsford (C) - intermodal link to Abbotsford International Airport
- Old Cariboo Highway in Prince George (C) - intermodal link to Prince George Airport
- 176th Street and 104th Avenue in Surrey (C) - intermodal link to CN Rail terminal
- Highways 7, 7B and Kennedy Road in Pitt Meadows (C) - intermodal link to CP Rail terminal
Manitoba
The system includes 2,093 kilometres (1,301 mi) of highway in Manitoba.
- Manitoba Highway 1 (C) - Trans-Canada Highway
- Manitoba Highway 6 (F) - Winnipeg to Thompson
- Manitoba Highway 10 (C, N) - core from Highway 1 at Brandon to Highway 16 at Minnedosa; northern from Highway 60 to Flin Flon
- Manitoba Highway 16 (C) - Yellowhead Highway
- Manitoba Highway 60 (N)
- Manitoba Highway 75 (C)
- Manitoba Highway 100 (C) - Perimeter Highway
- Manitoba Highway 101 (C) - Perimeter Highway
New Brunswick
The system includes 1,825 kilometres (1,134 mi) of highway in New Brunswick.
- New Brunswick Route 1 (C)
- New Brunswick Route 2 (C) - Trans-Canada Highway
- New Brunswick Route 7 (C)
- New Brunswick Route 8 (F)
- New Brunswick Route 11 (F)
- New Brunswick Route 15 (C)
- New Brunswick Route 16 (C) - Trans-Canada Highway
- New Brunswick Route 17 (F)
- New Brunswick Route 95 (C)
Newfoundland and Labrador
The system includes 2,469 kilometres (1,534 mi) of highway in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Northwest Territories
The system includes 1,423 kilometres (884 mi) of highway in the Northwest Territories.
| Route | Classification | Segment(s) | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Territories Highway 1 | C | Alberta-NWT border to Highway 3 | 187.5 | 116.5 | Mackenzie Highway |
| N | Highway 3 to Wrigley | 505.5 | 314.1 | Mackenzie Highway | |
| Northwest Territories Highway 2 | C | Entire route | 48.6 | 30.2 | Hay River Highway |
| Northwest Territories Highway 3 | C | Entire route | 340.0 | 211.3 | Yellowknife Highway |
| Northwest Territories Highway 4 | N | Entire route | 69.2 | 43.0 | Ingraham Trail |
| Northwest Territories Highway 8 | N | Entire route | 272.5 | 169.3 | Dempster Highway |
Nova Scotia
The system includes 1,199 kilometres (745 mi) of highway in Nova Scotia.
Ontario
The system includes 6,007.8 kilometres (3,733.1 mi) of highway in Ontario.[2]
Prince Edward Island
The system includes 396 kilometres (246 mi) of highway in Prince Edward Island.
| Route | Classification | Segment(s) | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Edward Island Route 1 | C | Entire route | 120.0 | 74.6 | Trans-Canada Highway |
| Prince Edward Island Route 1A | A | Entire route | 20.0 | 12.4 | Western connecting link between Highways 1 and 2, which only directly intersect at Charlottetown |
| Prince Edward Island Route 2 | C | Summerside to Charlottetown | 59.0 | 36.7 | |
| F | Charlottetown to Souris | 77.0 | 47.8 | ||
| F | Summerside to Tignish | 77.0 | 47.8 | ||
| Prince Edward Island Route 3 | F | Entire route | 34.0 | 21.1 | |
| Confederation Bridge | C | Entire route | 8.0 | 5.0 | |
| Brackley Point Road | I | Highway 1 to Charlottetown Airport | 1.2 | 0.75 |
Quebec
The system includes 5,649 kilometres (3,510 mi) of highway in Quebec.
Saskatchewan
The system includes 2,688 kilometres (1,670 mi) of highway in Saskatchewan.
- Saskatchewan Highway 1 (C) - Trans-Canada Highway
- Saskatchewan Highway 2 (C, N) - core from Moose Jaw to Highway 11; northern from Prince Albert to La Ronge
- Saskatchewan Highway 7 (C)
- Saskatchewan Highway 10 (C)
- Saskatchewan Highway 11 (C)
- Saskatchewan Highway 16 (C) - Yellowhead Highway
- Lewvan Drive and Regina Avenue in Regina (C) - intermodal link from Highway 1 to Regina International Airport
- Airport Drive in Saskatoon (C) - intermodal link from Highway 16 to Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
- 11th Street and Chappel Drive in Saskatoon (C) - intermodal link to CN Rail terminal
Yukon
The system includes 2,027 kilometres (1,260 mi) of highway in Yukon.
| Route | Classification | Segment(s) | Length (km) | Length (mi) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Highway 1 | C | Entire route | 945.0 | 587.2 | Alaska Highway |
| Yukon Highway 2 | C | Yukon-Alaska border to Whitehorse | 134.0 | 83.3 | Klondike Highway |
| N | Whitehorse to Dawson City | 483.0 | 300.1 | Klondike Highway | |
| Yukon Highway 5 | N | Entire route | 465.0 | 288.9 | Dempster Highway |
See also
Canada Roads portal
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "National Highway System". Transport Canada. December 20, 2011.
- 1 2 3 National Highway System Review Task Force Report (PDF) (Report). Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. September 22, 2005. pp. 36–41. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
- 1 2 Cherry, Joel & Paquette, Michele-Jamali (February 28, 2014). "Core National Highway System in Saskatchewan to be Improved" (Press release). Government of Saskatchewan, Highways and Infrastructure.
- ↑ St. Louis, Ron & Marcolini, Tom (November 21, 2003). "McGuinty Government Secures Partnership To Improve Northern Highways" (Press release). Government of Ontario, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.
- 1 2 3 Padova, Allison (February 20, 2006). Federal Participation in Highway Construction and Policy in Canada (Report). Parliamentary Information and Research Service Economics Division.
- 1 2 di Matteo, Livio & Simpson, Wayne (April 26, 2011). "Fix No. 1 Highway". Financial Post.
- ↑ Cox, Wendell (November 13, 2009). "A Canadian Autobahn". New Geography.