User:AceYYC/sandbox/Export Highway

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Export Highway

CANAMEX Corridor
Export Highway highlighted in red
Route information
Length1,163 km[1] (723 mi)
Component
highways
Location
CountryCanada
Major citiesLethbridge, Calgary, Airdrie, Red Deer, Lacombe, Leduc, Edmonton, Grande Prairie
Highway system
National Highway System
CANAMEX Corridor

The Export Highway is an unofficial designation historically given to a series of major roads that form a north–south trade corridor in the Canadian province of Alberta, connecting major population centres to the United States. The mostly divided highway has been described as the "backbone of the province", extending 1,163 kilometres (723 mi) from Interstate 15 at the Canada–United States border to the British Columbia border in northwest Alberta. It forms a contiguous route between the cities of Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie, linking them to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and points beyond.

The Export Highway begins as Highway 4 at the United States border, proceeding northwest to meet Highway 3 in Lethbridge. The corridor turns west along Highway 3 to Fort Macleod, then curves north on Highway 2 to Calgary. It continues into central Alberta through Red Deer as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway before bending around Edmonton along the southwest quadrant of the Anthony Henday Drive ring road. At the city's west end, Highway 16 assumes the designation, travelling west for a short distance until Highway 43 turns north to Grande Prairie. The divided highway ends west of Grande Prairie, and the two-lane road continues into British Columbia where it becomes Highway 2, and ultimately Highway 97 in Dawson Creek marking the southern terminus of the Alaska Highway.

Historically, the Export Highway comprised the northernmost portion of the Sunshine Trail that ran from Los Angeles to Peace River. It has formed Alberta's portion of the officially named CANAMEX Corridor since 1995, a route that stretches from Alaska to Mexico. Since 2006, it has followed either all or portions of Highways 4, 3, 2, 216, 16, and 43; the alignment has shifted over the years as the component highways have been upgraded, reconstructed, and renumbered. Major changes include the 1950s extension of Highway 43 from Whitecourt to Valleyview, and the 1960s reconstruction of the Calgary–Edmonton segment of Highway 2 to a divided highway. The 1989 "Export Highway Program" twinned the route from Calgary to the U.S. border, and the 2000s saw the completion of Anthony Henday Drive and twinning of the Edmonton–Grande Prairie portion of Highway 43. Further bypasses and upgrades are either under construction or have been planned and are awaiting funding.

Route description[edit]

Southern and central Alberta[edit]

Deerfoot Trail in Calgary
Main articles: Highway 2, Highway 3, and Highway 4

Alberta's Export Highway begins at the busiest border crossing between Alberta and Montana at Coutts and Sweet Grass, where Interstate 15 becomes Alberta Highway 4 at the border community of Coutts. Paralleling the Canadian Pacific Railway, the divided highway winds through the gentle hills of southern Alberta, bypassing Milk River to the west. It reaches Warner, Alberta and the southern terminus of Highway 36, continuing in a northwesterly direction toward Lethbridge.[2] Southeast of the city, it bends due west, then turns north as 43 Street, forming a major arterial on the city's east side. Highway 4 ends at an at-grade intersection with Highway 3, the Crowsnest Highway.[3] The corridor follows Highway 3 west through Lethbridge as an expressway to a junction with Highway 23 near Monarch. It then reaches Fort Macleod, where Highway 3 continues west to Crowsnest Pass while the Export Highway turns north along Highway 2 toward Calgary.[2]

The divided highway continues north through Claresholm and Nanton past High River and Okotoks into Calgary as a busy freeway called Deerfoot Trail. It meets the western terminus of Highway 8 at Glenmore Trail, winding through the city past downtown to the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) in north Calgary. Passing the Calgary International Airport, Highway 2 exits Calgary as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, bisecting Airdrie and continuing to intersections at Highways 11 and 11A in the city of Red Deer. The Queen Elizabeth II designation ends at 41 Avenue SW, marking the southern city limit of Edmonton.[3]

Northern Alberta[edit]

Highway 43 near Sangudo
Main articles: Highway 216, Highway 16, and Highway 43

At the south end of Edmonton, Highway 2 intersects Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216), a freeway that encircles the city. Upon its completion, Alberta Transportation designated the southwest quadrant of Henday as a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor. It bypasses the city to the southwest carrying high volumes of local traffic exceeding 100,000 vehicles per day. The freeway meets Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16) at the city's west end, which assumes the corridor designation as it leaves the city to the west en route to Jasper.[3] At Manly Corner, approximately 20 km (12 mi) west of Edmonton, Highway 43 turns north to Onoway, then curves northwest through Whitecourt and Valleyview. It reaches Clairmont immediately north of Grande Prairie, then turns south into the city as an urban arterial designated as 100 Street. Highway 43 then turns west along 116 Avenue, which bends south and becomes 108 Street.[3] The divided highway exits the city to the west as the highway turns along 100 Avenue. After the Grande Prairie Airport, the route reverts to a two-lane road near Beaverlodge, the only undivided section of the Export Highway. The highway bends northwest and ends at the British Columbia border west of the hamlet of Demmitt, continuing as Highway 2 in British Columbia toward Dawson Creek.[3]

History[edit]

Sunshine Trail[edit]

[4]


Export Highway Program[edit]

Alberta Transportation outlined a proposal for the Export Highway Program in August 1989.[5] The plan included twinning of Highway 2 from Calgary to Fort Macleod, Highway 3 from Fort Macleod to Monarch, and the entire length of Highway 4.[5] Highway 3 between Monarch and Lethbridge had already been twinned as part of work completed in the 1960s. The province had prioritized twinning of Highway 16 as that project was being subsidized by federal funding.[6] In the following years, funding became available and work proceeded through the first half of the 1990s.[7][8]

Hwy 4 late 90s [9]

Future[edit]

Highway 4 is a divided highway for its entire length, and the section of Highway 3 that comprises the Export Highway is also twinned.[3] The two meet at-grade on the east side of Lethbridge, and Alberta Transportation has long-term plans for a northern Highway 3 bypass of Lethbridge, and an extension of Highway 4 east of the city to meet this new freeway.[10] The alignment for a future Fort Macleod bypass has also been identified, connecting Highway 2 to Highway 3 at new interchanges west and south of the town.[11] A Highway 2 bypass to the east of Claresholm and Nanton are also proposed, eliminating the speed reduction to 50 km/h that currently exist through both towns, and the traffic signals in central Claresholm.[12][13] Plans have also been drafted for significant reconstruction of the interchange of Highway 2 and Highway 23 near High River. The existing cloverleaf interchange was built in 1967 and does not meet the current standards in Alberta's Highway Design Guide.[14]

The busiest section urban section of the Export Highway is near downtown Calgary, while rural Calgary-Edmonton corridor also sees high volume. A 2016 study began assessing Deerfoot Trail in Calgary for possible future improvements,[15] and a study has already been completed analyzing the incomplete interchange of Glenmore Trail and Deerfoot Trail.[16] Planning is underway to convert the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Calgary and Edmonton to a freeway,[17] where traffic levels are close to 50,000 vehicles per day.[18] The majority of bridges on this section of the highway were built in 1962.[19]: 35  In Edmonton, the portion of Anthony Henday Drive that forms the CANAMEX Corridor is highly congested and traffic levels have nearly doubled predictions by Alberta Transportation.[20] The ring road was built with expansion in mind, but no timeline has been set for widening of the freeway.[20] In northwest Alberta, two future realignments of Highway 43 have been proposed. An expressway bypass of Grande Prairie was partially constructed in 2010,[21] and work is underway to extend it to Highway 43 west of the Grande Prairie Airport. The alignment of a potential Whitecourt bypass has also been established.[22]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ In Edmonton, only the southwest quadrant of Anthony Henday Drive (between Calgary Trail/Gateway Boulevard and Yellowhead Trail) comprises the Export Highway.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Google (February 1, 2017). "Length of Export Highway in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "2016 Provincial Highway 1-216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Google (February 1, 2017). "Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Government of Alberta (February 24, 1998). "Primary Highway renumbering to take place in the Peace Region". Retrieved August 1, 2010. The changes will see Highway 34 west of Valleyview, Highway 2 from the junction of Highway 34 south through the City of Grande Prairie, and Highway 2 west of Grande Prairie become Highway 43, eliminating the numbers 2 and 34. Highway 43 between Valleyview and Donnelly will become Highway 49, eliminating the old north extension of Highway 43.
  5. ^ a b "Reaction positive to Throne speech". The Lethbridge Herald. February 18, 1989. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Budget gives boost to university but no word on highway twinning". The Lethbridge Herald. June 10, 1989. p. 1. Asked about money and planning for a twinned "export highway" stretching from Calgary to Coutts [...] top priority is being given to improvement of the Yellowhead Highway [...]
  7. ^ "Bids sought for paving". The Lethbridge Herald. March 20, 1992. p. 5. The [...] project consists of the construction of two additional lanes on Highway 2 from north of the Oldman River for 8.7 km to south of Willow Creek. "This project is part of Alberta's ongoing plan to develop a twinned export highway to the United States.
  8. ^ "Tories gearing for convention". The Lethbridge Herald. March 23, 1992. p. 5. Among [several items] are a request the "Export Highway" from Coutts be given higher priority in transportation department budgets, assuring an earlier completion date.
  9. ^ "My way or the highway". The Lethbridge Herald. August 16, 1997. p. D1. Work has begun on a four-lane "Export Highway" linking Lethbridge with the U.S. [...]
  10. ^ "Highways 3 & 4 - Lethbridge and Area NHS & NTSC Functional Planning Study - Final Report" (PDF). Stantec Consulting Ltd. Alberta Transportation. February 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "HIGHWAYS 2 and 3 Fort Macleod Bypass Functional Planning Study" (PDF). McElhanney. Alberta Transportation. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  12. ^ Armfelt, Cory; Waiguru, Maina. "Claresholm - Building a Sustainable Community" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2016. A long-term plan to relocate Highway 2 (Queen Elizabeth 2 Highway) so that it no longer runs directly through the town is central to Claresholm's planning. Within the next five to 10 years, a highway bypass is expected to be located about 800 metres from the downtown area.
  13. ^ "M.D. approves concept of four bypass interchanges". Nanton News. February 15, 2005. Retrieved November 15, 2016. The Municipal District of Willow Creek has accepted in principle the proposed locations of four interchanges when Highway 2 becomes a freeway...
    • For land acquisition concerns, see "Candidates talk about Highway 2 realignment". Nanton News. February 20, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2016. ...several open houses in all have occurred in the communities that would be affected by the Highway 2 realignment... The land for the highway realignment has been officially designated...
    • For a possible construction timeline, see Patterson, Jessica (March 17, 2009). "No news of highway plans frustrate town". Retrieved November 15, 2016. [Mayor] Blake believes it may be as many as 10 years [2019] before construction begins... The provincial government conducted a study of the proposed bypass in 2006, which recommended constructing an interchange with access to Nanton at Highway 533.
  14. ^ For the interchange reconfiguration plan, see "Highway 23 Network Review and Highway 2 Interchange Reconfiguration - Final Report" (PDF). March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Labby, Bryan (July 13, 2015). "Deerfoot Trail traffic fix delayed indefinitely". Archived from the original on February 12, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  16. ^ "Deerfoot Trail / Glenmore Trail Interchange". Alberta Transportation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  17. ^ "Highway 2 Corridor Improvement Study" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  18. ^ Pike, Helen; Tumilty, Ryan (October 1, 2015). "Province looks at expanding Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton". Metro News. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016. Highways typically get an expansion to between six or eight lanes when volumes reach between 30,000 and 50,000 cars per day, the [Alberta Transportation] document states.
  19. ^ "Transportation Infrastructure Management System - Existing Structures in the Provincial Highway Corridor" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. September 28, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  20. ^ a b Barnes, Dan (September 26, 2015). "Weekend read: Life in the slow lane, the saga of the Southwest Henday". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  21. ^ Government of Alberta (July 29, 2010). "New Grande Prairie bypass opens to traffic for long weekend". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  22. ^ "Highway 43/43X Interchange Functional Planning Study" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.

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