Banff–Windermere Highway

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Castle Junction, AB
Location
CountryCanada
ProvincesBritish Columbia, Alberta
Highway system
← Hwy 91ABC 93→ Hwy 95
← Hwy 88AB 93→ SPF

The Banff-Windermere Highway, also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway, is a 105 km (65 mi) highway which runs through the

Castle Junction, Alberta (midway between Banff and Lake Louise), passing through Kootenay National Park and Banff National Park. It is designated as part of British Columbia Highway 93 and Alberta Highway 93.[1][2]

Route description

Highway 93 southbound, north of Radium Hot Springs, exit from Kootenay National Park

The Banff-Windermere Highway begins at

Bow Valley Parkway (Alberta Highway 1A) on the north side of the Bow River.[1][2]

History

Castle Mountain, in Banff National Park, as seen from Highway 93 near the Alberta border.

The corridor along the Kootenay and Vermilion Rivers had been used as a first nations travel route for thousands of years. In 1858,

Sir James Hector travelled through Vermilion Pass and recommended that it would be the best route for a wagon road.[3] In the early 1900s settlers in the Columbia Valley advocated for improved connections with Banff and Calgary and lobbied the BC provincial government to construct a road. With the overall goal of constructing an all-Canadian road between the Canadian Prairies and Pacific Ocean, the Alberta provincial and federal governments were consulted.[4] Construction began in 1911,[3] and by 1914 the road was opened between Calgary and Vermilion Pass as well as a 19 km (12 mi) western section.[4] The outbreak of World War I resulted in a suspension of construction, and following the conclusion of the war the British Columbia provincial government did not have enough funds to complete the project.[3] The Banff-Windermere Road Agreement was reached whereby the federal government would complete the remaining 85 km (53 mi) of road, and in exchange they would receive a 5 mi (8 km) buffer of land on each side of the highway for conservation purposes; approximately 1,600 km2 (600 sq mi) in total. This resulted in the creation of Kootenay National Park.[3][4] The road opened in 1922 and was first highway to cross the Central Canadian Rockies,[4] with the Kicking Horse Trail across Kicking Horse Pass (the corridor which eventually became part of the Trans-Canada Highway) opening in 1926, connecting Lake Louise and Golden.[5]

Former designations

Highway 1B marker Highway 1B marker

Highway 1B

LocationKootenay National Park
Banff National Park
Length105 km (65 mi)
Existed1941–1959

The Banff-Windermere Highway took on the designation of Route 'U' in the 1930s until 1941 when British Columbia adopted a numbered highway system, and was designated as Highway 1B.

Icefields Parkway were renumbered to be a part of Highway 93.[8][9]

Major intersections

ProvinceDistrict / Rural MunicipalityLocationkm[1][10]miDestinationsNotes
Invermere, Cranbrook
Southern terminus; Hwy 93 branches south; north end of Hwy 93 / Hwy 95 concurrency
Kootenay National Park1.30.81West gate of Kootenay National Park
​12.47.7Sinclair Pass (1,486 m / 4,875 ft)
43.827.2Kootenay Crossing Bridge across the Kootenay River
British Columbia – Alberta border93.958.3Vermilion Pass (1,680 m / 5,510 ft)
Calgary
Interchange; Hwy 93 branches northwest; south end of Hwy 1 / Hwy 93 concurrency
104.364.8Crosses the Bow River
Castle Junction
105.065.2 Hwy 1A (Bow Valley Parkway) – Lake Louise, BanffNorthern terminus; seasonal travel restrictions for Hwy 1A east[11]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

 Roads portal

References

  1. ^ a b c d Google (October 19, 2017). "Banff-Windermere Highway in BC and Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. ^
    ISBN 1-55368-018-9
    .
  3. ^ a b c d "History of the Parkway - Kootenay National Park". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. July 17, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Williams, M.B. (1928). Kootenay National Park & The Banff Windermere Highway (PDF). Ottawa: F.A. Acland. pp. 19–21, 26. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  5. ^ Williams, M.B.; National Parks of Canada (1930). The Kicking Horse Trail: Scenic Highway from Lake Louise, Alberta to Golden, British Columbia (PDF). Ottawa: F.A. Acland. p. 21. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. ^ Rand McNally and Company (1939). "Western and Central Canada" (Map). "State Farm Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico". Chicago, IL: State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau. pp. 94–95.
  7. ^ The H.M. Gousha Company (1956). "British Columbia - Alberta" (Map). Shell Map of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Shell Oil Company. §§ E-11 & F-11.
  8. ^ "Order in Council No. 1716". Historical Orders In Council. Victoria, BC: Government of British Columbia. July 27, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  9. ^ "Order in Council No. 3159". Historical Orders In Council. Victoria, BC: Government of British Columbia. October 2, 1969. p. 2. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Landmark Kilometre Inventory (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2016. pp. 112, 404–412.
  11. ^ "Bow Valley Parkway Seasonal Travel Restriction - Banff National Park". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. April 1, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.

External links

Media related to Banff-Windermere Highway at Wikimedia Commons


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banff–Windermere_Highway&oldid=1154203180"