Crowsnest Highway
Crowsnest Highway | |
|---|---|
| Highway 3 | |
 The Crowsnest Highway highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 1,161 km (721 mi) |
| Existed | 1932–present |
| Component highways | BC 3, AB 3 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  Hwy 1 (TCH) near Hope |
| |
| East end |  Hwy 1 (TCH) in Medicine Hat |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Provinces | British Columbia, Alberta |
| Highway system | |
|
| |
| National Highway System | |
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The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in
In
Route description
Crowsnest Highway is designated a core route in Canada's National Highway System, and is designated as Highway 3 for its entire length.[1]
British Columbia
The Crowsnest Highway's western terminus is at Hope, where it branches off from the Trans-Canada Highway (
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Approximately 52 km (32 mi) east of Osoyoos, the Crowsnest Highway reaches its junction with Highway 33 at Rock Creek, then the highway heads east for 70 km (43 mi) to its junction with Highway 41, just before passing through Grand Forks. Another 26 km (16 mi) east, the Crowsnest Highway meets Highway 395 at the southern end of Christina Lake.[2] The Crowsnest Highway travels for 47 km (29 mi) through Bonanza Pass to its junction with Highway 3B at Nancy Greene Lake, which is the cutoff to Rossland and Trail. It is another 26 km (16 mi) east to Castlegar, where the Crowsnest Highway intersects Highway 22 and Highway 3A, leading towards Nelson. Approximately 26 km (16 mi) east of Castlegar, the Crowsnest Highway reaches its eastern junction with Highway 3B; another 11 km (6.8 mi) to the east it converges with Highway 6 at Salmo and the two highways share a concurrency for 14 km (9 mi) to Burnt Flat.[2]
The Crowsnest Highway continues through the
Alberta
The Alberta portion of the Crowsnest Highway is also designated as
After Coalhurst, the highway reaches Westview Drive W, which provides access to West Lethbridge. It then becomes a freeway named Crowsnest Trail as it reaches Highway 25 which branches north to Picture Butte while University Drive runs south to the University of Lethbridge as the main thoroughfare through West Lethbridge. Highway 3 again crosses the Oldman River in central Lethbridge and the freeway segment ends at Mayor Magrath Drive, marking the northern terminus of Highway 5. The highway meets the northern end of Highway 4 at the eastern limit of Lethbridge before continuing east to Coaldale and Taber.[3] Within Taber, Highway 36 runs concurrently with Highway 3 for 3 km (2 mi). The highway reduces to a two-lane undivided road and the Crowsnest Highway ends 113 km (70 mi) later at the Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat.
Future
Alberta Transportation has long-term plans to upgrade the entire Highway 3 corridor to a freeway from the British Columbia border to Medicine Hat.[4][5] The plans include the construction of a Lethbridge bypass to render the CANAMEX Corridor free-flowing through southern Alberta, in combination with proposed bypasses of Fort Macleod, Claresholm and Nanton.[6][7] The route would split from Highway 3 west of Coalhurst and run east, bypassing Lethbridge and Coaldale to the north before rejoining the existing highway.[7]
During the
Major intersections
The following is a list of major intersections along the Crowsnest Highway:[2][10][6][11]
| Province | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kamloops, Prince George | West end of Hwy 5 concurrency; exit 170 | ||||
| | 6.7 | 4.2 |  Kamloops | East end of Hwy 5 concurrency; exit 177 | |
Kamloops | |||||
Penticton | |||||
Kelowna, U.S. Border, Wenatchee | |||||
Kelowna | |||||
| near Grand Forks | 368.5 | 229.0 |  Hwy 41 south – U.S. Border | ||
| near Christina Lake | 392.1 | 243.6 |  Hwy 395 south – U.S. Border, Spokane | ||
| | 441.5 | 274.3 |  Hwy 3B east – Rossland, Trail | ||
| Castlegar | 467.9 | 290.7 |  Hwy 22 south – Rossland, Trail | ||
| 469.2 | 291.5 |  Hwy 3A east – Nelson | |||
| | 495.7 | 308.0 | Hwy 3B east – Trail, Rossland | ||
| Salmo | 506.1 | 314.5 |  Hwy 6 north – Nelson | West end of Hwy 6 concurrency | |
| | 520.2 | 323.2 | Hwy 6 south – U.S. Border, Spokane | East end of Hwy 6 concurrency | |
| Creston | 585.1 | 363.6 |  Hwy 21 south – U.S. Border, Coeur d'Alene | ||
| 586.5 | 364.4 |  Kootenay Lake Ferry, Nelson | |||
Yahk | 626.6 | 389.4 |  Hwy 95 south – U.S. Border, Coeur d'Alene | West end of Hwy 95 concurrency | |
| Cranbrook | 698.9 | 434.3 |  Hwy 95A north – Kimberley | ||
| | 704.3 | 437.6 |  Radium Hot Springs | East end of Hwy 95 concurrency; west end of Hwy 93 concurrency | |
| Elko | 760.1 | 472.3 | Hwy 93 south – U.S. Border, Kalispell | West end of Hwy 93 concurrency | |
Elkford | |||||
| Alberta – British Columbia border | 841.3 | 522.8 | Continental Divide ) | ||
Forestry Trunk Road ) | |||||
| near Turner Valley | |||||
| | 903.2 | 561.2 |  Waterton Park | ||
Calgary | West end of Hwy 2 concurrency | ||||
| 951.9 | 591.5 |  Waterton Park | East end of Hwy 2 concurrency; Red Coat Trail western terminus | ||
| | 973.1 | 604.7 |   Hwy 3A east to Hwy 23 north – Monarch, Vulcan | Eastbound access to Hwy 23 | |
Calgary | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance | ||||
Picture Butte | |||||
| 997.6 | 619.9 |   To Hwy 4 / Hwy 5 (1 Avenue S / Scenic Drive) / Red Coat Trail | East end of Red Coat Trail concurrency | ||
| 1,000.7 | 621.8 | Cardston | |||
| 1,003.1 | 623.3 | Hwy 4 south (43 Street) – Coutts, U.S. Border, Great Falls | |||
| Taber | 1,049.9 | 652.4 |  Hwy 36 south – Warner | West end of Hwy 36 concurrency | |
| 1,052.5 | 654.0 | Hwy 36 north – Vauxhall, Brooks | East end of Hwy 36 concurrency | ||
Hwy 41A east (Gershaw Drive SW) | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
See also
- CANAMEX Corridor
- Dewdney Trail
- Kettle Valley Railway (southern mainline of the CPR)
- Pan-American Highway
- Red Coat Trail
- Yellowhead Highway
References
- ^ "National Highway System". Transport Canada. December 13, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Official British Columbia Road Map and Parks Guide (Map). 1:463,600. Victoria, BC: Davenport Maps Ltd. 2016. §§ L-9, L-10, L-11, L-12.
- ^ a b Google (October 31, 2016). "Crownest Highway in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ "Highways 1 & 3 Network Functional Planning Study - Future Realignment - City of Medicine Hat - Executive Summary" (PDF). Stantec. Alberta Transportation. November 20, 2008. p. 5. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
...Alberta Transportation strives for a higher standard of roadway, and therefore seeks to protect the future Highways 1 and 3 for a 130 km/h design speed (110 km/h posted speed).
- ^ "Highway 3:14 Functional Planning Study - West of Burdett to West of Seven Persons" (PDF). ISL Engineering and Land Services. Alberta Transportation. June 2013. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
In the mid-2000s, Alberta Transportation (AT) identified the entirety of Highway 3 as part of the newly-designated freeway system.
- ^ a b "Provincial Highways 1 - 216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Major BC highway could reopen this weekend as new photos show huge damage along Coquihalla | News". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ Britten, Liam (7 December 2021). "Drivers urged to slow down on Hwy 3 as crashes mount on critical route for freight trucks". CBC News.
- ^ Nicol, Matthew; Horel, Steve (July 2015). "Landmark Kilometre Inventory" (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Cypher Consulting. pp. 74–113. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ^ Alberta Official Road Map (Map) (2010 ed.). Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation. § N-5, N–6, N-7, N–8.