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Trans-Canada Highway
Route Transcanadienne
Route information
Length	7,476 km (4,645 mi)Main route
Existed	July 30, 1962–present
Major junctions
From	Victoria and Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
To	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Location
Country	Canada
Major cities	Victoria, Vancouver, Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Greater Sudbury, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney, St. John's
Highway system
Trans-Canada Highway National Highway System

The Trans-Canada Highway (French: Route Transcanadienne; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast. The main route spans 7,476 km (4,645 mi) across the country, one of the longest routes of its type in the world. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers, although there are small variations in the markers in some provinces.

While by definition the Trans-Canada Highway is considered a highway system and has several parallel routes throughout most of the country, the term Trans-Canada Highway generally refers to the main route that consists of Highway 1 (British Columbia, Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba), Highway 17 and 417 (Ontario), Autoroute 40, 20 and 85 (Quebec), Highway 2 (New Brunswick), Highway 104 and 105 (Nova Scotia) and Highway 1 (Newfoundland). This route is 7,476km long, starts in Victoria and ends in St. John's, passes through nine of the ten provinces and connects most of the country's major cities, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Fredericton. While the other routes in the system are also technically part of the Trans Canada Highway, they are usually considered either secondary routes or considered to be different highways all together. For example, Highway 16 throughout Western Canada is part of the Trans Canada Highway system, but is almost exclusively referred to as the Yellowhead Highway and is often recognized as its own highway under that name. In comparison, Highway 1 in Western Canada is always referred to as the Trans-Canada Highway, and has a significantly higher traffic volume with a route passing through more major cities than the less important Highway 16 (Yellowhead) TCH route. Therefore Highway 1 is usually considered to be part of the main Trans-Canada Highway route, while Highway 16 is not.

Although the TCH network consists of strictly a transcontinental route, and does not enter any of Canada's three northern territories or run to the United States border, it does form part of Canada's overall National Highway System (NHS), which does provide connections to the Northwest Territories, Yukon and the Canada–United States border, although the NHS (apart from the TCH sections) is unsigned.It is also interesting to note that while the TCH network does connect to most of Canada's major cities, it does not pass near or connect to Toronto or the Golden Horseshoe, the country's most populous region.

Jurisdiction and designation

Canada's National Highway System is not under federal jurisdiction or coordination, as highway construction and maintenance are entirely under the jurisdiction of the individual provinces, who also handle route numbering on the Trans-Canada Highway. The Western provinces have voluntarily coordinated their highway numbers so that the main Trans-Canada route is designated Highway 1 and the Yellowhead route is designated Highway 16 throughout. East of Manitoba the highway numbers change at each provincial boundary, or within a province as the TCH piggybacks along separate provincial highways (which often continue as non-TCH routes outside the designated sections) en route. In addition, Ontario and Quebec use standard provincial highway shields to number the highway within their boundaries, but post numberless Trans-Canada Highway shields alongside them to identify it. As the Trans-Canada route was composed of sections from pre-existing provincial highways, it is unlikely that the Trans-Canada Highway will ever have a uniform designation across the whole country.

Highway design and standards

Unlike the Interstate Highway System in the United States, the Trans-Canada Highway system has no national construction standard, and was originally built mostly as a two-lane highway with few multilane freeway or expressway sections, similar to the United States Numbered Highway System. As a result, highway construction standards vary considerably among provinces and cities. In much of British Columbia, Ontario, and throughout Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trans-Canada Highway system is still in its original two-lane state. On the other hand New Brunswick is the only Province to have the whole length of the main TCH route upgraded to a 4 lane freeway standard. In Quebec most sections of the TCH network overlap with the province's Autoroute freeway system resulting in the Trans-Canada Highway following freeways throughout most of Quebec as well. Alberta and Saskatchewan also have upgraded large portions of their Trans-Canada Highway network, with their entire length of Highway 1 and most of Highway 16 upgraded to a four-lane divided highway albeit with at-grade intersections in most areas. British Columbia is actively working on converting its section of Highway 1 east of Kamloops to a four-lane, non freeway route. Currently over half of the mainline Trans-Canada Highway is still in its original 2 lane state with no bypasses, interchanges and few passing opportunities. Only about 15% of the mainline route is upgraded to freeway standards similar to those of the Interstate Highway system.

Like former U.S. Route 66 the many non expressway sections of the Trans-Canada Highway often form the Main Streets of communities with a wide variety of small business and traveler services having signage and buildings directly adjacent to the TCH and in some cases even driveways directly on to the highway. These tourist and traveler oriented business districts tend to generate significant revenue and employment for there respective communities, especially in the summer. However the heavy commercial development on many sections of highway can also cause traffic problems due to the lower speed limits, signal lights and crosswalks required to service them.

Freeway portions are rare compared to the length of the Trans-Canada Highway network. They exist over significant distances in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, Between Calgary and Banff, in Ontario and Quebec where the network overlaps portions of those provinces' 400-series highways and Autoroutes, across all of New Brunswick, and in the western part of Nova Scotia. Outside the freeway areas the highway ranges from being a high speed 4 lane rural expressway to a narrow winding substandard 2 lane route subject to dangerous driving conditions and frequent closures. In many cities, the main highway routes are forced onto busy arterial streets with lots of traffic lights Examples of this are where the route passes through Victoria, Nanaimo, Kamloops, and Salmon Arm, Calgary and Winnipeg. A TCH-designated expressway bypass exists around Winnipeg, although Highway 1 still passes through the city on surface streets. In Calgary, Stoney Trail provides a freeway bypass around its heavily congested urban arterial section of Trans-Canada Highway although Stoney Trail itself is not considered part of the TCH system.

The Trans-Canada Highway is not always the preferred route between two cities, or even across the country. For example, the vast majority of traffic travelling between Hope, British Columbia, and Kamloops takes the Coquihalla Highway via Merritt, which is a freeway, rather than the semi-parallel, but longer, Trans-Canada Highway route via Cache Creek, which remains a windy two-lane road. Another example is that much long-distance traffic between Western and Eastern Canada will drive south into the United States and use the Interstate Highway System, rather than the long, windy, two-lane Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario, which is slow and subject to frequent closure.

Main route

British Columbia

The main Trans-Canada Highway is uniformly designated as Highway 1 across the four western provinces. The B.C section of Highway 1 is 1045km long and begins in Victoria, British Columbia at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road (where the "Mile 0" plaque stands) and ends at the Alberta Border. The highway starts by passes northward along the east coast of Vancouver Island for 99 km (62 mi) to Nanaimo along a mostly 4 lane heavily signalized highway. After passing through downtown Nanaimo on a small arterial road it enters the Departure Bay Terminal and crosses over to Horseshoe Bay. From there it travels through the Metro Vancouver on a 4 to 8 lane freeway before leaving the city and continuing as a 4 lane freeway up the Fraser Valley to Hope. There the TCH then exits the freeway and turns north for 186 km (116 mi) through the Fraser and Thompson Canyons toward Cache Creek as a mostly 2 lane rural highway with only occasional traffic lights. Highway 5 provides a more direct freeway route between Hope and Kamloops leaving the Fraser Canyon route more as a scenic option or for local travel. At Kamloops highway 1 re-enters a short freeway alignment (briefly concurrent with Highways 5 and 97). From there, it continues east as a mostly two lane rural highway through the interior of B.C. with occasional passing lanes. It becomes a signalized 4 lane arterial road for short stretches in Salmon Arm, Revelstoke and Golden, but has no signal lights on it for most of its length. The highway crosses two high passes along its route, these are Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park and Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho National Park. At Kicking Horse Pass the highest point on the whole TCH highway system is reached, at 1,627 m (5,338 ft)).

Highway 1 in B.C has four freeway segments. These are in Victoria, through the Lower Mainland, in downtown Kamloops and east of Kamloops. The rest of the highway is either heavily signalized 4 lane routes or winding 2 lane route with passing lanes and occasional 4 lane sections. The freeway section of Highway 1 through Vancouver is notorious for its traffic and is one of the most congested roads in Canada. The Highway 1 approach from North Vancouver to the Ironworkers Crossing is known to regularly form traffic jams that are an hour long during rush hour. Farther east another section of Highway 1 freeway between Langley and Abbotsford is locally known for being congested all day long. Both of these bottlenecks are caused by a lack of effective alternative routes since Highway 1 is the only major east-west route through the city and the outdated 4 lane freeway being overcapacity. Smaller traffic delays are known to exist on the highway during rush hour in Kamloops and Victoria, and during long weekends at the Revelstoke and Kicking Horse Canyon bottlenecks. In addition to the traffic problems, Highway 1 over Rogers pass is considered Canada's most dangerous road due to frequent accidents, substandard highway construction, avalanche closures and terrible winter driving conditions.

Traffic moving eastbound or westbound between Vancouver Island and the BC interior can bypass the busiest sections of Highway 1 in Metro Vancouver and the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay Ferry using the South Fraser Perimeter Road (Highway 17). This route runs from Surrey to Victoria by way of the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and provides a shortcut that avoids the entire circuitous Vancouver Island route of the Trans-Canada with its numerous traffic lights and bottlenecks.

Speed limits on the British Columbia mainland segment of the Trans-Canada range from 100–90 km/h (62–56 mph), although in town it can be as low as 50 km/h (31 mph). A combination of difficult terrain and growing urbanization limits posted speeds on the Vancouver Island section to 50 km/h (31 mph) in urban areas, 80 km/h (50 mph) across the Malahat and through suburban areas, and a maximum of 90 km/h (56 mph) in rural areas.

The B.C government is currently attempting to fix the bottleneck at the Ironworkers approach and widening the highway to 6 lanes in Abbotsford to reduce traffic delays. It also is planning on upgrading the entire length of the highway between Kamloops and Alberta to 4 lanes by 2050 in order to improve safety and traffic operation. The later plan currently has several upgrade projects are under way, amounting to a total of 20 kilometres of new 4 lane highway currently under construction. Particularly important is current work to upgrade the remaining 5 kilometres of hazardous curvy 2-lane highway in the Kicking Horse Canyon, which had long been a traffic bottleneck and prone to frequent closure (travel speeds on this section of TCH are often as low as 30km/h). The construction fo no fewer than 5 bridges and extensive blasting is currently underway to upgrade the TCH to a 100km/h 4 lane highway though the area with completion scheduled for 2023. To avoid delay to traffic, the construction is largely done at night or during the shoulder season with a 1.5 hour long detour route in effect during those times.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

The Trans-Canada highway through the three prairie provinces is 1,667km long. It starts at the B.C border on Kicking Horse Pass and runs all the way to the Ontario border at Whiteshell. The highway continues first runs for 206 km (128 mi) east as Alberta Highway 1 to Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore and Calgary. This section of the highway is well known because it passes through world renown Banff National Park and is heavily traveled by tourists. The section of Highway 1 through the Banff was also one of the first highways in North America to have wildlife crossing structures and fencing installed on it. After leaving the mountains it arrives at Calgary where it becomes known as 16 Avenue N, a busy 6 lane street with many signalized intersections. The northwest and northeast segments of Stoney Trail (Highway 201) were completed in 2009, serving as an east–west limited-access highway (freeway) that bypasses the Calgary segment of Highway 1 (Although Stoney Trail itself is not part of the TCH network). For the next 293 km (182 mi), the Trans-Canada continues as an expressway with few stops along its route. Medicine Hat is served by a series of 6 interchanges, after which the TCH crosses into Saskatchewan on the way to Moose Jaw. The highway mainly travels straight as a four lane route for most of these sections. The expressway continues 79 km (49 mi) east to the city of Regina, skirting around the city on the Regina Bypass, the most expensive infrastructure project in Saskatchewan to date. Beyond Regina it continues east into Manitoba to the cities of Brandon and Portage la Prairie, and finally 84 km (52 mi) east to Winnipeg. The southern portion of Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway (Highway 100) is part of the Trans-Canada system and bypasses the city with a mix of traffic lights and interchanges, while Highway 1 continues through central Winnipeg as a signalized arterial road.

With the exception a tiny 15 km stretch of two lane highway just east of the Ontario Border, the entire length of Highway 1 through the Prairie Provinces is a 4 lane highway. While the only true freeway sections of the route are along the Regina Bypass, in Medicine Hat and between Calgary and Banff, the whole highway is largely signal light free with "split" at grade intersections forming the vast majority of the junctions. Because the highway has bypasses around all of the major cities traffic congestion is virtually non existent on any prairie section on Highway 1. These sections of divided highway are also generally reliable and safe to travel on, unlike sections of Highway 1 in B.C. and Ontario

The speed limit is restricted to 90 km/h (56 mph) through national parks in Canada, including Banff National Park. East of Banff, most of Highway 1 through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba is 110 km/h (68 mph), but is 100 km/h (62 mph) east of Winnipeg.

Alberta Transportation has plans to upgrade its whole length of Highway 1 to a 4-8 lane freeway by replacing all at grade intersections with overpasses, however it has not set a timeline for doing so. There has also been talk of realigning over 100 kilometres of Highway 1 from its existing route on to an upgraded Highway 22X when the west sections of Calgary Ring Road are complete, resulting in a designated TCH bypass freeway route south of the city, but no official announcements have been made.

Ontario

East of Winnipeg, the highway continues for over 200 kilometres (120 mi) to Kenora, Ontario. At the provincial border, the expressway downgrades to an arterial highway and the numeric designation of the highway changes from 1 to 17. It is signed with a provincial shield along with a numberless TCH sign and continues as an arterial highway along the main route across Northern and Eastern Ontario until upgrading to a freeway at Arnprior Near Ottawa. In Kenora, the Trans-Canada designation includes both the main route through the city's urban core and the 33.6 km (20.9 mi) Highway 17A bypass route. The existing branch from Kenora continues east for 136 km (85 mi) to Dryden.The highway passes through the Canadian Shield, a rugged forested area with thousands of lakes. There are many cottage communities along this section of the TCH, some of which have their driveways directly onto the highway.

Highway 11/Highway 17 proceeds southeast for 65 km (40 mi) to Thunder Bay, then northeast for 115 km (71 mi) to Nipigon. An 83-kilometre (52 mi) segment of the Trans-Canada Highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon is commemorated as the Terry Fox Courage Highway. Fox was forced to abandon his cross-country Marathon of Hope run here, and a bronze statue of him was later erected in his honour. The highway is the only road that connects eastern and western Canada. On January 10, 2016, the Nipigon River Bridge suffered a mechanical failure, closing the Trans-Canada Highway for 17 hours; the only alternative was to go through the United States, around the south side of Lake Superior.

Highway 17 proceeds east from Nipigon for 581 km (361 mi) along the northern and eastern coast of Lake Superior. Between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie the highway crosses the Montreal River Hill, which sometimes becomes a bottleneck on the system in the winter when inclement weather can make the steep grade virtually impassable. At Sault Ste. Marie, the main route turns eastward for 291 km (181 mi) to Sudbury.

The mainline route continues east from Sudbury for 151 km (94 mi) to North Bay. The northern route rejoins the mainline here, which continues 339 km (211 mi) to Arnprior where is upgrades to a freeway numbered 417 as one of Ontario's 400-series provincial controlled-access highways. The freeway continues to Ottawa which is passes through on the 6-8 lane highway 417 freeway. In Southern Ontario, the speed limit is generally 80 km/h (50 mph) on the Trans-Canada, while in Northern Ontario it is 90 km/h (56 mph). Sections routed along Highway 417 feature a higher limit of 100 km/h (62 mph).

While Highway 17 and 417 are largely free from traffic congestion except from minor rush hour delays on Ottawa's stretch of Highway 417, the non freeway sections of are subject to frequent clousures due to accidents, especially in winter. It is considered a dangerous route due to its extensive outdated sections of winding 2 lane highway. Because the highway passes through a largely undeveloped and forested area, collisions with animals are a common cause of accidents.

Ontario plans to eventually extend the 417 freeway to Sudbury, which will upgrade the section of the mainline TCH between Ottawa and Sudbury to 4 lane freeway standards. However there is no funding secured for such a project as Ontario is currently focusing on extending Highway 400 to Sudbury along the Highway 69 corridor first (which is part of the Southern Ontario TCH route).

Quebec

From Ottawa, the Trans-Canada Highway continues as a freeway and proceeds 206 km (128 mi) east to Montreal, as Highway 417 in Ontario (and the Queensway in Ottawa) and Autoroute 40 in Quebec. The Trans-Canada assumes the name Autoroute Métropolitaine (also known as "The Met" or "Metropolitan Boulevard") as it traverses Montreal as an elevated freeway. At the Laurentian interchange, in Montreal, the Abitibi route (Highway 66, Route 117, A-15) rejoins the main TCH line. The TCH then follows Autoroute 25 southbound, crossing the St. Lawrence River through the 6-lane Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel, and proceeds northeast on Autoroute 20 for 257 km (160 mi) to Lévis (across from Quebec City).

East of Lévis, the Trans-Canada Highway continues on Autoroute 20 following the south bank of the St. Lawrence River to a junction just south of Rivière-du-Loup, 173 km (107 mi) northeast of Lévis. At that junction, the highway turns southeast and changes designation to Autoroute 85 for 13 km (8 mi), and then downgrades from a freeway to Route 185, a non-Autoroute (not limited-access) standard highway until Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! where Autoroute 85 resumes once again. The portion from Autoroute 20 to Edmundston, New Brunswick is approximately 120 km (75 mi) long.

Since the TCH follows Quebec's Autoroute System, which is always composed of minimum 4 lane freeway travel through Quebec is generally, safe, fast and congestion free. The exception is the route through Montreal, which can be prone to traffic congestion, especially during rush hours. However thorough drivers can easily plan ahead and bypass the city on the non TCH Autoroute 30 freeway.

The maximum speed limit on the Quebec Autoroute System (including the TCH) is a strictly enforced 100 km/h (62 mph), however the speed limit may be lower in select spots as in the tunnel or at major interchanges. The use of radar detectors is banned in Quebec with violators paying steep fines and the device often being confiscated.

Quebec is currently working on it's filling 36km long gap in Autoroute 85, with 9km on new freeway having opened in 2021 and another 20 kilometres of freeway currently under construction. Once this project is complete all of Quebec's Mainline TCH route will be upgraded to minimum 4 lane freeway standards.

New Brunswick

Following the designation of Route 2, from Edmundston, the highway (again signed exclusively with the TCH shield) follows the Saint John River Valley, running south for 170 km (110 mi) to Woodstock (paralleling the Canada–US border) and then east for another 102 km (63 mi) to pass through Fredericton. 40 km (25 mi) east of Fredericton, the Saint John River turns south whereby the highway crosses the river at Jemseg and continues heading east to Moncton another 135 km (84 mi) later. On November 1, 2007, New Brunswick completed a 20-year effort to convert its 516 km (321 mi) section of the Trans-Canada Highway into a four-lane limited-access divided highway (freeway). The highway has a speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph) on most of its sections in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick was the first province where the main route of the Trans Canada Highway was made entirely into a four-lane limited-access divided highway (freeway).

From Moncton, the highway continues southeast for 54 km (34 mi) to a junction at Aulac close to the New Brunswick–Nova Scotia border (near Sackville) where the Trans-Canada Highway splits into the main route continuing to the nearby border with Nova Scotia as Route 2, and a 70 km (43 mi) route designated as Route 16 which runs east to the Confederation Bridge at Cape Jourimain.

Nova Scotia

From the New Brunswick border, the main Trans-Canada Highway route continues east into Nova Scotia at Amherst, where it follows the designation of provincial Highway 104. Southeast of Amherst, near Thomson Station, the highway traverses the Cobequid Pass, a 45 kilometre (28 mi) tolled section ending at Masstown, before passing by Truro, where it links with Highway 102 to Halifax, 117 km (73 mi) east of the New Brunswick border. Halifax, like Toronto, is a provincial capital not serviced by the Trans-Canada Highway. Beyond Truro, the highway continues east for 57 km (35 mi) to New Glasgow where it meets Highway 106 before continuing to the Canso Causeway which crosses the Strait of Canso to Cape Breton Island near Port Hawkesbury. From the Canso Causeway, the highway continues east, now designated as Highway 105 on Cape Breton Island until reaching the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal at North Sydney.

Newfoundland and Labrador

From North Sydney, a 177 km (110 mi) ferry route, operated by the Crown corporation Marine Atlantic, continues the highway to Newfoundland, arriving at Channel-Port aux Basques, whereby the Trans-Canada Highway assumes the designation of Highway 1 and runs northeast for 219 km (136 mi) through Corner Brook, east for another 352 km (219 mi) through Gander and finally ends at St. John's, another 334 km (208 mi) southeast, for a total of 905 km (562 mi) crossing the island. The majority of the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland is undivided, though sections in Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, Glovertown and a 75 km section from Whitbourne to St. John's are divided.

"Mile zero"

Although there does not appear to be any nationally sanctioned "starting point" for the entire Trans-Canada Highway system, St. John's has adopted this designation for the section of highway running in the city by using the term "Mile One" for its sports stadium and convention centre complex, Mile One Centre. However, the foot of East White Hills Road in St. John's, near Logy Bay Road, would be a more precise starting point of the highway, where the road meets and transfers into the start of the Trans-Canada Highway. The terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria, located at the foot of Douglas Street and Dallas Road at Beacon Hill Park, is also marked by a "mile zero" monument. The usage of miles instead of kilometres at both designations dates back to when the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1971 prior to the metrication in Canada.

Other routes

Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway)

The Yellowhead Highway is a 2,859 km Highway in Western Canada running from Masset, British Columbia to where it intersects Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) just west of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. It is designated as Highway 16 in all four provinces that it crosses through (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba). It follows a more northerly east-west route across Western Canada than the main TCH and passes through fewer cities with Edmonton being the largest on the route. Other major municipalities on the route include Prince Rupert, Prince George, Lloydminster and Saskatoon. The Yellowhead highway is most well known for passing through Jasper National Park in Alberta where it crosses the Rocky Mountains on its namesake Yellowhead Pass. Since it carries significantly less traffic than its more southerly counterpart the Yellowhead is almost exclusively a 2 lane highway in Manitoba and British Columbia and is only partially upgraded to 4 lane expressway standards in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Until recently the Yellowhead highway had its own unique highway number signs, but they have now mostly been replaced with standard Maple Leaf TCH signs.

Highway 11 and 66 (Northern Ontario Routes)

The 1,547km section of Highway 11 between Kenora, Ontario and North Bay, Ontario is considered to be part of the Trans-Canada Highway. This Highway first runs south of the Main TCH route between Kenora and Thunder Bay, passing through the town of Fort Frances on the U.S. border . Then after running concurrently with the main TCH route (Highway 17) it splits off to the north running through a vast sparsely populated area of northern Ontario. This highway see very little long distance traffic compared to the main route and is mainly used to locals, the area is also not well known as tourist destination. A much shorter 60km section of Highway 66 connects a another northern TCH route to Quebec's Highway 117 which itself continues the TCH route to Montreal after connecting with Autoroute 15. The main Highway 11 continues south until it intersect the main TCH route (Highway 17) in North Bay. Both of these highways are exclusively 2 lane undivided routes.

Highway 69, 400, 12 and 7 (Southern Ontario Route)

The southern Ontario TCH route is even more abstract than the northern ones. It uses four different highway numbers, and is largely non-functional as a major long distance corridor due to its roundabout route, complete avoidance of the Toronto area, and frequent passing through towns. It is a 671 km-long alternate route to Highway 17 (the mainline TCH) between Sudbury and Ottawa. It passes through several major communities, including Orillia and Peterborough. Because it passes closer to major population centres, this section of the TCH sees higher traffic volumes. It is made up of various fragments of freeways, expressways and two-lane routes.

Prince Edward Island Route

Another TCH spur route splits off the mainline in eastern New Brunswick. This route connects to Prince Edward Island across the 13km long Confederation Bridge, crosses the central part of island including through Charlottetown, the capital city before crossing back to the mainland on a ferry. The length of the route is 234km and consists of New Brunswick Highway 16, Prince Edward Island Highway 1 and Nova Scotia Highway 106. This leg of TCH sees moderately high traffic volumes and is a important tourist route for those wishing to visit Prince Edward Island. The Confederation Bridge is often viewed as a attraction in itself. Although the highway is mostly a 2 lane route, the 2 lane sections in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are built as a super two expressway.

Bypasses

Two short bypasses are also considered part of the TCH system. These includes the 42-kilometre-long (26 mi) Perimeter Highway 100 bypass around Winnipeg which provides a expressway standard alternative to the crowded Highway 1 in the city centre, and the 34-kilometre-long (21 mi) Kenora Bypass (Highway 17A) which is a two-lane route that bypasses the entire town.

History

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Predecessor Routes

Early on much of the route of the Trans-Canada Highway was first explored in order to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1800s a route which much of the mainline TCH route later ended up following.

The Trans-Canada Highway was not the first road across Canada. In B.C the highway was predated by the Crowsnest Highway, the Big Bend Highway and the Cariboo Highway all of which were constructed during the Great Depression era. Many of the earlier highways in B.C. were largely gravel and had many frequent inland ferry crossings at rivers and lakes. In Alberta the section between Calgary and Banff was predated by the Morley Trail (now Highway 1A) which was drivable starting in the 1910s and paved in the 1930s. The first route over the Central Canadian Rockies to connect Calgary to B.C was the Banff–Windermere Parkway opened in 1922 now part of Highway 93. Sections of road across the Prairies existed since the 1920s. A gravel road connection across northern Ontario (Highway 17) was constructed in starting in 1931. While this section was largely open by the late 1930s, it was not fully completed 1951(in a large part due to the World War II interrupting construction). However despite the gap vehicles could still cross the county by getting ferried across the relatively short stretch by either rail or water.

Opening

The system was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1949, with construction commencing in 1950. The highway officially opened in 1962, with the completion of the Rogers Pass section of highway between Golden and Revelstoke. This section of highway bypassed the original Big Bend Highway, the last remaining section of gravel highway on the route. Upon its original completion, the Trans-Canada Highway was the longest uninterrupted highway in the world. Construction on other legs continued until 1971 when the last gap on Highway 16 was completed in the Fraser Valley east of Prince George, the highway network was then consider complete.

Since completion (1960-2000)

When the Trans-Canada Highway first opened, it was almost exclusively a 2 lane route for its whole length across the country. While at the time it was considered a major improvement to the gravel roads and ferries it replaced, it was soon found in-sufficient to handle the growing traffic volumes. In response several provinces began to construct realignments, freeway upgrades and twin sections of highway in order to improve traffic flow and safety.

In B.Cs Lower Mainland, the Upper Levels Freeway alignment was opened in 1960 with the completion of the Second Narrows Crossing, which bypassed the TCH around downtown Vancouver's streets and the narrow Lions Gate Bridge. The 4 lane Upper Levels Freeway was crudely construction with narrow lanes, low overpasses and no proper merge ramps. It remains in that state in the present day. Highway 1 was rerouted onto a new a 4 lane freeway bypass between Vancouver and Chilliwack that opened in 1962 and 1964. This section of highway was originally part of B.C's 400-series highways until the designation was replaced by Highway 1. A TCH (Highway 1) freeway alignment between Chilliwack and Hope opened in 1986. The opening of the Cassiar Tunnel in 1990 rendered the whole alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Lower Mainland to a largely 4 lane freeway. All bypasses sections of the highway were absorbed into various urban and rural road networks. The older freeways in the Lower Mainland were largely built as a parkway style design with wide forested medians and low overpasses (a road configuration that was common across North America at the time). The opening of the Coquihalla Highway in 1986 left much of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon functionally obsolete with the freeway bypass taking an hour and a half less time to drive. However the route was retained as part of the TCH system despite being considered nothing more than a scenic route in the present. The opening of the Coquihalla was a economic disaster for the many of towns along the Fraser Canyon section of the TCH since most of the travel and tourism business along the route quickly dried up when most of the traffic took the new highway. The towns continue to be largely deprived fo wealth and some are close to being abandoned. On the other hand Merritt, located mid way up the new Coquihalla highway, ended up booming and continues to grow as a tourism and travel centre into the present. The Coquihalla project also realigned Highway 1 (TCH) to a new freeway bypass around Kamloops. Plans for a freeway to bypass or eliminate traffic congestion and road hazards along the heavily travelled route from Victoria to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island were cancelled during the recession that followed the 1987 stock market crash. .

In Alberta between 1964 and 1972, the TCH was completely rerouted from its former 2 lane alignment along the Bow River to a new more direct 4 lane freeway between Banff and Calgary resulting in the bypassing of several towns. Prior to this upgrade, one of the first traffic circles in Canada existed on Highway 1 at the "gateway" junction for Banff from at least as early as the 50s. It was located at the same spot that where the current interchange for Highway 1 and Banff Avenue is. In the rest of Banff National Park much of the predecessor Highway 1 parkway was bypassed by a new two lane TCH route in the 1960s. The original route between Banff and Lake Louise remains as the Bow Valley Parkway and Lake Louise Drive while a section over Kicking Horse Pass was abandoned and is now part of the Great Divide Trail. Between 1973 and 1990 the highway was twinned from Calgary to the Saskatchewan Border. In 1970 plans were made for a 6-8 lane freeway to carry the Trans-Canada Highway though the heart of North Calgary, but the plan was soon dropped due to citizen outcry.

Between Ottawa and the Ontario-Quebec border, the Trans-Canada Highway designation was taken from the two-lane Highway 17 and applied to the existing Highway 417 freeway in 1997–98. On April 1, 1997, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) transferred the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep along 14.2 km (8.8 mi) of Highway 17 east of "the split" with Highway 417 to Trim Road (Regional Road 57), a process commonly referred to as downloading. The Region of Ottawa–Carleton designated the road as Regional Road 174. Despite the protests of the region that the route served a provincial purpose, a second round of transfers saw Highway 17 within Ottawa downloaded entirely on January 1, 1998. An additional 12.8 km (8.0 mi) was added to the length of Regional Road 174. The highway was also downloaded within the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, where it was redesignated as County Road 17. The result of these transfers was the truncation of Highway 17 at the western end of Highway 417. 1990 saw the opening of the 2 lane Kenora Bypass providing through traffic with a way to avoid the congested town.

Starting in the 1960s Quebec began to build the Autoroute network. Many sections of Trans-Canada Highway were upgraded to freeway standards during that era of highway construction. Creation of Autoroutes continues to the present, with a 9km freeway section of Autoroute 85 (TCH) opening in 2021.

Starting in 1987 New Brunswick began to upgrade its section of TCH to 4 lanes. Work to make the route a full freeway began in the late 1990s and was completed in 2007.

The 13 kilometre long Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to New Brunswick opened in 1997 eliminating the ferry that previously carried that TCH route, it was hailed as a major accomplishment during its opening.

Recent Improvements (2000-2021)

In 2000 and 2001, the federal Transport ministry headed by Jean Chrétien considered funding an infrastructure project to have the full Trans-Canada system converted to limited-access divided highways. Although construction funding was made available to some provinces for portions of the system, the federal government ultimately decided not to pursue a comprehensive limited-access highway conversion. Opposition to funding the limited-access upgrade was due to low traffic levels on parts of the Trans-Canada.

Prior to the start of the Great Recession in 2008, the highway underwent some upgrades through the Rocky Mountains from Banff National Park to Golden, British Columbia. A major piece of this project was completed on August 30, 2007 with the new Park Bridge and Ten Mile Hill sections opening up 16 kilometres of new 4 lane highway. Other smaller 4 lane upgrade projects on the TCH in the B.C. interior were also built around the same time. As part of the Gateway Program old sections of congested 4 lane Highway 1 freeway in the Metro Vancouver were upgraded to a modern 8 lane build out starting in 2012. This project continues into the present with the current goal of rebuilding the freeway to a modern, minimum 6 lane layout from Langley to Abbotsford by 2025.

The twinning of the highway in Alberta's Banff National Park continued with 4 lane highway open as far as the Highway 93 junction North of Lake Louise by winter 2010. Parks Canada completed twinning the final 8.5 km (5.3 mi) of Highway 1 between Lake Louise and the British Columbia border, with the new alignment opened to traffic on June 12, 2014 making the whole length of Alberta's Main TCH route a minimum 4 lane route. Stoney Trail began construction in 2005 and was usable as bypass around Calgary when the NE section opened in 2010. Although not part of the TCH route, Stoney Trail plays a critical role in providing TCH through traffic with a way around the city.

During the 2000s much of the Trans-Canada Highway through Saskatchewan and Manitoba was twinned. In 2019 the Regina Bypass opened resulting the TCH being realigned around the city bypassing a section of heavily signalized arterial road on Victoria Avenue.

In 2012, a series of free public electric vehicle charging stations were installed along the main route of the highway by a private company, Sun Country Highway, permitting electric vehicle travel across the entire length, as demonstrated by the company's president, Kent Rathwell, in a publicity trip in a Tesla Roadster. As of 2012, this made it the longest electric-vehicle-ready highway in the world.

The 2010s saw the improvement of other routes in the TCH system as well. Ontario Highway 400 began to be extended towards Sudbury replacing Highway 69 resulting in a freeway alignment for part of the Southern Ontario TCH Route. Construction on this project continues in the present with almost 25 kilometres of freeway currently under construction.

Edmonton is currently attempting to upgrade it's urban section of Highway 16 to a 6 lane freeway. large amounts of Highway 16 in Alberta were twinned during the 2000s.

Despite these many upgrades, over half of the mainline Trans Canada highway still remains in it's original 2 lane state and only about 15% of the mainline's length is composed of freeway comparable to that of the U.S Interstate Highway System.

See also

• Canadian (train)
• List of Canadian highways by province
• Trans-Canada Trail

References

1. "Trans-Canada Highway: Bridging the Distance". CBC Digital Archives.
2. "Trans-Canada Highway". Unpublished Guides. Library and Archives of Canada. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
3. Donaldson MacLeod (2014). "THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY – A Major Link in Canada's Transportation System" (PDF). Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada. Transportation Association of Canada.
4. "The world's longest highways". roadtraffic-technology.com. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
5. "National Highway System" (PDF). Transport Canada. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
6. ^ "Highway 1 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
7. ^ "Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan and Manitoba" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
8. "Manitoba Trans-Canada Speed Limit Goes Up to 110 km/h Today". CBC Manitoba. 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
9. ^ "Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
10. "Nipigon River Bridge on Trans-Canada Highway partially reopens". CBC News. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
11. "The Montreal River hill: Nine years for nothing?". Northern Ontario Business. May 16, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
12. ^ "Trans-Canada Highway in Eastern Canada" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
13. "Trans-Canada Highway Act". Department of Justice Canada. R.S.C. 1970, c. T-12. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
14. "The Trans-Canada Highway". Transport Canada.
15. MacLeod, Donaldson (2014). "The Trans-Canada Highway: A Major Link in Canada's Transportation System" (PDF). Transportation Association of Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
16. Department of Public Works and Services (September 14, 2004). Responsibilities and Obligations Re: Highway 174 (Report). City of Ottawa. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
17. Millier Dickinson Blais (February 16, 2010). "4.2 Linking to the Megaregion". Economic Development Plan – Final Report (Report). Prescott-Russell Community Development Corporation. pp. 41–42. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
18. Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Geomatics Office. Ministry of Transportation. 1999.
19. Schmidt, Colleen (June 13, 2014). "Crews Complete Twinning of Trans-Canada Through Banff National Park". CTV Calgary. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
20. Caulfield, Jane (December 11, 2012). "Electrifying Trip Along the Trans-Canada Highway Pit Stops in Saskatchewan". Metro. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
21. "World's Longest Greenest Highway Project: Item Details". Sun Country Highway. Retrieved July 11, 2019.

External links

• Trans-canada highway.com—Detailed province by province description, history, and itineraries
• Dirt Roads to Freeways … And All That, ca.1970s, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel
• Ten Mile Hill Project Trans-Canada in B.C. HD Video
• Trans-Canada Road Trip - Details, blog and photographs from a road trip on the TCH coast to coast in 2018

v t e Routes of the Trans-Canada Highway system
British Columbia	Highway 1 Highway 5 Highway 16
Alberta	Highway 1 Highway 16
Saskatchewan	Highway 1 Highway 16
Manitoba	Highway 1 Highway 16 Highway 100
Ontario	Highway 17 Highway 69 Highway 400 Highway 12 Highway 7 Highway 71 Highway 11 Highway 66 Highway 417
Quebec	Autoroute 40 Autoroute 25 Autoroute 20 Autoroute 85 Route 185 Route 117 Autoroute 15
New Brunswick	Route 2 Route 16
	Confederation Bridge
Prince Edward Island	Route 1
Nova Scotia	Highway 104 Highway 105 Highway 106
Newfoundland	Route 1
Category Roads portal Canada portal WikiProject

• Trans-Canada Highway