Quote:
Originally Posted by ConundrumNL
A national highway system like the Interstates would be great, but I don't think it will happen, namely because of Canada's Constitution. The British North America Act (the primary document of Canada's Constitution) states that things like road construction, and railways are solely under the jurisdiction of the provinces (for the most part!). The Feds can provide funding though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_and_Undertakings
That being said a national system could still happen if all the provinces could agree on a numbering scheme and construction standards, but all I can say is good luck with that. |
If I were to design it, here is what I would do:
1-4: Main interprovincial and transcontinental east-west highways:
1 - Trans-Canada Highway from Montreal to Vancouver, then Autoroute 40 and Route 138 along the North Shore of the St. Lawrence.
2 - Highway 401, Autoroute 20 and then the Trans-Canada Highway on to Halifax (or St. John's).
3 - Southern Alternate route: Crowsnest Highway and Highways 13/18/3. Could also extend to Thunder Bay, but there would be a gap in the route due to the US border and Lake of the Woods.
4 - Yellowhead route (Portage la Prairie to Prince Rupert).
5-99: Primary routes. There would be no real geographic system, but the following priority order:
a) Highways acting as continuation of 2di US Interstates would keep that number. That affects 5, 15, 29, (35?), (75?), 81, 87, 89, 91, 95 and 96.
b) Routes of historical importance should keep/regain their historical importance.
c) If that route is clearly the most important of provincial routes with that number, it should take that number if not yet used. For example, Vancouver Island should have 19 run the entire length.
d) Remaining routes should be designated with no real priority.
100-199: Secondary routes: These are generally found in remote areas. Numbering is the same as for 5-99.
200-999: Loop and spur routes. The last two digits would indicate the route it is a deviation of. These numbers CAN repeat.
First digit 2, 4, 6 or 8: Alternate route. It could be an urban beltway/bypass/downtown route (such as Highway 7 in Fredericton) or it could be an alternate to the main route.
First digit 3, 5, 7 or 9: Spur route. It could be a route that reaches into a city (such as the Ville-Marie Autoroute in Montreal or Highway 118 in Halifax), or a connector route to another primary or off-route community.