Highways In Canada II

[flipper316]

Honestly jealous of the quality and quantity of highways in Alberta compared to BC.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Honestly jealous of the quality and quantity of highways in Alberta compared to BC.

The Rocky Mountain also acts as a divide of road-building philosophies.
An example will be B.C.-2 near Tupper and AB-43.
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Ps: There’s a photo of A-13 in Quebec on the previous page by @sonysnob.

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Honestly jealous of the quality and quantity of highways in Alberta compared to BC.

Isn't it rather easier to build in Alberta, though?

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

The Rocky Mountain also acts as a divide of road-building philosophies.
An example will be B.C.-2 near Tupper and AB-43.

I'm curious as to what difference you are referring to with this example. Looking at where they meet on Street View, they seem to be comparable.

[Dengler Avenue]

I'm curious as to what difference you are referring to with this example. Looking at where they meet on Street View, they seem to be comparable.

AB-43 is divided 4 lanes for the most part. As for B.C.-2, which is an extension of AB-43, even where it’s got 4 lanes, it’s undivided 4 lanes instead.

So, imagine: Even if B.C. and Alberta agree to widen B.C.-2 and AB-43 to 4 lanes all the way to Fort St. John, at the border, you’re gonna see the divided 4 lanes in Alberta become undivided 4 lanes in B.C.
I’d imagine the same thing for Crowsnest Highway.
TCH is the only exception.

[dmuzika]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Just getting the Trans Canada and Highway 2 from Edmonton down to Coutts to not have any stoplights and be a single, direct, 4-lane, median separated highway should be the goal.

Fretting about small farm crossings isn't a huge deal, other than perhaps between Calgary and Edmonton. There just really shouldn't be any stoplights.

Alberta needs to focus on the Strathmore Bypass, the Fort Macleod bypass, connect Highway 4 to 3 in Lethbridge with a freeway, build some interchanges in Medicine Hat, etc.

The farm crossings slong Hwy 2 in Mountain View County needed to be closed 25 years ago. There's maybe one that could be grade separated between Olds and Bowden, but the rest could be consolidated to the existing interchanges at Carstairs, Didsbury, and Olds. The province is studying an interchange at 338 Avenue, due east of Okotoks, which combined with a few at grade closures would make it free flowing as far south as High River. While the at grade crossings in Mountain View County are annoying, the ones northeast of Okotoks actually are a legitimate safety concern with all the acreages in the area.

The two bypasses that might not get enough attention are Nanton and Claresholm. Like Fort Macleod and TCH 16 through Edson, Hwy 2 is a one-way pair through Nanton with a 50 km/h speed limit and unlimited access, and can get pretty busy over the weekend. Claresholm isn't much better, and boasts the first traffic light on Hwy 2 south of Edmonton. That might have been a cute marketing tag line 20 years ago, but with the growth of the Calgary and Lethbridge, and province overall, it's time for a bypass. The Fort Macleod bypass is also needed, especially with the focus of twinning Hwy 3. A lot of traffic uses Hwy 519 & 23 between Granum and Monarch to bypass Fort Macleod, but it's only two lanes and isn't designed for that. Fort Macleod has an at-grade railway crossing with a fairly busy CP line, which is unacceptable for two major highways.

I also think Alberta should move the Highway 2 designation to Highway 4. Highway 2, especially south of Edmonton, is synonymous with being a major north-south highway with Lethbridge is the control city south of Calgary and Coutts is the major US border crossing, yet it doesn't go through either. Having recently traveled Hwy 2 and US 89, it feels like a different world from the section north of Fort Macleod. It would make more sense IMO for it to continue to I-15.

[foolworm]

Isn't Highway 413 supposed to be moving ahead as well? That is probably the biggest road project in Canada right now, bar none.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by foolworm

Isn't Highway 413 supposed to be moving ahead as well? That is probably the biggest road project in Canada right now, bar none.

Nothing has started for Hwy 413. We will likely know by Spring if the ON government is actually going ahead. My guess is that it will depend on the state of the economy. There is also the argument that a deal with Hwy 407 ETR would be much cheaper.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

Isn't it rather easier to build in Alberta, though?

That makes for a good excuse for Victoria not spending any money on it's highways but is not based on reality.

Relatively VERY few people actually live in the mountainous areas of BC as 95% live in valleys. HWY#1 from Langley to Chilliwack is as flat as a rock as is HWY#99 from Vancouver to the US Border. On the Island, except for the Malahat, the entire highway to CR is not more hilly than you get anywhere else in the country. Same goes for the route from Cache Creek to Prince George, and even a good chunk of HWY#1 from Kamloops to Salmon Arm. Even most of the Okanagan is not very hiily due, once again, to being in a valley.

When you consider that any of the Coastal cities have near non-existent snow removal, the budget difference is glaring. Yes, BC does have the expense of the Ferries but they sure charge you enough to take them. BC's highway system is truly horrid but that's due to choice not geography.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Nothing has started for Hwy 413. We will likely know by Spring if the ON government is actually going ahead. My guess is that it will depend on the state of the economy. There is also the argument that a deal with Hwy 407 ETR would be much cheaper.

The province is trying to move forward on the highway, they were out for more consultation on it, including introducing an online detailed alignment viewer on the website, a few months ago:

https://experience.arcgis.com/experi...f07c17c1ac346/

They are trying to get out of the Federal EA designation right now. If that happens, they will be able to save several years of approvals. We'll have to see if that happens.

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Sometimes I wish that Highway 2 punches through Edmonton as a freeway all the way past Highway 37, just like through Calgary.

Same, it could be done if the Manning Drive /Fort Road / Wayne Gretzky Drive / 75 Street corridor is upgraded. That lead from Gateway Boulevard and the Whitemud, which is already mainly free-flow. I doubt it will happen now unless the GOA gets involved though, as it would be very expensive to retrofit that corridor into a free-flowing configuration.

[flipper316]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada...s-crash#466204

Wtf . An interchange is not even in the talks . Is Manitoba anti freeway like BC is.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by flipper316

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada...s-crash#466204

Wtf . An interchange is not even in the talks . Is Manitoba anti freeway like BC is.

In the long term, it is.

[Innsertnamehere]

To be fair that intersection would be pretty far down the priority list for an interchange in Manitoba. Letting it jump the priority list to the top would be political.

Doesn’t mean Manitoba shouldn’t be spending more on interchanges.. but there are probably 15-20 higher priority spots first.

[Metro-One]

Unlike BC Manitoba has no excuse. The terrain is relatively easy and cheap to build full freeway grade highways.

In fact outside of Edmonton and Calgary (and to some extent Saskatoon) the highway quality in the Prairies is really bad considering the low cost and easy terrain.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Unlike BC Manitoba has no excuse. The terrain is relatively easy and cheap to build full freeway grade highways.

In fact outside of Edmonton and Calgary (and to some extent Saskatoon) the highway quality in the Prairies is really bad considering the low cost and easy terrain.

Flat terrain can be geologically deceptive, though. One will have to check what kind of soil is underneath.
Also, if the terrain is too flat, drainage becomes problematic. That’s why floodways are needed to protect Winnipeg. This is also probably why interchanges on Winnipeg Perimeter Highway (and at Deacon’s Corners, for that matter) are hard to come by.
The best terrain for road building is the rolling hills of Saint Lawrence Lowland in Southern Ontario (and parts of Quebec).

In a sense, Interior B.C. and Manitoba may be at two geological extremes, with Greater Golden Horseshoe right in the middle, the sweet spot* (for constructions).
* Not anywhere near Niagara Escarpment, that is.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

In a sense, Interior B.C. and Manitoba may be at two geological extremes, with Greater Golden Horseshoe right in the middle, the sweet spot* (for constructions).
* Not anywhere near Niagara Escarpment, that is.

And, what explains the expansive expressway network in NB and NS (aside from federal largesse)?

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

And, what explains the expansive expressway network in NB and NS (aside from federal largesse)?

Private Public Partnership (done right), which hasn’t been attempted in either B.C. or Manitoba

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Unlike BC Manitoba has no excuse. The terrain is relatively easy and cheap to build full freeway grade highways.

Everyone is screaming for an interchange here (and along the rest of the Trans Canada). However.... not only does Manitoba need to find the funds for this but it will cost them more in the future to maintain it.

I think political pressure will ultimately result in a simple interchange here, despite traffic volumes not warranting it. It could be a catalyst to build more interchanges on the Trans Canada and if a political party pledges to do that, it's a big vote grab for the next election.

Getting the Trans Canada up to freeway standards from Calgary to the Ontario border seems fairly simple to do on paper, but it just comes down to $.

(I'd also love to see a HSR line built in the median like they are doing on I-15 between LA and Vegas, but that' s a pipe dream)

[Djeffery]

Not sure how old this drone footage is and probably not new to many here, but this just came up in my twitter feed today and thought this was pretty cool. This is from the landslide in Quebec in 2009 that took out a section of Route 112.

https://x.com/historyinmemes/status/...448824651?s=20

[craner]

Any update on the A85 connection to NB - is it almost done ?