ALBERTA HIGHWAY 2

'Highway 2' is the most important provincial highway in the Canadian province of Alberta. The stretch between Calgary and Edmonton is one of the most heavily used highways in Canada, and is designated the 'Queen Elizabeth II Highway' or the ‘QE2 Highway’.
The speed limit along most parts of the highway is 110 km/h (70 mph) and in urban parts such as Calgary or Edmonton it is 100 km/h. During the winter time, accidents are not uncommon as the weather changes rapidly, and drivers underestimate the conditions. The worst area for accidents is the corridor north of Airdrie and south of Red Deer. Road closures are not uncommon. A sudden ice storm can create numerous accidents and pile-ups.

Contents

Route

Queen Elizabeth II Highway

Exit list

Southern Alberta

Calgary Region

Central Alberta

Edmonton Region

Northern Alberta

References

Route

As its main north-south corridor, Highway 2 enters Alberta south of Cardston, at the Carway border crossing with Montana (where it continues as U.S. Highway 89). It travels northward through Fort Macleod to Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton. North of Edmonton the highway continues to Athabasca, after which the highway continues northwesterly along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake into High Prairie, north to Peace River, west to Fairview and finally south to Grande Prairie.
As the main north-south access in Alberta, Highway 2 is the preferred path of the CANAMEX Corridor.^[1]
Between Fort Macleod and Edmonton, Highway 2 maintains no fewer than four lanes of traffic and is largely a controlled-access freeway between Okotoks and Edmonton, with improvements underway to eliminate at-grade crossings. It functions as a northern extension of Interstate 15 when combined with Highway 4 and a short section of Highway 3.

North of Okotoks, the three northbound lanes of the highway split into Macleod Trail (Highway 2A) and Deerfoot Trail, which keeps the Highway 2 designation through Calgary. It passes immediately west of the Calgary International Airport before continuing north to the city of Airdrie, which is bisected by Highway 2, while a number of other smaller communities such as Crossfield are bypassed. The newer Highway 2 is built east of the communities and the ‘old’ route has become Highway 2A.
Red Deer is also primarily bypassed. ''Gasoline Alley'', located at the south end of the city, is a popular stop for travellers headed for Calgary or Edmonton, with several fuel stations and food establishments. Continuing north, the highway again bypasses the smaller communities, this time on the west. Leduc, south of Edmonton, is bisected like Airdrie; however, this has been a result of westward growth of the community. The highway also passes immediately east of Edmonton International Airport, about 15 km south of Edmonton.
When the highway enters Edmonton, it becomes 'Calgary Trail' (southbound) and 'Gateway Boulevard' (northbound), then 'Whitemud Drive' to the southwest part of the city. It turns north at West Edmonton Mall along '170 Street', before continuing north along 'St. Albert Trail' as it exits Edmonton towards 'St. Albert'. Highway 2 continues north to Athabasca and Peace River, before turning west then south through Grimshaw (the junction of the Mackenzie Highway) and Fairview, then over the Dunvegan Bridge, where it crosses the Peace River and ultimately terminating at an interchange at Highway 43 just north of Grande Prairie. Prior to highway renumbering in northwestern Alberta, Highway 2 followed Highway 43's current alignment into British Columbia, where it became Highway 2 to Dawson Creek.

Queen Elizabeth II Highway

On May 23, 2005, the section between Calgary and Edmonton was renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Highway in honour of Her Majesty's visit to Alberta as part of the province's centennial celebrations; the first road sign was personally unveiled by the Queen. It is the first highway in Canada to be named for the current Queen (Ontario’s Queen Elizabeth Way is named for Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother).

Exit list

The province of Alberta began numbering exits on Hwy 2 in 2004.

Southern Alberta

Location	#	Destinations	Notes	Coordinates
Cardston County		US border in Carway	North extension of U.S. Route 89, southern end of Alberta CANAMEX corridor
		Hwy 501 south of Cardston
		Hwy 5 in Cardston
		Hwy 505 branches west to Glenwood
		Hwy 505 branches east to Spring Coulee
		Hwy 509 branches east, north of Stand Off
	-	Crosses the Waterton River
		Hwy 511 branches east
Fort Macleod	89		North end of Hwy 3 overlap

Calgary Region

Location	#	Destinations	Notes	Coordinates
High River, Foothills No. 31	194		Signed as exits 194A (east) and 194B (west)
Foothills No. 31	222
	225		Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	227	Dunbow Road - De Winton
Calgary	232	Cranston Avenue, Seton Boulevard
	234
	236	McKenzie Towne Boulevard, McKenzie Lake Boulevard
	238	130 Avenue Southeast
	240	Barlow Trail north
	241	24th Street East, Douglasdale Boulevard
	243	Anderson Road west, Bow Bottom Trail south
	245	Southland Drive	Southbound exit is part of exit 247
	247	11th Street East - Shopping Centre
	248	Glenmore Trail	Signed as exits 248A (east) and 248B (west) southbound; northbound exit to Glenmore Trail west is via exit 247
	251	Peigan Trail east, Barlow Trail south
	254	17th Avenue SE, Blackfoot Trail South
	256	Memorial Drive
	258
	260	32nd Avenue North
	261	McKnight Boulevard - Calgary International Airport	Signed as exits 261A (east) and 261B (west)
	263	64 Avenue North
	265	Beddington Trail west	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	266	Airport Trail - Calgary International Airport
	268	Country Hills Boulevard - Delacour, Calgary International Airport
Rocky View No. 44	275
	282	Big Springs Road - Airdrie
Airdrie	284	East Airdrie Industrial Area	Northbound exit only
	285
Rocky View No. 44	295
	305	Crossfield, Carstairs, Acme

Central Alberta

Location	#	Destinations	Notes	Coordinates
Mountain View County	315
	326
	340	, Sundre	Signed as exits 340A (east) and 340B (west)
Bowden, Red Deer County	357
Red Deer County, Innisfail	368		Signed as exits 368A (east) and 368B (north/west) northbound
Red Deer County	384
	391	McKenzie Road - Gasoline Alley
		Gasoline Alley, Willow Street - Petrolia Industrial Park	Northbound exit only
Red Deer, Red Deer County	394
	397	C&E Trail west, 32nd Street east - Red Deer
	401
	405		Signed as exits405A (east) and 405B (west)
Lacombe County	412
Lacombe County, Lacombe	422		Signed as exits 422A (east) and 422B (west)
Lacombe County	431
	437
	439
Ponoka County	446	Matejka Road
	447	Gee Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	450		Signed as exits 450A (east) and 450B (west)
	462	Menaik Road
	469
Wetaskiwin County	482		Signed as exits 482A (east) and 482B (west)
	488	Correction Line Road
	497

Edmonton Region

Location	#	Destinations	Notes	Coordinates
Leduc County	508	East Kavangh, West Glen Park District
Leduc	516
	517
	519	Leduc Business Sector	No southbound entrance
	521	Leduc North Sector	Northbound exit only
	522	10th Avenue - Edmonton International Airport, Nisku Business Park
Leduc County	525	, Nisku Business Park, Beaumont
Edmonton		Ellerslie Road	Highway 2 called Calgary Trail (southbound) and Gateway Boulevard (northbound) through southern Edmonton
		, west Edmonton bypass route
		Alberta Highway 14 (Whitemud Drive) east	Highway 2 called Whitemud Drive on this section
		111 St NW
		122 St NW
		Terwillegar Drive
		53 Ave NW
		Fox Drive (east)
	na	North Saskatchewan River	Bridge over river
		149 St NW
		159 St NW
		170 St NW	Turns north as 170 St NW, Whitemud Drive continues west as Highway 216
		87 Ave NW
		95 Ave NW
		Highway 16A - Stony Plain Road west to Stony Plain
		118 Ave NW
		Yellowhead Highway west to Spruce Grove	Highway 2 jogs east on the Yellowhead alignament
		Yellowhead Highway east through north Edmonton	Highway 2 called St Albert Trail from here
		137 Ave NW
St. Albert		Herbert Rd
		Sir Windston Churchill Ave
	na	Sturgeon River	Bridge over river
		Bourdreau Road
		Highway 633 west to Villeneuve
Sturgeon County		Highway 37 east to Fort Saskatchewan, west to Onoway
		Highway 642 in Morinville
		Highway 651 east to Legal
Westlock County		Highway 18 west to Westlock	Highway 2 turns east
		Highway 18 east to Clyde	Highway 2 turns north
		Highway 661 west to Fort Assiniboine, east to Newbrook

Northern Alberta

Location	#	Destinations	Notes	Coordinates
Athabasca County		Highway 663 west to Sylvan Glen
		Highway 663 east to Boyle
Athabasca		Highway 55 east to Lac la Biche, Highway 813 north to Wabasca	Highway 2 turns west
Athabasca County		Highway 812 south to Lincoln	Highway 2 turns north
Lesser Slave River MD		Highway 44 south to Crisholm
		Highway 2A north to Smith
	na	Athabasca River	bridge over river
Slave Lake		Highway 88 north to Fort Vermilion	Highway 2 continues on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake
Big Lakes MD		Highway 33 south to Swan Hills
	na	Swan River	crosses bridge, access to Kinuso
		Highway 750 north to Grouard
		Highway 749 in High Prairie
		Highway 2A west in Triangle	Highway 2 turns north
Smoky River MD		Highway 679 east to Winagami Lake Provincial Park, west to Highway 49
		passes through McLennan	Highway 2 turns west
		passes through Donnelly
		Highway 49 west to Falher, south to Valleyview	Highway 2 turns north
Northern Sunrise County		Highway 683
		Highway 688 north to St. Isidore	Highway 2 turns north-west
		Highway 744 south in Peace River	Highway 2 turns west, bridge crosses over Peace River
Peace MD		Highway 743 north to Deadwood
		Highway 2A in Roma Junction, south to Grimshaw
		Highway 35 north to Manning	Highway 2 turns south
		Highway 2A merges from east in Grimshaw, Highway 658 west to Hines Creek
		Highway 684 south-east to Peace River	Highway 2 turns west
		passes through Berwyn
		Highway 737 north in Brownvale
Fairview MD		Highway 735 north to Whitelaw
		passes through Fairview, Highway 732 north to Hines Creek, Highway 64A west to Highway 64	Highway 2 turns south
		Highway 64 north to Hines Creek
Spirit River MD	na	crosses Peace River in Dunvegan	bridge over river
		Highway 49 in Rycroft
		Highway 677 east to Kakut Lake
		Highway 677 west to Woking
Grande Prairie County		Highway 59 west to Buffalo Lake, Highway 674 east to Teepee Creek
		passes through Sexsmith
		Highway 43 east to Debolt
		Highway 670 east to Bezansen	enters the city of Grande Prairie
		Highway 43 west to Wembley	end of Highway 2 at 100 St and 116 Ave in Grande Prairie

References

1. Government of Alberta - CANAMEX Trade corridor