TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY

The 'Trans-Canada Highway' is a federal-provincial highway system that joins all ten provinces of Canada and is, after the Trans-Siberian Highway and Highway 1 (Australia), the world's third longest national highway with a distance of 10,781km (the whole highway including the South route and the Yellowhead highway). The system was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1948^[2], construction commenced in 1950^[3], officially opened in 1962, and was completed in 1971. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers.
Throughout much of Canada, there are at least two routes designated as part of the Trans-Canada Highway. For example, in the Western provinces, both the main Trans-Canada route and the Yellowhead Highway are part of the Trans-Canada system.
Unlike the American Interstate highway system, not all of the Trans-Canada Highway uses limited-access freeways, or even four-lane roads, making it more similar to the U.S. Highway system. Canada does not have a comprehensive national highway system, as decisions about highway and freeway construction are entirely under the jurisdiction of the individual provinces. In 2000 and 2001, the government of Jean Chrétien considered funding an infrastructure project to have the full Trans-Canada system converted to freeway. Although freeway construction funding was made available to some provinces for portions of the system, the government ultimately decided not to pursue a comprehensive highway conversion. Opposition to funding the freeway upgrade was due to low traffic levels in parts of the Trans-Canada; provinces preferred the money going towards improving vital trade routes (often not inter-provincial) and border crossings with the United States.
Route numbering on the Trans-Canada Highway is also handled by the provinces. The Western provinces have coordinated their highway numbers so that the main Trans-Canada line is designated Highway 1 and the Yellowhead Highway line is designated Highway 16 throughout the region. However, from the Manitoba-Ontario border east, highway numbers change at each provincial boundary. As the Trans-Canada is in many places composed from parts of other important highways with their own separate identities (these highways already existed before the Trans-Canada), and the province of Quebec, in particular, is unlikely to change its geographically-based highway numbering system to conform to a cross-Canada numbering scheme, the Trans-Canada Highway will most likely never have a uniform designation across the whole country.

Contents

Route details

Victoria—Winnipeg

Winnipeg—Ottawa

Ottawa—Moncton

Moncton—North Sydney

Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

Port aux Basques—St. John's

The "mile zero" concept

"Highway 1" and other References

References

External links

Route details

Victoria—Winnipeg

The highway, designated as Highway 1 in the four western provinces, begins in Victoria, British Columbia at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road (where the "Mile 0" plaque stands) and passes northward along the east coast of Vancouver Island for to Nanaimo; a -long ferry route (see BC Ferries) connects the highway to West Vancouver, whence it passes through the Vancouver metropolitan area, heading east to Hope, then turns north for toward Cache Creek, then east for through to Kamloops, then east to Banff, to Calgary (within the City limits it is known as 16th Avenue -- a road with heavy traffic and many lights), to Medicine Hat, east to Moose Jaw, to Regina, to Brandon, to Portage La Prairie and east to Winnipeg. Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway (the southern half of which, Highway 100, is officially part of the Trans-Canada) gives highway drivers a way of bypassing the city completely.
Through the western provinces, the speed limit is generally 100 km/h (62 mph) on the Trans-Canada, though limited-access portions in Alberta and Saskatchewan may have higher limits of 110 km/h (68 mph). Like in all national parks in Canada, when the highway passes through national parks, the speed limit is 90 km/h.
It is in the B.C.-to-Manitoba part of Canada that the Yellowhead Highway, an ancillary branch of the TCH, runs its course along Highways 16 and 5.
There is also a route known as the southern inter-provincial which runs between B.C. and Alberta, known as the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3 in both provinces); it connects with the main branch of the Trans Canada in both Hope, BC and Medicine Hat, Alberta.
For more information, see also:
;Trans Canada (Main) Route

★ British Columbia Highway 1 (Trans Canada Highway/Island Highway/Upper Levels Highway)

★ Alberta Highway 1

★ Saskatchewan Highway 1

★ Manitoba Highway 1

★ Manitoba Highway 100 (Winnipeg Perimeter Highway)
;Yellowhead Route

★ British Columbia Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway)

★ British Columbia Highway 5 (Yellowhead Highway South/Coquihalla Highway)

★ Alberta Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway)

★ Saskatchewan Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway)

★ Manitoba Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway)

Winnipeg—Ottawa

The highway continues east from Winnipeg for another to Kenora. The existing branch from Kenora continues east for to Dryden. A second branch extends southward along Highway 71 from Kenora to Chapple, a routing of , and then eastward along Highway 11 for to Shabaqua, where it reunites with the main Highway 17 route.
The united highway proceeds southeast for to Thunder Bay. The highway proceeds northeast for to Nipigon, where it once again splits into two routes. The northern route is designated as Highway 11, and the southern branch is designated as Highway 17. From Nipigon, Highway 11 extends through the north of Ontario for east to Hearst and another east through Cochrane. The highway proceeds southeast for to New Liskeard, then south for to North Bay, where it meets Highway 17. Near Kirkland Lake, a northern spur route of the Trans-Canada extends eastward from Highway 11, following Ontario's Highway 66 (), then Quebec's Route 117 () and Autoroute 15 () into Montreal.
A section of the Trans-Canada between Thunder Bay and Nipigon is named the ''Terry Fox Courage Highway''. The section marks the spot where Terry was forced to end his cross-Canada Marathon of Hope run (which was raising money for cancer research). A bronze statue marks the spot where he stopped his run.
From Nipigon, Highway 17 proceeds east along the coast of Lake Superior for through to Sault Ste. Marie and another east to Sudbury, where the Trans-Canada Highway splits again. The resulting southern branch follows Highways 69 and 400 south for , then follows Highway 12 southeast for to Orillia, then follows Highway 12 south for along the shore of Lake Simcoe, then follows Highway 7 east for to Peterborough. The existing northern branch goes east for to North Bay, where it meets the Highway 11 route. The highway then goes east for before arriving at Pembroke. The two branches converge at Ottawa, east of Peterborough and east of Pembroke.
Through most of Ontario, the speed limit is generally 80 km/h (50 mph) on the Trans-Canada, though freeway portions may have a higher limit of 100 km/h (62 mph), as does the limited access four-lane section from Arnprior, Ontario through Ottawa to the Ontario/Quebec border.
It is notable that the Trans-Canada does not go through Canada's most heavily populated area, southern Ontario, including Toronto, the country's largest city. In this area, the Trans-Canada name is little known or used.

★ Highway 17

★ Highway 11

★ Highway 69

★ Highway 12

★ Highway 7

★ Highway 115

★ Highway 71

★ Highway 400

★ Highway 417

Ottawa—Moncton

From Ottawa, the Trans-Canada Highway proceeds east to Montreal. Known as Highway 417 in Ontario and Autoroute 40 in Quebec, the Trans-Canada also assumes the name "Autoroute Métropolitaine" (also known as "The Met" or "Metropolitan Boulevard") as it traverses Montreal as an elevated highway. At the Decarie 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 Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel, and proceeds northeast on Autoroute 20 for to Lévis (across from Quebec City).
East of Levis, the Trans-Canada highway continues on Autoroute 20 following the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River to a junction just south of Rivière-du-Loup, northeast of Levis. At that junction, the highway turns southeast and changes designation to Autoroute 85 for , and then loses its limited-access status, becoming Route 185 until the New Brunswick border. The portion from Autoroute 20 to Edmundston, New Brunswick is long.
Following the designation of Route 2, from Edmundston, the highway follows the St. John River valley, running south for to Woodstock (parallelling the International Boundary) and then east for another to pass through Fredericton. east of Fredericton, the St. John River turns south whereby the highway crosses the river at Jemseg and continues heading east to Moncton another later. New Brunswick is currently in the process of converting all of its portion of the Trans-Canada highway into four-lane freeways, with the majority of this project already completed. Once converted, these sections have a speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph), except in urban areas.

Moncton—North Sydney

From Moncton, the highway continues southeast for to a junction at Aulac on 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 route designated as Route 16 which runs east to the Confederation Bridge at Cape Jourimain.

Prince Edward Island

After crossing the Northumberland Strait on the -long Confederation Bridge to Borden-Carleton, the Trans-Canada Highway follows a -long route across southern Prince Edward Island, designated as Route 1. After passing through Charlottetown it ends at Wood Islands where a -long ferry route (see Northumberland Ferries Ltd.) crosses the Northumberland Strait to Caribou, Nova Scotia (near Pictou). From the ferry terminal at Caribou, the highway continues south for another as Highway 106 to a junction with the direct Trans-Canada Highway route (Highway 104) at Westville (near New Glasgow).

Nova Scotia

From the New Brunswick border, the main Trans-Canada Highway route continues east into Nova Scotia, where it follows the designation of provincial Highway 104. The highway then passes by Truro, where it links with provincial Highway 102 to Halifax, east of the New Brunswick border. It should be noted that there is a stretch of toll highway on this section with the cost $4.00/automobile (different rates for other vehicles).
From Truro, the highway continues east for to New Glasgow (where it links with provincial Highway 106 — that portion of the Trans-Canada running to the ferry terminal at Caribou), and then northeast for another 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 for 144 km (89 mi) using the designation of provincial Highway 105 in Cape Breton, until reaching the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal at North Sydney.

Port aux Basques—St. John's

From North Sydney, a -long 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 through Corner Brook, east for another through Gander and finally ends at St. John's, another southeast.

The "mile zero" concept

Although there does not appear to be any nationally-sanctioned "starting point" for the entire Trans-Canada Highway system, St. John's appears to have 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.
The Victoria terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway lies at the foot of Douglas Street and Dallas Road at Beacon Hill Park, and is marked by a "mile zero" monument. This is the official western end of the Trans-Canada Highway, though Tofino claims to be the "Pacific Terminus".
Although Highway 4 was commissioned in 1953 and is technically not part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, there is also a sign marking the Pacific terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway at Tofino, British Columbia, where Highway 4 terminates in the west, but it was most likely erected before 1953. Tofino was a strong proponent of a Trans-Canada Highway since the 1920s, when the only roads in the area were gravel, recognizing the need for tourism. The community was bypassed by the official Trans-Canada Highway in the 1950s, when government prioritized the connection of major communities in its budgets, choosing instead to connect Nanaimo with Victoria.

"Highway 1" and other References

★ All the highways designated ''1'' in the western provinces are designated as ''Trans-Canada Highway 1'' on road maps.

★ Only Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick lack ''Highway 1'' designations for their sections of the Trans-Canada Highway.

★ Quebec and Ontario use standard provincial highway markers to number the highway within their boundaries, but post numberless Trans-Canada Highway shields alongside them to identify it.

★ People across Canada (less so in Ontario and Quebec) generally refer to the highway as "The Trans-Canada Highway" ("Trans-Canada", "T-Can", or "TCH") rather than by its number(s), except residents of PEI who are known to refer to "The One" or "Route One". In Quebec it is "la Transcanadienne" (to Francophones)/"The Trans-Can" (to Anglophones) west of the Decarie Interchange or "Metropolitan Boulevard" on the Island of Montreal east of the Decarie Interchange. In downtown Ottawa it is "the Queensway". Residents of the Vancouver area often refer to it as simply "The Highway", "The Freeway", or "Highway One". In Calgary, it is 16th avenue N, or "Sixteenth".
Since the Trans-Canada Highway does not pass through the heavily populated portions of southern Ontario, including Toronto, the "Trans-Canada" name is known, but little referred to in conversation.

References

1. CBC Digital Archives - Trans-Canada Highway: Bridging the Distance
2. Department of Justice Canada - Trans-Canada Highway Act -- R.S.C. 1970, c. T-12
3. Transport Canada - The Trans-Canada Highway

External links

★ Trans-canada highway.com - Detailed province by province description

★

★ NFB documentary "The Longest Road"