Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: Route Transcanadienne; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can)[3] 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.[4] 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.
"Trans-Canada" redirects here. For the Boards of Canada record, see Trans Canada Highway (EP). For the airline, see Trans-Canada Air Lines. For other uses, see TransCanada (disambiguation).
Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
7,476 km[1] (4,645 mi)
July 30, 1962[2]–present
Victoria and Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
While by definition the Trans-Canada Highway is a highway system that has several parallel routes throughout most of the country, the term "Trans-Canada Highway" often refers to the main route that consists of Highway 1 (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Highways 17 and 417 (Ontario), Autoroutes 40, 25, 20, and 85 (Quebec), Highway 2 (New Brunswick), Highways 104 and 105 (Nova Scotia), and Highway 1 (Newfoundland). This main route 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, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Fredericton. One of the main route's eight other parallel routes connects to the tenth province, Prince Edward Island.
While the other parallel routes in the system are also technically part of the Trans-Canada Highway, they are usually considered either secondary routes or different highways altogether. 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 it may be considered a second mainline corridor as it serves a more northerly belt of major cities, as well as having its own Pacific terminus.
Although the TCH network is strictly a transcontinental system, 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 provides connections to the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and the border, although the NHS (apart from the TCH sections) is unsigned.[5]
Highway design and standards[edit]
Unlike the Interstate Highway System in the United States, the Trans-Canada Highway system has no national construction standard, and it was originally built mostly as a two-lane highway with few multi-lane freeway sections, similar to the older United States Numbered Highway System. As a result, highway construction standards vary considerably among provinces and cities. In much of British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trans-Canada Highway system is still in its original two-lane state. British Columbia is actively working on converting its section of Highway 1 east of Kamloops to a four-lane divided highway.[6] Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have widened most of their southern Trans-Canada Highway network to four lanes. In Quebec, most sections of the TCH network overlap with the province's Autoroute freeways. New Brunswick is the only province to have its whole length of the main Trans-Canada Highway route at a four-lane freeway standard.
Like the former U.S. Route 66, the many non-expressway sections of the Trans-Canada Highway often form the main streets of communities, with homes and businesses directly adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway.
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 and Kamloops, British Columbia, takes the Coquihalla Highway via Merritt, rather than the longer Trans-Canada Highway route. 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 Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario.
No national plan for widening the Trans-Canada Highway exists, and all planning is currently done by the individual provinces, as the Trans-Canada Highway and highways within National Highway System fall within provincial/territorial jurisdiction, with provincial/territorial governments responsible for planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and financing.[30] However, the federal government may contribute funding to highway projects through its various funding programs. Currently, there are five large-scale highway projects on the Trans-Canada Highway Network.
Quebec is working on completing Autoroute 85, bringing the last two-lane section of the mainline highway in Quebec up to four-lane freeway standards. As of September 2021, only 7 km (4.3 mi) of two-lane highway had not yet been addressed. The rest either had been completed or was currently under construction.
In Ontario, the province has several significant highway expansion projects on the Trans-Canada Highway planned or under way:
In Manitoba in May 2023, the province announced the launch of a conceptual design study for the twinning of the remaining 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) two-lane section of Highway 1 west of the Ontario border, plus the immediate construction of a 700-metre (0.43 mi) section to align with four-laning work in Ontario.[36]
As of September 2021, British Columbia was planning on widening the 420-kilometre-long (260 mi) long section of TCH between Kamloops and Alberta to four lanes by 2050. The project goals do not include an eventual freeway conversion, and it is likely that the signalized sections of highway in Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Revelstoke, and Golden will remain. Around 16 km (9.9 mi) of four-lane highway were under construction, with 6 km (3.7 mi) more planned to start in 2022. Around a quarter of the length of highway between Kamloops and Alberta is now four lanes wide. At the current rate of construction, the project will likely not be completed until the 2070s. However, some of the most difficult sections have been completed, meaning that it may be easier to widen the remaining sections of highway to four lanes. Some of the highway in this section is under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada, specifically the sections through Mount Revelstoke, Glacier, and Yoho National Parks, which means that Parks Canada will have to implement its own four-lane program in order for the provincial government to accomplish its goal.
The City of Edmonton is changing its urban section of Highway 16 (TCH) to a six-lane freeway by replacing all signal lights with overpasses. The route is already largely a freeway, but seven signalized intersections remain. The project is expected to be finished by 2026.[37]
As of September 2021, British Columbia was planning on widening 36 km (22 mi) of Highway 1 in the Lower Mainland as part of its Fraser Valley Highway program. The four-lane freeway is over-congested, and many of the overpasses are in poor shape. The project intends to rebuild most of the interchanges and overpasses and widen the highway to six lanes. The first 4 km (2.5 mi) of this project opened in 2020, with 10 km (6.2 mi) more expected to be complete in 2025.
Apart from the major programs, many smaller-scale projects exist on the highway in order to rehabilitate the aging infrastructure or make minor traffic changes.
Alberta had long term plans to convert both of its Trans-Canada Highway routes to a minimum four-lane freeway standard, but has not set a timeline for doing so.