User:AceYYC/sandbox/Export Highway

The Export Highway is an unofficial designation historically given to a series of major roads that form a north–south trade corridor in the Canadian province of Alberta, connecting major population centres to the United States. The mostly divided highway has been described as the "backbone of the province", extending 1163 km from Interstate 15 at the Canada–United States border to the British Columbia border in northwest Alberta. It forms a contiguous route between the cities of Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie, linking them to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and points beyond.

The Export Highway begins as Highway 4 at the United States border, proceeding northwest to meet Highway 3 in Lethbridge. The corridor turns west along Highway 3 to Fort Macleod, then curves north on Highway 2 to Calgary. It continues into central Alberta through Red Deer as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway before bending around Edmonton along the southwest quadrant of the Anthony Henday Drive ring road. At the city's west end, Highway 16 assumes the designation, travelling west for a short distance until Highway 43 turns north to Grande Prairie. The divided highway ends west of Grande Prairie, and the two-lane road continues into British Columbia where it becomes Highway 2, and ultimately Highway 97 in Dawson Creek marking the southern terminus of the Alaska Highway.

Historically, the Export Highway comprised the northernmost portion of the Sunshine Trail that ran from Los Angeles to Peace River. It has formed Alberta's portion of the officially named CANAMEX Corridor since 1995, a route that stretches from Alaska to Mexico. Since 2006, it has followed either all or portions of Highways 4, 3, 2, 216, 16, and 43; the alignment has shifted over the years as the component highways have been upgraded, reconstructed, and renumbered. Major changes include the 1950s extension of Highway 43 from Whitecourt to Valleyview, and the 1960s reconstruction of the Calgary–Edmonton segment of Highway 2 to a divided highway. The 1989 "Export Highway Program" twinned the route from Calgary to the U.S. border, and the 2000s saw the completion of Anthony Henday Drive and twinning of the Edmonton–Grande Prairie portion of Highway 43. Further bypasses and upgrades are either under construction or have been planned and are awaiting funding.

Southern and central Alberta


Alberta's Export Highway begins at the busiest border crossing between Alberta and Montana at Coutts and Sweet Grass, where Interstate 15 becomes Alberta Highway 4 at the border community of Coutts. Paralleling the Canadian Pacific Railway, the divided highway winds through the gentle hills of southern Alberta, bypassing Milk River to the west. It reaches Warner, Alberta and the southern terminus of Highway 36, continuing in a northwesterly direction toward Lethbridge. Southeast of the city, it bends due west, then turns north as 43 Street, forming a major arterial on the city's east side. Highway 4 ends at an at-grade intersection with Highway 3, the Crowsnest Highway. The corridor follows Highway 3 west through Lethbridge as an expressway to a junction with Highway 23 near Monarch. It then reaches Fort Macleod, where Highway 3 continues west to Crowsnest Pass while the Export Highway turns north along Highway 2 toward Calgary.

The divided highway continues north through Claresholm and Nanton past High River and Okotoks into Calgary as a busy freeway called Deerfoot Trail. It meets the western terminus of Highway 8 at Glenmore Trail, winding through the city past downtown to the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) in north Calgary. Passing the Calgary International Airport, Highway 2 exits Calgary as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, bisecting Airdrie and continuing to intersections at Highways 11 and 11A in the city of Red Deer. The Queen Elizabeth II designation ends at 41 Avenue SW, marking the southern city limit of Edmonton.

Northern Alberta


At the south end of Edmonton, Highway 2 intersects Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216), a freeway that encircles the city. Upon its completion, Alberta Transportation designated the southwest quadrant of Henday as a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor. It bypasses the city to the southwest carrying high volumes of local traffic exceeding 100,000 vehicles per day. The freeway meets Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16) at the city's west end, which assumes the corridor designation as it leaves the city to the west en route to Jasper. At Manly Corner, approximately 20 km west of Edmonton, Highway 43 turns north to Onoway, then curves northwest through Whitecourt and Valleyview. It reaches Clairmont immediately north of Grande Prairie, then turns south into the city as an urban arterial designated as 100 Street. Highway 43 then turns west along 116 Avenue, which bends south and becomes 108 Street. The divided highway exits the city to the west as the highway turns along 100 Avenue. After the Grande Prairie Airport, the route reverts to a two-lane road near Beaverlodge, the only undivided section of the Export Highway. The highway bends northwest and ends at the British Columbia border west of the hamlet of Demmitt, continuing as Highway 2 in British Columbia toward Dawson Creek.

Export Highway Program
Alberta Transportation outlined a proposal for the Export Highway Program in August 1989. The plan included twinning of Highway 2 from Calgary to Fort Macleod, Highway 3 from Fort Macleod to Monarch, and the entire length of Highway 4. Highway 3 between Monarch and Lethbridge had already been twinned as part of work completed in the 1960s. The province had prioritized twinning of Highway 16 as that project was being subsidized by federal funding. In the following years, funding became available and work proceeded through the first half of the 1990s.

Hwy 4 late 90s

Future
Highway 4 is a divided highway for its entire length, and the section of Highway 3 that comprises the Export Highway is also twinned. The two meet at-grade on the east side of Lethbridge, and Alberta Transportation has long-term plans for a northern Highway 3 bypass of Lethbridge, and an extension of Highway 4 east of the city to meet this new freeway. The alignment for a future Fort Macleod bypass has also been identified, connecting Highway 2 to Highway 3 at new interchanges west and south of the town. A Highway 2 bypass to the east of Claresholm and Nanton are also proposed, eliminating the speed reduction to 50 km/h that currently exist through both towns, and the traffic signals in central Claresholm. Plans have also been drafted for significant reconstruction of the interchange of Highway 2 and Highway 23 near High River. The existing cloverleaf interchange was built in 1967 and does not meet the current standards in Alberta's Highway Design Guide.

The busiest section urban section of the Export Highway is near downtown Calgary, while rural Calgary-Edmonton corridor also sees high volume. A 2016 study began assessing Deerfoot Trail in Calgary for possible future improvements, and a study has already been completed analyzing the incomplete interchange of Glenmore Trail and Deerfoot Trail. Planning is underway to convert the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Calgary and Edmonton to a freeway, where traffic levels are close to 50,000 vehicles per day. The majority of bridges on this section of the highway were built in 1962. In Edmonton, the portion of Anthony Henday Drive that forms the CANAMEX Corridor is highly congested and traffic levels have nearly doubled predictions by Alberta Transportation. The ring road was built with expansion in mind, but no timeline has been set for widening of the freeway. In northwest Alberta, two future realignments of Highway 43 have been proposed. An expressway bypass of Grande Prairie was partially constructed in 2010, and work is underway to extend it to Highway 43 west of the Grande Prairie Airport. The alignment of a potential Whitecourt bypass has also been established.