Highway 1
Trans-Canada Highway
Brooks Medicine Hat Banff Calgary Edmonton
Route information
Length:	534 km[2] (332 mi)
Existed:	1941[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	B.C. border near Lake Louise continues west as BC 1
	Hwy 93 near Banff Hwy 2 in Calgary Hwy 36 near Brooks Hwy 3 in Medicine Hat
East end:	Saskatchewan border near Walsh continues east as Hwy 1
Location
Specialized and rural municipalities:	I.D. No. 9, Bighorn No. 8 M.D., Kananaskis I.D., Rocky View County, Wheatland County, Newell County, Cypress County
Major cities:	Calgary, Brooks, Medicine Hat
Towns:	Banff, Canmore, Chestermere, Strathmore, Bassano, Redcliff
Highway system
Provincial highways in Alberta ← Hwy 986 Hwy 1A →

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 1,^[3] or Trans-Canada Highway 1, is the main east-west highway traversing southern Alberta, Canada. It is designated a core route in Canada's National Highway System^[4] and spans approximately 534 km (332 mi) from Alberta's border with British Columbia in the west to its border with Saskatchewan in the east.^[5][2] As of 2012, all but 8.5 km (5.3 mi) of the route was divided, with a minimum of two lanes in each direction.^[2][6]

  Route description

  Banff National Park

British Columbia Highway 1 becomes Alberta Highway 1 as it crosses Kicking Horse Pass into Alberta.^[2] It generally travels in a southeast direction along the Bow River through Banff National Park (Improvement District No. 9), passing by the Hamlet of Lake Louise and the Town of Banff.^[5] The segment of Highway 1 through the national park is maintained by the Government of Canada.^[7]

  Banff National Park to Calgary

Upon exiting Banff National Park, Highway 1 is maintained by Alberta Transportation for 91 km (57 mi) until it reaches the City of Calgary.^[8][5] This segment of the highway generally travels in an east direction through the rural municipalities of the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8 and Rocky View County.^[9] It also briefly crosses a portion of Kananaskis Improvement District.^[9] For urban communities, this segment passes by the Hamlet of Harvie Heights, through the Town of Canmore, and by the hamlets of Dead Man's Flats and Lac des Arcs.^[5] Highway 1A, the original Highway 1 from Canmore to Calgary, is an alternate route to this segment of Highway 1, providing access to the Hamlet of Exshaw, the Summer Village of Ghost Lake, and the Town of Cochrane.^[5]

  Calgary

This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011)

Within Calgary, Highway 1 is named 16 Avenue North^[2] and maintained by the City of Calgary. Certain stretches of 16 Avenue North function as either a freeway or an expressway, while other stretches function as an urban arterial road, particularly between Bow River and Bowness Road and between Crowchild Trail and Deerfoot Trail where there are numerous at-grade intersections. As a result, speed limits on 16 Avenue North drop as low as 50 km/h (31 mph). The recently completed northwest and northeast legs of Stoney Trail (Highway 201) provide an alternate higher speed route across the city. The length of Highway 1 within Calgary is 27 km (17 mi).

  Calgary to Medicine Hat

Upon exiting Calgary, Highway 1 is maintained by Alberta Transportation for 273 km (170 mi) until it reaches the City of Medicine Hat.^[8][5] This segment of the highway generally travels in a southeast direction through the rural municipalities of Rocky View County, Wheatland County, the County of Newell, and Cypress County.^[9] For urban communities, this segment passes through the towns of Chestermere and Strathmore, by the Town of Bassano, the City of Brooks, and the Hamlet of Suffield, and through the Town of Redcliff.^[5] Highway 1A, the original Highway 1 from Calgary to Chestermere, is an alternate route to initial portion of this segment of Highway 1.^[5]

  Medicine Hat

Within the City of Medicine Hat, Highway 1 is named Trans Canada Highway and maintained by Alberta Transportation.^[8] Stretches of the highway function as a freeway, while stretches between the South Saskatchewan River and Seven Persons Creek function as an urban arterial road. One at-grade intersection exists beyond 13 Avenue SE at Dunmore Road/South Boundary Road before exiting the city. The length of Highway 1 within Medicine Hat is 13 km (8.1 mi).^[5]

  Medicine Hat to Saskatchewan

Upon exiting Medicine Hat, Highway 1 is maintained by Alberta Transportation for 48 km (30 mi) until it enters the Province of Saskatchewan,^[8][5] continuing as Saskatchewan Highway 1.^[2] This segment of the highway generally travels in an east direction through Cypress County.^[9] For urban communities, this segment passes through the Hamlet of Dunmore and by the hamlets of Irvine and Walsh.^[5]

  History

A review of historical Alberta Official Road Maps shows that Highway 1 was numbered Highway 2 prior to 1941 (while Highway 2 as it is known today was numbered Highway 1 prior to 1941).^[1]

Exit numbering along Highway 1 began in 2005.^[10][11] As of March 2010, only the stretch of Highway 1 between Banff National Park and Calgary had been assigned exit numbers.^[5]

  Future

Parks Canada is in the midst of twinning the final 8.5 km (5.3 mi) of Highway 1 between Lake Louise and the British Columbia border, with final construction being completed in 2013.^[6]

Planning is underway to realign Highway 1 around the Town of Strathmore.^[12] Strathmore is the only low-speed signalized section of the highway between Calgary and Saskatchewan without a bypass plan.^[13] The route under consideration for the realignment begins northwest of Gleichen, continuing west to run south of Eagle Lake and then continuing northwest where it will rejoin the existing alignment between Highway 24 and Strathmore. The proposed plan also contemplates a link to the Highway 22X corridor.^[13]

Construction of an interchange at Dunmore Road / South Boundary Road in Medicine Hat is expected to start in the fall of 2012, with completion estimated by the summer of 2014.^[14]

  Major intersections

The following is a list of major intersections along Alberta Highway 1 from west to east, including exit numbers where applied.^[5][2]

Municipality	Exit	km	Description
Improvement District No. 9 (Banff National Park)	-	0	Begins at the Alberta–British Columbia border Enters Banff National Park Kicking Horse Pass
	-	7	Hwy 93 north (Icefields Parkway) – Saskatchewan River Crossing, Jasper Concurrency with Highway 93 begins
	-	10	Hwy 1A east (Bow Valley Parkway) – Lake Louise, Castle Mountain
	-	35	Hwy 93 south (Banff-Windermere Highway) – Radium Hot Springs Concurrency with Highway 93 ends
	-	56	Sunshine Road to Sunshine Village
	-	59	Hwy 1A west (Bow Valley Parkway) – Castle Mountain
	-	65	Mt. Norquay Road to Banff
	-	69	Banff Avenue to Banff
	-	81	East gate of Banff National Park
M.D. of Bighorn No. 8	83	83	Harvie Heights Road
Town of Canmore	86	86	Bow Valley Trail / Palliser Trail
	89	89	Palliser Trail
	91	91	Hwy 1A east (Bow Valley Trail) – Exshaw, Cochrane
	93	93	Hwy 742 south (Three Sisters Parkway)
	98	98	George Biggy Sr. Road / Dead Man's Flats
M.D. of Bighorn No. 8	105	105	Lac Des Arcs
Kananaskis Improvement District	114	114	Hwy 1X north – Seebe, Exshaw
M.D. of Bighorn No. 8	118	118	Hwy 40 south (Kananaskis Trail)
	124	124
	131	131	Morley Road
	137	137	Bear Hill Road
Rocky View County	143	143	Hwy 68 south (Sibbald Creek Trail)
	156	156	Jumping Pound Road
	161	161	Hwy 22 – Cochrane, Bragg Creek
	169	169	Range Road 33 (Calaway Park)
	172	172	Hwy 563 east (Old Banff Coach Road)
City of Calgary	-	176	Valley Ridge Boulevard / Crestmont Boulevard
	177	177	Hwy 201 north (Stoney Trail)
	-	179	Canada Olympic Drive to Canada Olympic Park / Bowfort Road
	-	180	Sarcee Trail to Hwy 2 south
	-	183	Bowness Road
	-	183.5	Shaganappi Trail
	-	184	West Campus Boulevard
	-	185	University Drive to University of Calgary
	-	186	Hwy 1A west (Crowchild Trail)
	-	187	14 Street NW to City Centre
	-	188	10 Street NW
	-	189.5	Centre Street N
	-	190	Edmonton Trail
	-	192	Hwy 2 (Deerfoot Trail) – Edmonton, Red Deer, Fort Macleod (link to Calgary International Airport)
	-	194	Barlow Trail
	-	195	36 Street NE
	-	197	52 Street NE
	-	199	68 Street NE
	-	200	Hwy 201 (Stoney Trail)
Town of Chestermere	-	208	Hwy 1A west (17 Avenue SE / Township Road 242) – Chestermere, Calgary
	-	212	Hwy 791 (Range Road 280) – Delacour, Indus
Rocky View County	-	219	Hwy 9 north – Beiseker, Drumheller Hwy 797 south (Range Road 272) – Langdon
Wheatland County	-	228	Hwy 24 south – Cheadle, Lethbridge
Town of Strathmore	-	238	Hwy 817 (Wheatland Trail) – Ardenode, Carseland
Wheatland County	-	248	Hwy 21 north – Rockyford, Three Hills
	-	260	Hwy 561 east – Hussar
	-	278	Hwy 547 west – Gleichen, Arrowwood, Mossleigh, Aldersyde
	-	282	Hwy 901 west – Gleichen
	-	292	Hwy 842 – Chancellor, Cluny, Milo
	-	308	Hwy 56 north – Drumheller, Stettler
Town of Bassano	-	327	6 Avenue
County of Newell	-	330	Hwy 550 east – Rosemary
	-	364	Hwy 36 (Veteran Memorial Highway) – Hanna, Taber
	-	373	Hwy 873 (2nd Street W) – Duchess, Rainier
City of Brooks	-	376	Hwy 542 west (Cassils Road) – Cassils Road
County of Newell	-	385	Hwy 875 south – Rolling Hills, Hays
	-	394	Hwy 876 – Tilley, Patricia
Cypress County	-	439	Hwy 884 north – Ralston, Jenner, CFB Suffield
	-	465	Hwy 524 west – Hays, Vauxhall
Town of Redcliff	-	471	Mitchell Street
City of Medicine Hat	-	476	Box Springs Road
	-	477	3 Street NW
	-	478	1 Street SW
	-	480	Hwy 3 west (Crowsnest Highway) – Bow Island, Taber, Lethbridge Hwy 41A east (Gershaw Drive)
	-	482	College Avenue / South Ridge Drive
	-	483	13 Avenue SE
	-	485	Dunmore Road / South Boundary Road
Cypress County	-	492	Eagle Butte Road at Dunmore
	-	494	Hwy 41 north (Buffalo Trail) – Oyen, Consort Highway 41 concurrency begins
	-	510	Hwy 41 south (Buffalo Trail) – Wild Horse, Cypress Hills Highway 41 concurrency ends
	-	514	Wilhelm Street at Irvine
	-	531	4 Avenue at Walsh
	-	534	Reaches Saskatchewan border
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

  Photo gallery

• 

  Wildlife overpass, eastbound in the Banff National Park

• 

  Westbound to the Rocky Mountains

• 

  Eastbound near Canmore

  See also

• Trans-Canada Highway

  References

  External links

• 2010 Provincial Highways 1 - 216 Series Progress Chart (map, 8 MB) by Alberta Transportation.

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