16 Avenue N (Calgary)

16 Avenue N is a major road in Calgary, Alberta, that forms a segment of Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) and connects Calgary to Banff and Medicine Hat. It is a four to six-lane principal arterial expressway at its extremities, but is an urban arterial road between the Bow River and Bowness Road, and also between Crowchild Trail and Deerfoot Trail. Due to Calgary's quadrant system, it is known as 16 Avenue NW west of Centre Street and 16 Avenue NE to the east.

Route description

16 Avenue NW

The Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta originates at the British Columbia border, where it proceeds east through Banff National Park to Calgary and becomes 16 Avenue NW. It first intersects Valley Ridge Boulevard / Crestmont Boulevard before a major interchange at Stoney Trail (Highway 201), a partial ring road the borders Calgary to the north and east. Signage recommending that traffic en route to the International Airport, Edmonton, and Medicine Hat use Stoney Trail as a bypass. It continues past Canada Olympic Park to an intersection at Bowfort Road, where construction of a single point urban interchange was completed on August 31, 2017. It passes along the southern boundary of the former town of Bowness and begins to descend into the Bow River valley where it intersects Sarcee Trail, an expressway providing a bypass option to Highway 2 south. 16 Avenue NW begins to transition to a four lane, arterial road and crosses the Bow River. Between the city limits and Sarcee Trail, 16 Avenue NW separates the northwest and southwest quadrants of Calgary.

After crossing the Bow River, 16 Avenue NW passes through the former village of Montgomery after which it becomes a short expressway that crosses Bowness Road (signed as Memorial Drive for eastbound traffic), Shaganappi Trail, and exits the Bow River valley. It passes the Alberta Children's Hospital and Foothills Medical Centre before crossing University Drive, which provides access to the University of Calgary, McMahon Stadium, and access to southbound Crowchild Trail. After crossing Crowchild Trail, it becomes a six lane arterial road with numerous signalized intersections and extensive commercial development. It passes Motel Village, a cluster of motels which were constructed due to its proximity to the Trans-Canada Highway, which is accessible via a signalized service road and Banff Trail, which also doubles as the access road northbound Crowchild Trail. It passes by North Hill Centre (Calgary's first shopping mall), 14 Street NW, and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) continuing east and intersects Centre Street, leaving the northwest quadrant.

16 Avenue NE

At Centre Street, 16 Avenue NE enters the northeast quadrant and continues east, and intersects Edmonton Trail before descending the Nose Creek valley and intersects Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2) through a split-diamond interchange before it leaves the valley and intersects 19 Street NE. East of 19 Street NE, it becomes a short freeway, beginning with a cloverleaf interchange at Barlow Trail; the area is formerly known as ''Crossroads'' since it used to be the former alignment of Highway 2 - while the neighbourhood has since been renamed to Mayland Heights, some of the areas businesses still utilized the Crossroads name. 16 Avenue continues east with interchanges at 36 Street NE and 52 Street NE before intersecting 68 Street NE. It again intersects Stoney Trail, where westbound signage recommends that traffic en route to Banff, Edmonton, and Lethbridge use Stoney Trail as a bypass, before leaving Calgary and heading east towards Chestermere, Medicine Hat, and the Saskatchewan border.

History

Sixteenth Avenue North was part of the village of Crescent Heights until annexed by The City of Calgary in the early 1900s. An electric trolley ran down the artery connecting the area with downtown from 1911 to the mid-1900s. The electric trolley was slowly phased out and replaced with buses. In fact, Calgary's first park and ride was on the Tuxedo bus loop in 1956 and one of three trial express buses started on October 21, 1957—the Yellow Pennant Express from Capitol Hill.

In the 1950s, Highway 1 was rerouted from 17 Avenue SE and a series of streets through downtown Calgary to follow 16 Avenue N as part of the Trans-Canada Highway construction; however shortly afterwards the City of Calgary began to study alternate routes in an effort to relieve congestion. In 1970, the City of Calgary a proposed freeway that would run north of 16 Avenue N between 23 and 24 Avenue N, but the plans were cancelled. In the following years, different bypass options were studied in conjunction with plans for a Calgary ring road, including the possibility of the Trans-Canada Highway following Sarcee Trail (including an extension through the Tsuu T'ina Nation), Highway 22X, and Highway 901 before rejoining Highway 1 near Gleichen that was proposed by Alberta Transportation in 1989; this plan was rejected as Calgary is considered a major destination city and was opposed by business owners along the 16 Avenue N. On November 2, 2009, the northeast section of Stoney Trail was opened, providing a bypass option for the Trans-Canada Highway around north Calgary.

The inner city section of 16 Avenue N was a four lane, undivided street. From 2002–2010, the City of Calgary widened it to a six lane urban boulevard between removing buildings along south side of 16 Avenue N between 10 Street NW and 6 Street NE.

After the projected completion of the Bowfort Road interchange in summer 2017, 16 Avenue NW became a freeway west of Sarcee Trail to its western terminus.

Future

The City of Calgary considers 16 Avenue N as part of the skeletal road network, however the sections through Montgomery (between the Bow River and Bowness Road) and between Banff Trail and Deerfoot Trail as ''Main Streets'' - streets that would be mixed use residential and commercial corridors. The City of Calgary have long-term plans in converting 16 Avenue N to a freeway in the outlying areas, which includes converting the Deerfoot Trail interchange into a three-level diamond interchange, and interchanges at 19 Street NE and 68 Street NE.

Major intersections

From west to east.

See also

* Transportation in Calgary

References

External links

Trans Canada Highway Freeway Plan (1970)Trans Canada Highway / Bowfort Road N.W. Interchange Project and related roadworks16 Avenue North Corridor Area Redevelopment Plan ReviewMain Streets - Planning the future of Calgary's thriving main streets16 Avenue N.E. Functional Planning Study: Deerfoot Trail to Barlow Trail

{{Alberta Provincial Highways, Hwy=yes

916
Roads in Calgary
Urban segments of the Trans-Canada Highway