Alberta Provincial Highway No. 29, commonly referred to as Highway 29, is a highway in east–
central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy.
Geography
Central Alberta is bordere ...
, Canada that connects
Highway 15 near
Lamont Lamont or LaMont may refer to:
People
*Lamont (name), people with the surname or given name ''Lamont'' or ''LaMont''
* Clan Lamont, a Scottish clan
Places Canada
*Lamont, Alberta, a town in Canada
* Lamont County, a municipal district in Albert ...
to
Highway 41 north of
Elk Point. It runs mostly west to east across
aspen parkland
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...
through
Hairy Hill, turning north through
Duvernay,
Brosseau,
Foisy,
St. Brides, and east to
St. Paul before ending at
Highway 41 approximately north of Elk Point,
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with
Highways 36 and
45 for lengthy sections.
The route was established in 2006 when
Alberta Transportation
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...
renumbered portions of Highways
637,
45,
860,
36, and
28 between Highways 15 and
41, forming a more coherent route between St. Paul and
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
that involved only two numbered highways.
Route description
Highway 29 in Alberta is a rural two-lane highway with relatively little change in elevation, beginning at approximately
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
(AMSL) near Lamont and traversing
aspen parkland
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...
and
agricultural land
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other organism, forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous ...
s of central Alberta. It descends to a low point of AMSL as it crosses the
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...
near Brosseasu, ending at AMSL north of Elk Point. It has a posted speed limit of for the vast majority of its length, aside from when it passes through towns such as Brosseau where the limit is reduced to , or St. Paul where the limit is . There are almost no curves until Duvernay when it changes from an east–west alignment to north–south. Beyond St. Paul, the road becomes slightly more curvaceous and terrain is marginally more wooded near the gradual transition point into the
boreal forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
of northern Alberta.
[
The highway begins as a spur from Highway 15, which itself begins in the ]Edmonton Capital Region
The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), also commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Alberta's provincial capital of Edmonton.
The EMR's commonly known boundaries are coincide ...
and runs northeast into Lamont County where it turns east. Northwest of the town of Lamont, Highway 15 bends southeast and continues onward to Chipman and Mundare
Mundare is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the intersection of Highway 15 and Highway 855, north of the Yellowhead Highway. The Canadian National Railway tracks run through the town.
Beaverhill Lake ...
. Highway 29 begins at this bend, branching east from Highway 15 and running through the rural farmland of central Alberta toward Saskatchewan. The route first intersects Highway 831, which serves as an alternate route into Lamont from the north. Highway 29 continues east for to an intersection with Highway 855, which provides access to Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
and Mundare. Entering Two Hills County, the road meets Highway 45 near Hairy Hill. The two highways continue concurrently east for until, after curving southeast, Highway 29 splits north while Highway 45 continues southeast to Two Hills.
Following the former alignment of Highway 860 for only 1.3 km, Highway 29 then turns east along Township Road 554 to meet Highway 36 near the hamlet of Duvernay.[ It and Highway 36 continue concurrently north through Duvernay prior to a crossing of the North Saskatchewan River. The bridge was first built in 1930 and later replaced in 1978.] The hamlet of Brosseau lies on the river's north bank, north of which the road passes Lac Brosseau before curving east past Foisy into St. Paul County. The concurrent highways meet Highway 646, which continues east to Lafond and Elk Point. Highways 29 and 36 veer due north, briefly crossing a section of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation
Saddle Lake Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᓂᐦᒋᑭᐢᑿᐱᐏᓂᕽ, onihcikiskwapiwinihk) is a Plains Cree, First Nations community, located in the ''Amiskwacīwiyiniwak'' (" Beaver Hills") region of central Alberta, Canada. The Nation is a signator ...
before re-entering St. Paul County. Highway 652 branches west to Saddle Lake, and later, the concurrency ends at St. Brides as Highway 29 turns east toward St. Paul from Highway 36 which continues north to Ashmont.[
Highway 29 remains in an east–west direction for most of its remaining in St. Paul County.][ It passes a series of small lakes and the St. Paul Airport before reaching the town of St. Paul. The speed limit reduces to then as the highway becomes 50 Avenue and widens to four lanes while bisecting the town. ]Traffic light
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...
s control an intersection with Highway 881 at the east end of town. After a brief concurrency, Highway 881 turns south to Myrnam at a second intersection further east, and Highway 29 continues east through St. Paul County. It curves slightly northeast before straightening out to the east and passing the hamlet of St. Edouard, turning southeast across Atimoswe Creek on a culvert
A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
. Straightening out due east, the highway ends at a Y intersection
A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T i ...
with Highway 41 north of Elk Point, east of St. Paul and east of the split with Highway 36.[
]
History
Highway 29 was not designated until October 2006, and involved no new construction. It is composed entirely of redesignated highways and concurrencies, with the intention of simplifying the journey from Edmonton to St. Paul which now involves only Highways 15 and 29.[ The first segment of Highway 29 between Highway 15 near Lamont and Highway 45 northwest of Hairy Hill was formerly Highway 637. A concurrency with Highway 45 precedes a short segment of Highway 860 which was re-signed as Highway 29. The highway turns back east on a segment that was formerly Highway 637. Highway 29 is concurrent with Highway 36 for , prior to veering east into St. Paul on the former alignment of Highway 28 to the east end at Highway 41.]
Major intersections
Notes
References
{{Alberta Provincial Highways, Hwy=yes
029