Highway 1 is a
provincial highway
Numbered highways in Canada are split by province, and a majority are maintained by their province or territory transportation department. All highways in Canada are numbered except for three in the Northwest Territories, one in Alberta, one in O ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, that carries the main route of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federalâprovincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
(TCH). The highway is long and connects
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
, the
Greater Vancouver region in the
Lower Mainland, and the
Interior. It is the westernmost portion of the main TCH to be numbered "Highway 1", which continues through
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canadaâ ...
and extends to the
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
â
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
boundary. The section of Highway 1 in the Lower Mainland is the second-busiest
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flowâingress and egressâregulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
in Canada, after
Ontario Highway 401 in Toronto.
The highway's western terminus is in the provincial capital of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, where it serves as a city street and freeway in the suburbs. Highway 1 travels north to
Nanaimo and reaches the Lower Mainland at
Horseshoe Bay via a
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...
route across the
Strait of Georgia. The highway bypasses
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
on a freeway that travels through
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
, northern
Surrey, and
Abbotsford while following the
Fraser River inland. The freeway ends in
Hope, where Highway 1 turns north and later east to follow the Fraser and
Thompson
Thompson may refer to:
People
* Thompson (surname)
* Thompson M. Scoon (1888â1953), New York politician
Places Australia
*Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality
Bulgaria
* Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province
Canada
* ...
rivers into the Interior and through
Kamloops. The highway continues east across the
Columbia Mountains
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 kmÂČ (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain Tre ...
, serving three
national parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
:
Mount Revelstoke,
Glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
, and
Yoho.
Highway 1 enters
Alberta
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 Ter ...
at
Kicking Horse Pass
Kicking Horse Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the AlbertaâBritish Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both s ...
near
Banff National Park.
Highway 1 was preceded by several overland trails and
wagon road
''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957â1962), and then on ABC (1962â1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. I ...
s established in the mid-to-late 19th century, including the
Old Yale Road
The Old Yale Road is a historic early wagon road between New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada and Yale, British Columbia, and servicing the Fraser Valley of the British Columbia Lower Mainland in the late 19th century and into the early 20th ...
in the
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...
, the
Cariboo Road, and the
Big Bend Highway. The provincial government designated Highway 1 in 1941 on a portion of the
Island Highway
The Island Highway is actually a series of highways that follows much of the eastern coastline of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
While the Island Highway has no officially designated starting point, it is understood to begin at the ...
between Victoria and
Kelsey Bay
Kelsey Bay is a small coastal settlement located in the Sayward Valley on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia about 1 mi (1.6 km) from the community of Sayward. The wharf at Kelsey Bay was previously the southern terminus for ...
as well as the VancouverâBanff highway. It was incorporated into the national Trans-Canada Highway program, which was established in 1949 and completed in 1962. Other sections of the highway were realigned in later years, including a new freeway in the Lower Mainland that opened in the 1960s and 1970s and was numbered
Highway 401
King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the MacdonaldâCartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one,
is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provinc ...
.
Vancouver Island section
![Mile 0 TCH Victoria BC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Mile_0_TCH_Victoria_BC.jpg)
The western terminus of Highway 1 and the main route of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federalâprovincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
is at Dallas Road on the southern coast of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, which faces the
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
.
The terminus is marked by the
Mile Zero Monument, a wooden sign at the foot of
Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trail ...
, with a nearby statue of runner
Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...
to commemorate his cross-country
marathon that was planned to end at the monument. The highway travels north on Douglas Street and forms the boundary between the residential
James Bay
James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, áááŻá, WĂźnipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...
neighbourhood to the west and Beacon Hill Park to the east. At the northwest edge of the park, Blanshard Street from the street to run a block east, staying parallel to Douglas Street.
Highway 1 passes the
Royal BC Museum
Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...
and intersects Belleville Street, a short connector that carries a section of
Highway 17 from the
Black Ball Ferries terminal (which is used by the to
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021.
The city's har ...
) and passes the
British Columbia Parliament Buildings
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
The Speaker and the Serjeant-at-Arms are amongst those responsible for the legislative ...
.
The highway travels through
Downtown Victoria
Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the city centre and the central business district for the City of Victoria, and the Greater Victoria regions.
Characteristics
The downtown area is an ex ...
and passes several city landmarks, including the
Fairmont Empress Hotel, the
Bay Centre
The Bay Centre (formerly the Victoria Eaton Centre) is a shopping mall in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by Douglas, Government, Fort, and View streets, in the city's historic centre.Ward, Robin (November 17, 1990). "A world ...
,
Chinatown, and
Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
The Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (SOFMC) is an indoor arena located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and is the largest arena in British Columbia outside of Vancouver. It is primarily used for ice hockey, previously the home arena of the ...
. It follows Douglas Street, a six-lane urban thoroughfare with
bus lanes during
peak period
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
s, and continues north into the suburban municipality of
Saanich.
Near the Uptown
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known colle ...
, Highway 1 turns west and becomes a
limited-access road that travels alongside the
Galloping Goose Regional Trail
The Galloping Goose Regional Trail is a rail trail between Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and the ghost town of Leechtown, north of Sooke, where it meets the old Sooke Flowline. Maintained by the Capital Regional District (CRD), the tra ...
through residential areas and along the north side of
Portage Inlet
Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and seaplane airport in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. It serves as a cruise ship and ferry destination for tourists and visitors to the city and Vancouver Island. It is both a port of en ...
. The highway becomes a full freeway with four-to-six lanes as it enters the town of
View Royal
View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 10,858 residents. With over of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pike ...
and travels around the north side of
Mill Hill Regional Park. It then intersects
Highway 14 in
Langford and reverts to a limited-access road with a median divider.
Highway 1 (part of the Island Highway) then travels around
Bear Mountain and turns north to follow the
Goldstream River
The Goldstream River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining that stream via the Lake Revelstoke reservoir after running largely west from the heart of the northern Selkirk Mountains. The river's name derives from the Big Bend Gold Rush ...
into
Goldstream Provincial Park
Goldstream Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is known for the annual fall salmon runs in the Goldstream River, and the large numbers of bald eagles that congregate to feed at that time. The total size of the pa ...
, where it meets several
trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
s.
The Island Highway continues along the west side of the
Saanich Inlet
, image = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Canada 13.jpg
, image_size = 260px
, caption = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Northwest o ...
and enters the
Cowichan Valley Regional District
The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and northwest, ...
near
Malahat. It descends from Malahat Summit, located at
above sea level, on a highway with passing lanes and a median barrier added in the late 2010s in response to a high rate of collisions. The section also has occasional closures with no road detour, relying on the limited-capacity
Mill Bay Ferry
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile manufacturing, Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the A ...
as the sole remaining connection between
Greater Victoria and other Vancouver Island communities. Highway 1 passes the
Malahat SkyWalk, an observation built by the
Malahat First Nation Malahat First Nation is a Coast Salish First Nations community of W̱SĂNEÄ (Saanich People) representing approximately 350 members with two reserve lands located on the western shore of Saanich Inlet, Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. ...
, and through farmland surrounding
Mill Bay. The highway travels around central
Duncan and through
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to:
* Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
* Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States
* Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia
* Ladysmith, Virginia, United States
* Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
as it continues north as a divided highway with limited access at signalized intersections.
In southern
Nanaimo, it has a short
concurrency with
Highway 19, which continues east to the
Duke Point ferry terminal
Duke Point is a major ferry terminal owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen. The ferry terminal is located at Duke Point in Nanaimo and is the only major terminal in the BC Ferrie ...
and northwest along the
Strait of Georgia. Highway 1 travels through central Nanaimo on Nicol Street and Stewart Avenue to the
Departure Bay ferry terminal
Departure Bay is a major ferry terminal in Nanaimo, British Columbia owned and operated by BC Ferries that provides ferry service across the Strait of Georgia to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The terminal is located at the southern end of ...
, where the Vancouver Island section ends.
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...
operates an automobile ferry service from Departure Bay to
Horseshoe Bay that carries Highway 1 to the
Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. A typical vessel assigned to the route can carry 1,460 to 1,571 passengers and 310 to 322 vehicles.
History
The Vancouver Island section of Highway 1 was designated in the initial numbering scheme announced by the provincial government in March 1940, along with Highway 1A. It originally connected Victoria to
Kelsey Bay
Kelsey Bay is a small coastal settlement located in the Sayward Valley on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia about 1 mi (1.6 km) from the community of Sayward. The wharf at Kelsey Bay was previously the southern terminus for ...
, a small coastal community north of
Campbell River. The Vancouver Island section was truncated to downtown Nanaimo in 1953, with the section north of Nanaimo being re-numbered to
Highway 19. When
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...
took over the ferry route between Departure Bay in Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver in 1961, Highway 1 was extended to the Departure Bay ferry dock.
The Malahat Highway was completed in 1911 as a gravel road with a single lane and was later upgraded to two paved lanes. A bridge across the
Finlayson Arm
, image = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Canada 13.jpg
, image_size = 260px
, caption = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Northwest o ...
to bypass the section was among 19 options studied in 2007, but were discarded in favor of other solutions that would cost less. In 2019, the provincial government studied the construction of a permanent detour for the GoldstreamâMalahat section of Highway 1 and identified several potential routes, but instead decided to move forward with safety improvements to the existing highway. The section was severely damaged by several
floods in November 2021, which closed the road for several days and required $15 million in repairs the following year.
Lower Mainland section
Route details
Sections of Highway 1 from Grandview Highway in Vancouver to 216 Street in Langley vary from being 3 to 4 lanes in each direction and shortens to two lanes after leaving Langley (Metro Vancouver) and enters Abbotsford (Fraser Valley). With one of these lanes being a
high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. These HOV lanes were constructed in 1998 as part of the BC MOT's "Go Green" project to promote the use of HOV vehicles, and cost $62 million.
History
North Shore
The Upper Levels Highway opened between Horseshoe Bay and Taylor Way in West Vancouver on September 14, 1957, replacing a section of Marine Drive that had carried Highway 1. Construction on a new, high-level Second Narrows Bridge began two months later and was planned to be incorporated into the Trans-Canada Highway upon completion. On June 17, 1958, several spans of the unfinished bridge collapsed during work on the main arch; 18 workers died and one diver also died during a later search at the site. The Second Narrows Bridge was dedicated to the accident's victims and opened to traffic on August 25, 1960; it cost $23 million to construct and was the second-longest bridge in Canada at the time of its completion. The Upper Levels Highway was extended east to the Second Narrows Bridge on March 4, 1961; the limited-access highway across North Vancouver cost $50 million to construct.
Vancouver to Chilliwack
Prior to the opening of the freeway (and prior to the 1980s and 1990s, expressway) segments of the present Trans-Canada, traffic used the
Pattullo Bridge
The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. It was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. ...
,
Kingsway, and
Fraser Highway
Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommissi ...
as the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federalâprovincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
. These roads were a part of the Highway 1 from its designation in 1940
until the redesignation of the B.C.'s
400 series highways in 1972/73.
By 1932 a new cutoff across northern parts of the drained
Sumas Lake was mostly built. The cutoff bypassed the
Yale Road
The Old Yale Road is a historic early wagon road between New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada and Yale, British Columbia, and servicing the Fraser Valley of the British Columbia Lower Mainland in the late 19th century and into the early 20th ...
which avoided the historic lake by running on its southern flank and along the base of
Vedder Mountain The Vedder Mountain is a branch of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest, located at the southeastern edge of the Fraser Lowland in British Columbia, Canada, between the village of Yarrow and the village of Cultus Lake, extending from the Vedd ...
. The highway was initially partly gravel,
but it would be fully paved within a few years of its opening.
From 1960 to 1964, the province opened several expressway and freeway segments as a part of a continuous express route between
Bridal Falls and Taylor Way in
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
.
On August 1, 1960, the Chilliwack Bypass was officially opened by Highways Minister
Phil Gaglardi
Philip Arthur Gaglardi (January 13, 1913 – September 23, 1995), sometimes known as Flying Phil, was a politician in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He is best known for his service as Minister of Highways in the BC government fr ...
, MLA for Chillwack
William Kenneth Kiernan
William Kenneth Kiernan (July 25, 1916 â August 26, 1997) was a Canadian businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Chilliwack in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972 as a Social Credit membe ...
and a six-year-old girl who cut the blue ribbon.
About four miles of the road had been opened before Gaglardi officially opened the bypass.
Work on the bypass started on December 12, 1956, with two men clearing bushes.
Around the time of opening of the Chilliwack Bypass, a bypass of
Abbotsford was also being constructed.
That section of freeway would be officially opened by
Phil Gaglardi
Philip Arthur Gaglardi (January 13, 1913 – September 23, 1995), sometimes known as Flying Phil, was a politician in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He is best known for his service as Minister of Highways in the BC government fr ...
on April 19, 1962.
On May 1, 1964, the section of Freeway between what is now North of the 1st Avenue interchange to the
Cape Horn Interchange
The Cape Horn Interchange is a major interchange that connects British Columbia Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) to Lougheed Highway (Highway 7), a heavily signalized thoroughfare in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Burnaby, and the Mary Hill Byp ...
opened.
This was followed on June 12 by the opening of the Port Mann bridge, and the official opening of the freeway-expressway system from Bridal Falls to Taylor Way. A 90-year-old man and 11-year-old girl assisted Premier
W.A.C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 â February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...
and
Phil Gaglardi
Philip Arthur Gaglardi (January 13, 1913 – September 23, 1995), sometimes known as Flying Phil, was a politician in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He is best known for his service as Minister of Highways in the BC government fr ...
in opening the bridge.
After the opening,
Gaglardi At the time of the bridge's opening, various speed limits were in-effect. The section from Bridal Falls to the
Port Mann Bridge
The Port Mann Bridge is a 10-lane cable-stayed bridge in British Columbia, Canada that opened to traffic in 2012. Carrying 10 lanes of traffic with space reserved for a light rail line, it is the second widest bridge, after the San Francisco-O ...
had a limit. Through Burnaby was the limit. Speeds dropped on approach to Cassiar Street with a West of Boundary Road, with a drop to for Cassiar Street.
=New interchanges and upgrades
=
Over the years, various interchanges have been built and rebuilt.
On July 31, 1969, the interchange with Lickman Road in
Chilliwack
Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdo ...
opened.
The Prest Road overpass followed in the early 1970s.
In January 1992 the
Cassiar Tunnel
The Cassiar Connector is a highway traffic tunnel on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is located in the north-east corner of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the Vancouver-Burnaby border.
Travelling northward, the tunnel begins under Adanac Street ...
opened. The project replaced a surface street section of Cassiar Street which was used by traffic to get from the Burnaby Freeway to the
Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.
Through the 2000s and 2010s multiple interchanges were upgraded and rebuilt along the highway. The Gateway program saw the rebuilding of several interchanges from Willingdon Avenue to
176 Street. Through Abbotsford the Mt. Lehman/
Fraser Highway
Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommissi ...
, Clearbrook Road, and McCallum Road interchanges were rebuilt.
On June 9, 2011, Highway 1 between 152 Street in Surrey and
Highway 11 in
Abbotsford was designated as the Highway of Heroes.
On September 4, 2020, a new interchange with 216 Street was opened.
On November 10, 2022, it was announced that major construction of a new overpass at Glover Road (which will be built first), a revised interchange with
Highway 10/232 St. and widening to three lanes between 216 St. and
Highway 13/264 St. had started.
This work is part of a plan to eventually widen the highway to Whatcom Road in
Abbotsford.
Interior section
![British Columbia Highway 1 just east of Kamloops heading westbound](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/British_Columbia_Highway_1_just_east_of_Kamloops_heading_westbound..jpg)
Several sections of Highway 1 between Revelstoke and the Alberta border are under the jurisdiction of
Parks Canada.
History
Starting in 2004 the highway had a massive overhaul in the Kicking Horse Canyon near Golden including a 5 km realignment.
During
major floods in November 2021, sections of Highway 1 between Hope and Spences Bridge were washed away into the Thompson River. Other sections of the highway on Vancouver Island and a railroad underpass near Lytton were also damaged in the same event. As a result of the floods, which also damaged other highways in the Fraser Valley, road connections from Metro Vancouver to the rest of Canada were cut off.
Future
The Interior section of Highway 1 is considered sub-standard when compared to other highways with similar traffic volume in the U.S. or other parts of Canada. The majority of the route is a dangerous, undivided two-lane highway with sharp corners, prone to frequent closures and accidents.
To address this, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has undertaken an effort to twin the highway to four-lane 100 km/h standards between Kamloops and Alberta, with a targeted completion date of 2050. Several stretches of four-lane divided highway, including the Monte Creek to Pritchard section; the four-lane portions of the Kicking Horse Canyon, the 13 km-long passing lanes near Blind Bay, and many smaller four-lane divided fragments typically 2â4 km in length, are the results of this effort. As of 2020, about 25 percent of the highway between Alberta and Kamloops has been upgraded to a divided four-lane cross-section. Several new projects have been funded and are expected to the constructed by 2023, including:
*A new 4.9 km-long four-lane divided section around Chase, involving the construction of an interchange at the town;
*A new interchange and twinned highway at the West entrance of Salmon Arm;
*A new four-lane bridge across the Shuswap River in Sicamous;
*A new rest area and a 2 km-long four-lane section in the Illecillewaet Valley;
*A 4.4 km-long twinning near Quartz Creek east of Golden;
*And upgrading the remaining 4 km-long stretch of two-lane highway in the Kicking Horse Canyon.
Major intersections
;Notes
See also
*
List of British Columbia provincial highways
The Canadian province of British Columbia has a system of numbered highways that travel between various cities and regions with onward connections to neighboring provinces and U.S. states. The numbering scheme, announced in March 1940, includes ...
References
External links
{{Trans-Canada
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
British Columbia 001
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
Transport in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Transport in Chilliwack
Transport in Kamloops
Transport in Nanaimo
1961 establishments in British Columbia