16 Avenue N is a major road in Calgary,

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 ...

, that forms a segment of Highway 1 (

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

) and connects Calgary to Banff and

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

. It is a four to six-lane principal arterial expressway at its extremities, but is an urban

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

between the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

and Bowness Road, and also between

Crowchild Trail Crowchild Trail is a major expressway in western Calgary, Alberta. The segment from the 12 Mile Coulee Road at the edge of the city to 16 Avenue NW (Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 1) is designated as Highway 1A by Alberta Transportation ...

and

Deerfoot Trail Deerfoot Trail is a freeway segment of Highway 2 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It stretches the entire length of the city from south to north and links suburbs to downtown via Memorial Drive and 17 Avenue SE. The freewa ...

. 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 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, ...

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 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 ...

, and

use Stoney Trail as a bypass. It continues past

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to an intersection at Bowfort Road, where construction of a

single point urban interchange A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thro ...

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 Sarcee Trail is a major limited-access road in Calgary, Alberta. It is divided into two portions, one in the south end of the city, and one in the north end of the city. Originally planned as one continuous route, plans to connect the two halves ...

, 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 Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) is the largest hospital in the province of Alberta and is located in the city of Calgary. It is one of Canada's most recognized medical facilities and one of the leading research and teaching hospitals. Foothills M ...

before crossing University Drive, which provides access to the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

McMahon Stadium McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. The stadium is between the downtown core and the University of Calgary, north ...

, 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 Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

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

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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 A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

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 A three-level diamond interchange is a type of highway interchange where through traffic on both main roads is grade-separated from intersections which handle transferring traffic. It is similar in design to a three-level stacked roundabout exc ...

, and interchanges at 19 Street NE and 68 Street NE.

Major intersections

From west to east.

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