British Columbia Highway 1
.svg) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Route information | |
| Existed | 1961–present |
| Major junctions | |
| File:Bc17.png BC 17 in Victoria File:Bc19.png BC 19 in Nanaimo File:Bc99.png BC 99 in West Vancouver File:Bc7a.png BC 7A in Vancouver File:Bc7.png BC 7 in Coquitlam File:Bc11.png BC 11 in Abbotsford File:Bc3.png BC 3 in Hope File:Bc97.png BC 97 in Cache Creek File:Bc5.png BC 5 in Kamloops File:Bc97.png BC 97 in Monte Creek File:Bc97a.png BC 97A in Sicamous File:Bc95.png BC 95 in Golden | |
| Location | |
| Major cities | Victoria Duncan Nanaimo Vancouver Burnaby Coquitlam Surrey Langley Abbotsford Chilliwack Hope Cache Creek Kamloops Salmon Arm Revelstoke |
| British Columbia provincial highways | |
Highway 1 is the British Columbia section of the Trans-Canada Highway. Its total accumulated distance through British Columbia is 1,039 km, including the distance travelled on ferries.
Vancouver Island section
The Vancouver Island branch of Highway 1, known locally as the Island Highway (a name shared with Highway 19), is the main thoroughfare on the south Island. The highway was first given the "1" designation in 1941, and originally went between Victoria and Kelsey Bay, a small coastal community north of Campbell River. Highway 1 on the Island was shortened to terminate in the downtown core of the city of Nanaimo in 1953, with the section north of Nanaimo being re-numbered 19. When the ferry route between Departure Bay in Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver was taken over by BC Ferries in 1961, Highway 1 on the Island was extended to the Departure Bay ferry dock.
Route details
The Island section of highway 1, which is 117 km in total length, begins at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road in Victoria, where a large "mile zero" sign is erected. Highway 1 proceeds north through the city of Victoria for 4 km, passing by the southern terminus of Highway 17, before leaving the city at Tolmie Avenue. Once out of Victoria, Highway 1 heads west on a 14-km long four-lane freeway, with three interchanges along its length, one of which leads to the start of Highway 14. The highway narrows to two lanes upon its entry into Goldstream Provincial Park. The highway from this point is known locally as the Malahat.
From the southern entrance to Goldstream park, the Malahat section of the highway, which is known for its steep grades, goes north for 20 km, becoming three lanes on its exit from Goldstream park and passing through the community of Malahat proper en route, until it reaches the community of Mill Bay. North of Mill Bay, Highway 1 once again widens out into four lanes. The highway travels north for 29 km, past a junction to Shawnigan Lake and the communities of Cobble Hill, Cowichan Bay and Duncan before reaching a junction with Highway 18. The highway then proceeds north for 10 km to a junction with Chemainus.
From the Chemainus junction, Highway 1 travels 11 km northwest into the city of Ladysmith, and northwest for another 13 km to a junction with the community of Cassidy. 6 km north of the Cassidy junction, Highway 1 enters the city of Nanaimo, where Highway 19 merges onto the highway from the B.C. Ferry terminal at Duke Point. 2 km north, Highway 1 and Highway 19 split off at a junction with Cedar Road. Highway 19 proceeds west, while Highway 1 continues north. Highway 1 proceeds through the city of Nanaimo for 8 km north to the B.C. Ferry terminal at Departure Bay, where the Island section of Highway 1 terminates.
The Trans-Canada Highway then enters Departure Bay proper via ferry, turning east-northeast to enter the Strait of Georgia just north of Newcastle Island. The downtown core of Vancouver is visible from the ferry as it approaches the entrance to Howe Sound. Highway 1 turns north-northeast just west of Passage Island to enter Queen Charlotte Channel, then rounds the Whytecliff Peninsula to enter the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, 57 km from the Departure Bay dock.
Lower Mainland section
Like its Island section, the Highway on the Lower Mainland was first given the "1" designation in 1941. Highway 1's original alignment started out within the city limits of Vancouver, and followed Kingsway from Vancouver to Surrey, and then went along the Fraser Highway to Clearbrook. From Chilliwack, the highway originally went to Rosedale, which is a community just east of Chilliwack, along Yale Road, then along Flood-Hope Road to where it picks up its current alignment just across the Fraser River from Hope.
In 1959, Highway 1 was given an extension from within Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay by way of the Lions' Gate Bridge and Taylor Way in West Vancouver. In 1962, the section between Clearbrook and Chilliwack was re-routed to a new expressway.
In 1964, the Clearbrook-Rosedale section of Highway 1 was restored to its original alignment. Also in that year, a new expressway, originally designated as Highway 401, opened up on Highway 1's current alignment between West Vancouver and Rosedale. The expressway became part of Highway 1 in 1973.
In 1986, Highway 1 between Chilliwack and Hope was improved to a freeway. Through the 1990s, all signals and intersections on Highway 1 through Greater Vancouver were removed, making the entire section of Highway 1 between Horseshoe Bay and Hope a freeway.
Route details
Highway 1's total length in the Lower Mainland is 170 km long. On the mainland, the highway begins at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in West Vancouver. From here to the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, the highway is known locally as the Upper Levels Highway. There are nine interchanges on the 14-km stretch of the Highway within West Vancouver. The first interchange east of Horseshoe Bay brings Highway 99 onto a common alignment with Highway 1. After Taylor Way, where Highway 99 takes the exit off of Highway 1, the highway then crosses over the Capilano River into the District of North Vancouver. Highway 1 travels for 9 km through the District and the City of North Vancouver, passing through seven interchanges, until crossing the 1 km-long Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing over the Burrard Inlet into Vancouver. (The bridge, previously known as the Second Narrows Bridge, was renamed to honour the 27 workers who lost their lives during its construction.)
The 4 km-long stretch of Highway 1 through the eastern part of Vancouver is the only freeway within Vancouver's city limits. In Vancouver, Highway 1 travels through the Cassiar Tunnel and passes through three interchanges before crossing into Burnaby at the interchange with Boundary Road. The Burnaby stretch of Highway 1 is 11 km long, and goes through four interchanges before proceeding into Coquitlam. The Coquitlam stretch of Highway 1 lasts 7 km, with two interchanges along its length. The easternmost interchange on Highway 1 in Coquitlam leads to Highway 7. Once out of Coquitlam, Highway 1 crosses the Fraser River over the Port Mann Bridge into Surrey.
In Surrey, Highway 1 has three interchanges, the most easterly interchange of the three leading to Highway 15. 12 km east of the Highway's entry into Surrey, the Highway crosses into the Township of Langley. There are three interchanges on Highway 1 in its 18 km-long stretch through Langley. One leads to 200 St., Langley's major thoroughfare, the second leads to Highway 10, and the third leads to Highway 13. Highway 1 then crosses from the Greater Vancouver Regional District into the Fraser Valley Regional District on its entry into Abbotsford. There are six interchanges on Highway 1 in its 33 km-long stretch through Abbotsford, one of which leads to Highway 11. Once Highway 1 leaves Abbotsford, it crosses over the Vedder Canal into Chilliwack. The highway goes through Chilliwack for 24 km, passing through five interchanges within the city.
2 km after leaving Chilliwack, Highway 1 reaches an interchange with Highway 9. East of the Highway 9 interchange, Highway 1 hugs the south bank of the Fraser River for 35 km, passing through seven interchanges, until reaching the interchange with Highway 3 at Hope. Highway 1 takes the exit off of the freeway at this point. (The freeway alignments of Highways 3 and 5 continue from this exit, Exit 170, and continue unbroken until it meets up again with Highway 1 just west of Kamloops at Exit 362.)
Interior section
In the Kootenays, Highway 1 originally went around the Rogers Pass area in its section from Revelstoke to Golden. In 1962, the section of Highway between Revelstoke and Golden was re-routed through Rogers Pass. Over the 1970s and 1980s, Highway 1's alignment between Hope and Cache Creek underwent a massive overhaul, including new tunnels and river spans. In Kamloops, a new bypass was constructed to re-route traffic on Highway 1 around the downtown area of the city.
Route details
The Interior section of Highway 1 is 695 km long, and closely follows the path of the Canadian Pacific Railway. After leaving the freeway, Highway 1 courses through the town centre of Hope for 2 km before heading north across the Fraser River. At this point, Highway 1 becomes two lanes. 1 km north of the Fraser crossing, Highway 1 reaches its east junction with Highway 7. Continuing from the Highway 7 junction, Highway 1 goes 106 km north on a route that includes seven mountain tunnels, past the communities of Yale, Spuzzum and Boston Bar, before reaching its junction with Highway 12 at Lytton. Leaving the Fraser River, and following the Thompson River another 37 km northeast, Highway 1 reaches a junction with another numbered route, Highway 8. 38 km north of the Highway 8 junction, Highway 1 passes through a junction with Highway 97C. Continuing 5 km north, the highway reaches the community of Cache Creek, where Highway 97 merges onto the Trans-Canada from the north.
East of Cache Creek, Highways 1 and 97 proceed on their common alignment for 72 km, passing through Savona en route to the point where Highway 1 enters the area belonging to the city of Kamloops. Highway 5 merges onto the Trans-Canada from the south at this point, returning the freeway to Highway 1.
The 1/97/5 triplex proceeds east for 12 km on a freeway through the western part of Kamloops to where Highway 5 diverges north. Highways 1 and 97 leave Kamloops to the east 7 km later. The highway continues east for another 19 km to Monte Creek, where the freeway ends and Highway 97 diverges south from Highway 1. For the next 82 km east, Highway 1 takes a winding two-lane route through the communities of Pritchard, Chase and Sorrento before reaching the city of Salmon Arm on Shuswap Lake. Highway 97B meets Highway 1 in Salmon Arm.
After Salmon Arm, Highway 1 goes east for 27 km to a junction with Highway 97A at Sicamous. Over the next 71 km east, Highway 1 winds through the communities of Malakwa, Craigellachie and the Three Valley Gap, before reaching its junction with Highway 23 at Revelstoke, on the Columbia River. The next 148 km of Highway 1 to Golden winds east through Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park, where the Rogers Pass area is located. There are seven snow sheds on Highway 1 just west of Rogers Pass.
After Glacier National Park and a time zone boundary crossing, Highway 1 passes over the Columbia River again at Donald, and then reaches its junction with Highway 95 at Golden. 73 km east of Golden, after Highway 1 has passed through Yoho National Park and the community of Field, Highway 1 crosses the Continental Divide (via Kicking Horse Pass) into Alberta.
List of exits, west to east
The following is a list of exits along the freeway portions of Highway 1.
(The Island Exit-Numbering System originates at Mile 0 in Victoria; it resets once Highway 1 crosses to the mainland.)
- Exit (7)-McKenzie Avenue to Highway 17File:BC17.png
- Exit 8- Helmcken Rd.
- Exit 10- (Westbound) Colwood, Burnside Rd. W.
- Exit 11- (Eastbound) Thetis Lake Regional Park,Six Mile Rd.
- Exit 14- Millstream Rd, Langford, Sooke. Highway 14File:Bc14.png
Intersection- Spencer Rd.
At this point, Highway 1 continues as a non-freeway with two to three lanes.
Through the Cowichan Valley, Highway 1 becomes a four-lane divided highway until Nanaimo. This four-lane section between Victoria and Nanaimo while non-freeway has two interchanges:
- Exit- Mill Bay Rd (Bamberton)
- Exit- S. Wellington, Nanaimo Lakes Rd
Just south of Nanaimo the Highway is briefly duplexed with Highway 19 with interchanges at
- Exit (7)- Duke Point Highway, Highway 19 SBFile:Bc19.png
- Exit 9*- Nanaimo Parkway, Highway 19 NBFile:Bc19.png, Highway 19AFile:Bc19a.png
Highway leaves Highway 19 to weave through Nanaimo to reach the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal; continues as a freeway in West Vancouver, near the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.
Exit numbers for highways with sections on both Vancouver Island and the Mainland reset when the highway reaches the Lower Mainland. Thus, the mainland exit-numbering system for BC Highway 1 starts when it comes ashore at Horseshoe Bay.
Intersection- Keith Rd.
- Exit 0- (Eastbound) Marine Dr.
- Exit 1- (Westbound) Highway 99 NBFile:Bc99.png, Sea to Sky Highway.
Begin Highway 99 multiplex
- Exit 2- Eagleridge Dr.
- Exit 4- (Westbound) Headland Dr. (earliest access from Horseshoe Bay village to ferry terminal)
- Exit 4- (Eastbound) Woodgreen Cr.
- Exit 7- Westridge Ave.
- Exit 8- Cypress Bowl Rd.
- Exit 10- 21st St.
- Exit 11- 15th St.
- Exit 13- Highways 1AFile:Bc1a.png, 99 SBFile:Bc99.png, Taylor Way.
- Exit 14- Capilano Rd.
- Exit 17- Westview Dr.
- Exit 18- Lonsdale Ave.
- Exit 19- Lynn Valley Rd.
- Exit 21- (Westbound) Mountain Hwy.
- Exit 22- Mountain Hwy., Mt. Seymour Pkwy.
- Exit 23A- Main St.
- Exit 23B- Dollarton Hwy.
- Exit 25- McGill St.
- Exit 26- Highway 7AFile:Bc7a.png, Hastings St.
- Exit 27- 1st Ave. E.
- Exit 28A- (Eastbound) Boundary Rd.
- Exit 28A- (Westbound) Grandview Hwy.
- Exit 29- (Westbound) Willingdon Ave.
- Exit 29A- (Eastbound) Willingdon Ave. South
- Exit 29B- (Eastbound) Willingdon Ave. North
- Exit-Douglas Road
- Exit 32- (Eastbound) Sprott St.
- Exit 33- Canada Way., Kensington Ave.
- Exit 37- Gaglardi Way.
- Exit 40A- Brunette Ave. S.
- Exit 40B- Brunette Ave. N., Blue Mountain Rd.
- Exit 44- Highway 7File:Bc7.png, Lougheed Hwy. Highway 7BFile:Bc7b.png, Mary Hill Bypass.
- Exit 48- (Eastbound only) 108 Ave., 152 St.
- Exit 50- 104 Ave., 160 St. (Westbound last exit into Surrey)
- Exit 53- 176th Street. Highway 15File:Bc15.png
- Exit 57- 192nd Street. (Access to Highway 1 westbound from 192nd Street SB only)
- Exit 58- 88 Ave., 200 St.
- Exit 66- Highway 10File:Bc10.png, 232 St.
- Exit 73- Highway 13File:Bc13.png, 264 St.
- Exit 83- Highway 1AFile:Bc1a.png, Fraser Highway., and Mt. Lehman Rd.
- Exit 87- Clearbrook Rd.
- Exit 90- McCallum Rd.
- Exit 92- Highway 11File:Bc11.png, Sumas Way.
- Exit 95- Whatcom Rd.
- Exit 99- (Eastbound) South Parallel Rd. Rest Area
- Exit 104- No. 3 Rd.
- Exit 109- Yale Rd. W.
- Exit 116- Lickman Rd.
- Exit 119- Vedder Rd.
- Exit 120- (Westbound) Young Rd.
- Exit 123- Prest Rd.
- Exit 129- Annis Rd.
- Exit 135- Highway 9File:Bc9.png, Agassiz- Rosedale Highway., Bridal Falls Rd.
- Exit 138- Popkum Rd.
- Exit 146- Herrling Island Rd. (U-turn route)
- Exit 151- Peters Rd.
- Exit 153- Laidlaw Rd.
- Exit 160- Laidlaw Rd.
- Exit 165- Flood- Hope Rd.
- Exit 168- Flood- Hope Rd.
- Exit 170- Highway 1
, Water Ave.
At this point Highway 1 leaves the freeway (freeway continues as Highways 3 and 5), and returns to the freeway in Kamloops.
- Exit 362- Highway 1, Highway 97File:Bc97.png, Trans Canada Highway., (merges with Highway 5File:Bc5.png, Coquihalla Highway)
- Exit 366- Copperhead Dr.
- Exit 367- Pacific Way
- Exit 368- Highway 5AFile:Bc5a.png, Hillside Way.
- Exit 369- (Eastbound) Columbia St. W.
- Exit 370- (Westbound) Summit Dr.
- Exit 374- Highway 5File:Bc5.png, South Yellowhead Highway.
- Exit 375- (Westbound) Valleyview Dr.
Intersection- Comazzetto Rd.
Intersection- Vicars Rd.
Intersection- Oriole Rd.
Intersection- Highland Rd.
Intersection- River Rd.
Intersection- Tanager Dr.
Exit- Dallas Dr.
- Exit 388- Kokanee Way.
- Exit 390- (Eastbound) Dallas Dr.
- Exit 391- (Westbound) Lafarge Rd.
- Exit 396- (Eastbound) Hook Rd.
- Exit 397- (Westbound) Hook Rd.
- Exit 399- Highway 97File:Bc97.png
At this point, the freeway ends, and Highway 1 continues as a two lane highway.
- *Exit number belongs to Highway 19.
- Exit numbers in brackets (#) are approximate kilometre points.
Trivia
- Two separate exits in each direction are given the number "28A". One leads to Grandview Hwy and the other leads to Boundary Rd. The problem is, there is no "Exit 28B", although some maps mark the Grandview Hwy exit "28B". To solve the problem, each exit can be renumbered "28", but that has not been implemented as a certain undertaking. A similar situation is found on Highway 99 in the north part of Richmond (See Highway 99), although it has since been renumbered.
- Since then, a new traffic light configuration that replaced the slip-ramp configuration from Route 1 to Keith Rd. has been installed, with the flyover removed and the Argyle Ave. to Route 1 NB ramp removed (In which access to the ferry terminal is via Eagleridge Dr, though the Bay St. to Route 1 SB ramp remains). This makes the actual freeway start at the Marine Dr. overpass at Exit 0, instead of at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal as most people denote it.
