British Columbia provincial highway 23

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British Columbia provincial highway 23 is a north-south highway that straddles the Trans-Canada Highway in the province's high country region. Its section north of Revelstoke is the western part of the original routing of Highway 1 along the Columbia River prior to its re-alignment through Rogers Pass, and it is the main access to the Mica Dam facility on Kinbasket Lake, which is actually a reservoir of Mica Dam. Its southern part provides an early connection to the heart of the Okanagan region of the province for travellers on the Trans-Canada westbound from Calgary. Highway 23 was initially opened in 1964, and it was re-aligned through the latter half of the 1960s. Realignment of the highway also occurred in the early 1980s, in anticipation of the creation of the reservoir for the Revelstoke Dam (Revelstoke Lake), which flooded lower parts of the highway.

[edit] Route details

Highway 23, which is 250 km long, begins in the south at Nakusp, where it meets Highway 6. Highway 23 winds north along the eastern shore of Upper Arrow Lake for 49 km to its junction with Highway 31 at Galena Bay. A ferry vessel continues Highway 23 across the Upper Arrow Lake to a location known as Shelter Bay. North of Shelter Bay, Highway 23 follows the west bank of the Columbia River for 49 km to where it meets the Trans-Canada Highway. Highway 23 follows the Trans-Canada east through the city of Revelstoke for 1 km, finally turning north after leaving Revelstoke.

North of Revelstoke, Highway 23 entirely follows the east bank of Revelstoke Lake for 151 km, past the old townsite of Mica Creek to its northern end at the Mica Dam facility.


1 1A 2 3 3A 3B 4 4A 5 5A 6 7 7A 7B 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
17A 18 19 19A 20 21 22 22A 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 31A 33 35 37 37A 39 41 43
49 52 77 91 91A 93 95 95A 97 97A 97B 97C 97D 99 99A 101 113 (Nisga'a) 118 395