Alberta Highway 43
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| Highway 43 |
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| Length: | 520 km (323 mi) |
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| Direction: | West-East |
| From: | British Columbia border |
| To: | Beach Corner, west of Edmonton |
| Major cities: | Grande Prairie, Whitecourt, Fox Creek, Valleyview |
| System: | Alberta provincial highway, CANAMEX Corridor |
Highway 43 is the main Alberta highway stretching from the Yellowhead just directly west of Edmonton to the Alberta/British Columbia provincial border via Grande Prairie. The highway has been designated as a part of the CANAMEX Corridor.
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[edit] Development
The provincial government is currently twinning the entire stretch of Highway 43 to a four-lane divided highway from the intersection with the Yellowhead Highway at Beach Corner to the Alberta/BC border. As of October 2007, the twinning to Grande Prairie is mostly complete, with the exception of a 38 km (24 mi) section of two-lane highway through Sturgeon Lake First Nations reserve. The Sturgeon Lake section could start construction as early as the Fall of 2009.[1]
The twinning from Grande Prairie to the Alberta/BC border is not expected to be completed until 2012 or thereafter, although a section from Grande Prairie west to Wembley is already twinned. Highway 43 was (and still is) one of Alberta's most dangerous highways, especially where there are still two-lane stretches not yet twinned. This is due to large animals such as moose and elk, high traffic volumes, careless driving around large vehicles such as logging trucks, speeding motorists and construction. The rapid economic growth of Grande Prairie and area, safety concerns and the CANAMEX trade corridor designation pushed the need for twinning.
A partial cloverleaf interchange is already completed at Four Mile Corner (not a settlement, but rather an informal name used widely by locals for the intersection of Highways 2 and 43) a few kilometres (miles) north of Grande Prairie, with another expected to go up in the west side of the city in conjunction with a planned Highway 43X bypass. Expansion of the Four Mile Corner interchange to a full cloverleaf has begun with the start of construction of a new bridge. This overpass on the eastbound lanes of Highway 43 will connect with the current Range Road 63 to the east and with a new Canadian National Railway rail overpass to the west. Construction started in September of 2007 with an estimated completion by October of 2008. The bypass around Grande Prairie is needed due to rapidly rising traffic volumes. The current northwest bypass, built in the late 1960s, is increasingly no longer functioning as a true bypass for that reason as well as traffic lights being set up at intersections along the current bypass.
[edit] History
Prior to the late 1990s, Highway 43 was three separately numbered highways, although the entire highway was constructed and paved from the early to late 1950s: Highway 2 from the Alberta/BC border to Four Mile Corner, a few kilometres north of Grande Prairie, Highway 34 from Four Mile Corner to Valleyview, and the original designated stretch of Highway 43 from Valleyview to the Yellowhead Highway. The current designation was needed to avoid confusion in light of the CANAMEX Corridor establishment and its importance as a major highway route to Grande Prairie and the Peace Region.
[edit] Mile by mile
The highway begins at the provincial border between Alberta and BC, where British Columbia Highway 2 ends just northwest of the hamlet of Demmit.
| km | Description | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|
| 0 km | Alberta-British Columbia border | |
| 7 km | Passes through Demmit | |
| 20 km | Highway 59 branches off to the east | |
| 33 km | Crosses Highway 672 at Hythe | |
| 41 km | Highway 671 branches off to the west at Albright | |
| 48 km | Highway 722 branches off to the south at Beaverlodge | |
| 53 km | Highway 723 branches off to the north toward Valhalla Centre | |
| 60 km | Highway 667 branches off to the west at Huallen | |
| 68 km | Highway 724 branches off to the north at Wembley | |
| 91 km | Reaches Grande Prairie where Highway 40 branches to the south | |
| 93 km | Turns north onto the current bypass, goes northeast, and turns north once again | |
| 100 km | Highway 2 branches off to the north at Four Mile Corner while Highway 43 goes east | |
| 127 km | Passes by Bezanson | |
| 135 km | Crosses the Smoky River | |
| 143 km | The Forestry Trunk Road Highway 734 branches off to the south | |
| 151 km | Highway 736 branches off to the north at DeBolt | |
| 159 km | Passes through Crooked Creek | |
| 170 km | Passes by Sturgeon Heights | |
| 179 km | Passes by Calais | |
| 196 km | Highway 49 branches off to the north at Valleyview | |
| 235 km | Highway 745 branches off to Little Smoky | |
| 282 km | Passes by Fox Creek | |
| 356 km | Highway 32 branches off to the north | |
| 364 km | Highway 32 branches off to the south as it goes through Whitecourt | |
| 389 km | Crosses Highway 751 | |
| 391 km | Highway 658 branches off to the north | |
| 426 km | Highway 18 branches off to the east at Green Court | |
| 436 km | Crosses Highway 22 (The Cowboy Trail) at Mayerthorpe | |
| 443 km | Highway 654 branches off to the north | |
| 444 km | Passes by Rochfort Bridge | |
| 454 km | Highway 757 branches off to the south and passes by Sangudo | |
| 471 km | Highway 764 branches off to the north at Cherhill | |
| 477 km | Highway 765 branches off to the south near Glenevis | |
| 496 km | Highway 33 branches off to the north at Gunn | |
| 504 km | Highway 37 branches off to the east while Highway 43 turns south near Onoway | |
| 520 km | Ends at Highway 16 at Manly Corner |
[edit] References
- ^ Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation: Highway 43 twinning to go through Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
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