Alberta Provincial Highway No. 734, commonly referred to as Highway 734, is a highway in western Alberta, Canada that travels through the forested foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It used to be part of Forestry Trunk Road and is still colloquially referred to as such.

Highway 734 marker

Forestry Trunk Road

Highway 734
Route information
Maintained by Alberta Ministry of Transportation
Forestry Trunk Road
(southern segment)
Length99 km[1] (62 mi)
South end Hwy 40 north of Coleman
Major intersections Hwy 532
North end Hwy 40 / Hwy 541 west of Longview
Forestry Trunk Road
(central segment)
Length27 km[1] (17 mi)
South end Hwy 40 / Hwy 579 west of Water Valley
North end Hwy 734
Highway 734
Length268 km[1] (167 mi)
South endForestry Trunk Road
Major intersections Hwy 584
Hwy 591
Hwy 752
Hwy 11
North end Hwy 40 south of Coalspur
Forestry Trunk Road
(northern segment)
Length168 km[1] (104 mi)
South end Hwy 40 at Muskeg River
North end Hwy 43 west of Debolt
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Specialized and rural municipalitiesCrowsnest Pass, M.D. of Ranchland No. 26, Kananaskis I.D., Bighorn No. 8 M.D., Clearwater County, Yellowhead County, Greenview No. 16 M.D.
Highway system
Hwy 733 Hwy 735

It is preceded by the remaining central segment of Forestry Trunk Road, Highway 734 begins south of the Red Deer River to the southwest of Sundre, and is succeeded by Highway 40, which also used to be part of Forestry Trunk Road. The highway ends north of the Pembina River.

Forestry Trunk Road was a north-south resource road that ran from the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) in southern Alberta to Highway 43 in northern Alberta. Over time, some segments of the road have been designated as parts of Highway 40 or Highway 734, while the northernmost segment between Highway 40 and Highway 43 is no longer named Forestry Trunk Road.

Two segments of Forestry Trunk Road remain – a southern segment from the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass to Highway 541 to the southwest of Longview, and a short central segment from Highway 579 west of Cremona to south of the Red Deer River. The southern segment is preceded and succeeded by the first and second segments of Highway 40 respectively, while the central segment is preceded by the third segment of Highway 40 and succeeded by Highway 734.

Route description edit

 
Highway 734 through the Foothills, southbound, north of Nordegg
 
View from Highway 734 after crossing Corkscrew Mountain in May 2017

The southern remaining segment of Forestry Trunk Road begins 3.8 km (2.4 mi) north of the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) as a continuation of the southernmost segment of Highway 40. Over its 99 km (62 mi) length, the gravel road provides access to numerous public campgrounds, crosses the Oldman River, and intersects with Highway 532. It also passes near the Bob Creek Wildland Provincial Park, Livingstone Falls, and the Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park before ending at its intersection with Highway 541 and the second segment of Highway 40, which was part of Forestry Trunk Road before being designated a provincial highway.

Another former segment of Forestry Trunk Road, now the third segment of Highway 40, begins at Highway 1A to the west of Cochrane and ends 46 km (29 mi) later at an intersection with Highway 579. Highway 40 continues as the central remaining segment of Forestry Trunk Road for 27 km (17 mi) to a point 8 km (5.0 mi) prior to the Red Deer River. The road then continues for 268 km (167 mi) as Highway 734 to north of the Pembina River, north of the Elk River Indian reserve, where it becomes the fourth segment of Highway 40.

Over its course, the central segment of Forestry Trunk Road combined with Highway 734 provides access to Ram Falls Provincial Park and numerous campgrounds, and intersects Highway 579, Highway 584, Highway 591, Highway 752, and Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway) west of Nordegg. This stretch also crosses the Red Deer, James, Clearwater, Ram, North Saskatchewan, Blackstone, Brazeau, and Pembina rivers.

Major intersections edit

Starting from the south end of Highway 40:

Rural/specialized municipalityLocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Crowsnest PassColeman00.0  Hwy 3 (Crowsnest Highway) – Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Fernie, CranbrookAs Hwy 40
49°38′11″N 114°29′52″W / 49.63639°N 114.49778°W / 49.63639; -114.49778 (40 km 0000)
↑ / ↓3.82.4Municipal boundary49°39′20.1″N 114°28′46.4″W / 49.655583°N 114.479556°W / 49.655583; -114.479556 (40 km 0004)
M. D. of Ranchland No. 663321Township Road 104A – Bob Creek Wildland Provincial ParkFormer Hwy 517
49°51′33″N 114°23′21″W / 49.85917°N 114.38917°W / 49.85917; -114.38917 (40 km 0033)
Kananaskis I.D.
(Kananaskis Country)
7245  Hwy 532 east – Chain Lakes Provincial Park50°10′47″N 114°28′9″W / 50.17972°N 114.46917°W / 50.17972; -114.46917 (40 km 0072)
10565  Hwy 541 east – Longview
  Hwy 40 north – Kananaskis Village
50°22′59″N 114°39′5″W / 50.38306°N 114.65139°W / 50.38306; -114.65139 (40 km 0105)
150 km (93 mi) gap
Rocky View County254158  Hwy 1A (Bow Valley Trail) – Canmore, Cochrane, CalgarySouth end of Hwy 40 concurrency
51°13′27″N 114°39′36″W / 51.22417°N 114.66000°W / 51.22417; -114.66000 (40 km 0254)
M.D. of Bighorn No. 8Waiparous271168Hummingbird Lane51°17′3″N 114°50′13″W / 51.28417°N 114.83694°W / 51.28417; -114.83694 (40 km 0271)
300190  Hwy 579 east – Water Valley, CremonaNorth end of Hwy 40 concurrency
51°26′57″N 115°2′18″W / 51.44917°N 115.03833°W / 51.44917; -115.03833 (40 km 0300)
↑ / ↓326203Municipal boundary51°37′19″N 115°13′28″W / 51.62194°N 115.22444°W / 51.62194; -115.22444 (40 km 0326)
  Hwy 734 south end[2]
Clearwater County378235  Hwy 584 east – Sundre51°52′16″N 115°6′17″W / 51.87111°N 115.10472°W / 51.87111; -115.10472 (40 km 0378)
399248  Hwy 591 east – Caroline50°10′47″N 114°28′9″W / 50.17972°N 114.46917°W / 50.17972; -114.46917 (40 km 0072)
425264  Hwy 752 north – Rocky Mountain House52°4′30″N 115°30′3″W / 52.07500°N 115.50083°W / 52.07500; -115.50083 (40 km 0425)
Nordegg515320  Hwy 11 – Saskatchewan River Crossing, Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer52°28′33″N 116°6′25″W / 52.47583°N 116.10694°W / 52.47583; -116.10694 (40 km 0515)
Yellowhead CountyElk River I.R. 233583362Lodgepole-Lovett Forestry Road52°55′49″N 116°33′34″W / 52.93028°N 116.55944°W / 52.93028; -116.55944 (40 km 0583)
593368Crosses Lovett River52°59′14″N 116°38′12″W / 52.98722°N 116.63667°W / 52.98722; -116.63667 (40 km 0593)
  Hwy 734 north end •   Hwy 40 south end
Coalspur626389  Hwy 47 north – Robb, Edson
  Hwy 40 north – Cadomin, Hinton
53°10′17″N 117°0′27″W / 53.17139°N 117.00750°W / 53.17139; -117.00750 (40 km 0626)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Route transition

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Google (December 21, 2017). "Highway 734 / Forestry Trunk Road in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  2. ^ "Provincial Highways: 500 - 986 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.