Highway 95 is a north-south highway in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, opened in 1957. The highway connects with U.S. Route 95, from which the highway takes its number, at the Canada–U.S. border at Kingsgate, just north of Eastport, Idaho.[2] The section between the Canada-U.S. border and the Crowsnest Highway is known as the Yahk–Kingsgate Highway while the section between the Crowsnest Highway and Golden is known as the Kootenay–Columbia Highway.[3]
Highway 95 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Highway 95 highlighted in red. | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure | ||||
| Length | 329 km[1] (204 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1953–present | |||
| Component highways | (1) Yahk–Kingsgate Highway (2) Kootenay–Columbia Highway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 95 at Canada–US border at Kingsgate | |||
 Hwy 3 in Yahk Hwy 95A in Cranbrook Hwy 3 / Hwy 93 near Fort Steele Hwy 95A near Wasa Hwy 93 in Radium Hot Springs | ||||
| North end |  Hwy 1 (TCH) in Golden | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | British Columbia | |||
| Highway system | ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
Highway 95, one of the most overlapped highways in the province, shares most of its route with other numbered highways.
Route description edit
The 329 km (204 mi) long Highway 95 begins at the international border in a small community called Kingsgate. It connects to U.S. Route 95 at the Eastport-Kingsgate Border Crossing. Heading north from there, it follows the Moyie River northeast for 11 km (7 mi) to the town of Yahk, where it merges onto the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3). Highway 95 follows the Crowsnest Highway northeast for 72 km (45 mi) to the city of Cranbrook, where Highway 95A, designated in 1968 and following the original alignment of Highway 95 for 54 km (34 mi) through Kimberley and Ta Ta Creek, begins. From Cranbrook, it is another 7 km (4 mi) east to the Fort Steele junction, where Highway 3 hands Highway 95 off to Highway 93.[2]
From the Fort Steele junction, Highway 95 follows Highway 93 north for 31 km (19 mi) through the community of Wasa, to where Highway 95A's east junction is located. From the Highway 95A junction, Highway 93/95 follows the Kootenay River upstream for 45 km (28 mi), through Skookumchuck to the town of Canal Flats, at the southern end of Columbia Lake. North of Canal Flats, Highway 93/95 travels for 58 km (36 mi) along the Columbia River, through the communities of Fairmont Hot Springs, Windermere and Invermere to the town of Radium Hot Springs, where Highway 93 diverges east. Highway 95 continues to follow the Columbia River north for 105 km (65 mi), through the locations of Edgewater, Brisco, Spillimacheen and Parson, to where it terminates at its junction with the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) at Golden.[2]
History edit
Prior to 1941, British Columbia used lettered routes as opposed to numbers, and the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as part of Route U, which continued south to U.S. Route 93 at Roosville along present-day Highway 93.[4] In 1941, British Columbia introduced numbered highways, with Highway 95 begin designated on 11 km (7 mi) Yahk–Kingsgate Highway, the northern extension of U.S. Route 95, while the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as Highway 4.[5] In 1953, the Highway 4 was moved to its present location on Vancouver Island, with the Kootenay–Columbia Highway being renumbered to Highway 95. In 1968, Highway 95 was realigned to bypass Kimberley, with the former section becoming Highway 95A.
Major intersections edit
From south to north:[6]
| Regional District | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Kootenay | Kingsgate | 0.00 | 0.00 |  US 95 south – Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Coeur d'Alene | Continues into Idaho | |
| Canada–United States border at Eastport-Kingsgate Border Crossing | ||||||
| Yahk | 11.30 | 7.02 | Hwy 3 west (Crowsnest Highway) – Creston, Castlegar | South end of Hwy 3 concurrency | ||
| East Kootenay | Cranbrook | 77.24– 89.05 | 47.99– 55.33 | Passes through Cranbrook | ||
| 83.62 | 51.96 | Hwy 95A north – Kimberley | Cranbrook Interchange | |||
| | 89.05 | 55.33 | Hwy 3 east / Hwy 93 south (Crowsnest Highway) – Fernie, Lethbridge | Fort Steele Interchange North end of Hwy 3 concurrency; south end of Hwy 93 concurrency | ||
| Fort Steele | 96.05 | 59.68 | Fort Steele Bridge across the Kootenay River | |||
| 97.19 | 60.39 | Wardner Fort Steele Road (Hwy 935:1381 south) – Wardner | ||||
| | 120.71 | 75.01 | Wasa Bridge across the Kootenay River | |||
| 120.84 | 75.09 | Hwy 95A south – Kimberley | ||||
| 133.28 | 82.82 | Springbrook Bridge across the Kootenay River | ||||
| Canal Flats | 161.80 | 100.54 | Canal Flats Bridge across the Kootenay River | |||
| | 183.93 | 114.29 | Westside Road (Hwy 935:2143 north) – Invermere | |||
| 185.79 | 115.44 | Fairmont Bridge across the Columbia River | ||||
| Fairmont Hot Springs | 187.21 | 116.33 | Riverview Road, Fairmont Resort Road | |||
| Invermere | 210.29 | 130.67 | Athalmer Road | Access to Panorama Mountain | ||
| Radium Hot Springs | 223.45 | 138.85 | Hwy 93 north (Banff–Windermere Highway) – Kootenay National Park, Banff, Lake Louise | North end of Hwy 93 concurrency | ||
| Columbia-Shuswap | Golden | 328.88 | 204.36 | Hwy 1 (TCH) – Kamloops, Revelstoke, Banff, Calgary | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Landmark Kilometre Inventory (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2016. pp. 109–112, 405–410, 414–418. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
- ^ a b c Tourism British Columbia. Super, Natural British Columbia Road Map & Parks Guide (Map) (2010-2011 ed.). Davenport Maps Ltd. §§ J-11, K-11, K-12, L-11, L-12.
- ^ "Official Numbered Routes in British Columbia". Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Province of British Columbia. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Rand McNally and Company (1939). "Western and Central Canada" (Map). "State Farm Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico". Chicago, IL: State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau. pp. 94–95.
- ^ The H.M. Gousha Company (1951). "Southern Alberta" (Map). Shell Map of Montana. The Shell Oil Company. §§ G-2, G-3, H-3, I-3.
- ^ British Columbia Road Atlas (Map) (2007 ed.). Oshawa, ON: MapArt Publishing Corp. p. 41, 61-62, 74. ISBN 1-55368-018-9.
External links edit
Media related to British Columbia Highway 95 at Wikimedia Commons