Alberta Highway 40
Alberta Provincial Highway No. 40, commonly referred to as Highway 40, is a south-north highway in western Alberta, Canada.[2] It is also named Bighorn Highway and Kananaskis Trail in Kananaskis Country. Its segmented sections extend from Coleman in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass northward to the City of Grande Prairie and is currently divided into four sections.[3]
Highway 40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bighorn Highway, Kananaskis Trail, Forestry Trunk Road | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Alberta Transportation | ||||
| Restrictions | Annually closed between Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Hwy 541 from December 1 - June 14.[1] | |||
| Crowsnest Pass segment | ||||
| Length | 3.8 km (2.4 mi) | |||
| South end |  Hwy 3 in Coleman | |||
| North end | Forestry Trunk Road north of Coleman | |||
| Kananaskis Trail segment | ||||
| Length | 104 km (65 mi) | |||
| South end |  Hwy 541 in Highwood House | |||
| North end |  Hwy 1 (TCH) south of Seebe | |||
| Forestry Trunk Road segment | ||||
| Length | 46 km (29 mi) | |||
| South end |  Hwy 1A east of Ghost Lake | |||
| North end |  Hwy 579 north of Waiparous | |||
| Northern segment | ||||
| Length | 434 km (270 mi) | |||
| South end |  Hwy 734 south of Coalspur | |||
| Major intersections |  Hwy 47 in Coalspur Hwy 16 (TCH) in Hinton | |||
| North end |  Hwy 43 in Grande Prairie | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Alberta | |||
| Specialized and rural municipalities | Crowsnest Pass, M.D. of Ranchland No. 66, Kananaskis I.D., M.D. of Bighorn No. 8, Rocky View County, Yellowhead County, M.D. Greenview No. 16, County of Grande Prairie No. 1 | |||
| Major cities | Grande Prairie | |||
| Towns | Hinton | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
The southernmost section is gravel; it runs for 3.9 km (2.4 mi) through the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, where it then becomes the Forestry Trunk Road to Highway 541, which has a combined length of 102 km (63 mi).
The second section of Highway 40 is Kananaskis Trail, which is paved and runs through Kananaskis Country for 104 km (65 mi) from Highway 541, over Highwood Pass, and through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Spray Valley Provincial Park. The highway passes Kananaskis Village before terminating at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).[4]
The third section is gravel and is part of the Forestry Trunk Road, which runs 46 km (29 mi) from Highway 1A to Highway 579. The highway continues as the Forestry Trunk Road and Highway 734 for approximately 293 km (182 mi), through the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve. The intention is that one day the entire road will be a continuous paved highway. In the past, other gravel sections were named Highway 940; the 900 series in Alberta is used for temporary names. There is no signed connection between the Kananaskis Trail section and the Forestry Trunk Road section; however, it is connected by using Highway 1, Highway 1X, and Highway 1A between Seebe and Ghost Lake.
The fourth section is 434 km (270 mi) and runs from the Lovett River in Yellowhead County to the City of Grande Prairie. The 61 km (38 mi) section south of Cadomin is gravel while the remainder is paved. The highway shares 2 km (1.2 mi) concurrency with the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), before continuing north and passing through the Hamlet of Grande Cache en route to Grande Prairie.[5]
Major intersections
Starting from the south end of Highway 40:
Gallery
Highway 40 crossing Wapiti River south of Grande Prairie
Highway 40 in Grande Cache
Bighorn Highway, westbound, east of Grande Cache
Highway 734 through the Foothills, southbound, north of Nordegg
Kananaskis Trail, southbound through the Canadian Rockies in Kananaskis Country
Kananaskis Trail at Highwood Pass
References
- "Annual Road Closures". Alberta Parks. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- Provincial Highways Designation Order, Alberta Transportation, p. 7
- "2015 Provincial Highway 1-216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- Google (November 4, 2016). "Central Alberta section of Highway 40 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Google (November 4, 2016). "Northern section of Highway 40 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 4, 2016.