THE KICKING HORSE CANYON ROUTE

Public Open House

A public open house was held at the Visitor Centre @ Golden on April 15, 2008 to display updated designs for improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway and construction plans for two segments of work under Phase 3 of the Kicking Horse Canyon Project. See Community Consultation for the displays.

Fame for Park Bridge

See the new Park Bridge featured in the BC150 TV advertisement!

Technical Spotlight: Launching the Park Bridge Girders

The Park Bridge, opened August 2007, is the only incrementally-launched curved girder bridge in North America. See details of the girder launching process on our Facts and Features page.

 

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The Trans-Canada Highway in the Rocky Mountains between Golden, British Columbia and Lake Louise, Alberta passes through some of the most breathtaking scenery to be found in Canada.

The section through the Kicking Horse Canyon just east of Golden is primarily a narrow, winding two-lane highway with steep rock faces on one side, and a drop-off to the CP Rail main line and Kicking Horse River on the other. Posing significant construction, maintenance and operational challenges, it has not had major upgrading since it was built in the 1950s.

Commercial carriers make up a large proportion of traffic along this section of the Trans-Canada Highway, and it is also the favoured route for tourists, carrying about 10,000 vehicles per day during the peak summer period.

Revitalizing this portion of the national highway system, a critical link to British Columbia’s ports and southern routes, is critical to strengthening the province as Canada’s Asia-Pacific connection and gateway to the world. As a result, the 26-kilometre Kicking Horse Canyon Project, consisting of improvements between the Highway 95 junction at Golden and the western boundary of Yoho national Park, is the provincial government’s number one transportation priority.

The highway is being improved to a modern four-lane standard with a design speed of 100 km/hour to move traffic more safely and efficiently. Sharp curves and steep grades are being reduced, and narrow bridges are being replaced to increase capacity, improve traffic operations and reduce hazards.

There are four major phases. Phase 1, which included the replacement of the Yoho (5 Mile) Bridge, and Phase 2, which included the replacement of the Park (10 Mile) Bridge, have been completed. Both were jointly funded by the Governments of British Columbia and Canada, as is Phase 3, which will commence construction in fall 2008. Phase 3 and the future Phase 4 will address improvements to the balance of the corridor.

For project details, just follow the links on the left side of the page.