A bumpy road toward a national highway system

It is supposed to connect us from coast to coast, but Canada's national highway is more fragmented than real.

Since 2001, the federal government has spent $808 million to improve segments of the Trans-Canada Highway, by repaving, building new bridges and twinning: putting two lanes in each direction, divided by a median similar to the interstate system in the United States.  

 Temple Overpass under construction in Banff, AB in 2008

But there is no master plan to ensure the entire highway is expanded.  

“We’re the only G8 country without a national transportation vision and without a national interstate highway that is connected coast to coast,” says Chris Lorenc, president of the Western Canada Roadbuilder & Heavy Construction Association.

Lorenc says a national highway system would be uniformly designed to specific standards, tied to the strategic needs of our nation and would link strategic corridors to facilitate trade not only between the provinces, but also between Canada and the United States. 

Under the current system the provinces decide on the design, construction, safety standards and financing of highways within their boundaries. The federal government is only responsible for the maintenance and repair of the Trans-Canada Highway inside national parks. In most cases, the provinces approach the federal government for funding for highway improvement projects. 

New Brunswick completed twinning its part of the Trans-Canada Highway in 2007.  To date, Manitoba has completed twinning most of its share of the Trans-Canada except for 18-km at the Manitoba/Ontario border. 

Commerce and safety

There are many parts of the Trans-Canada Highway however, that remains a single lane in either direction. While the federal government announced a $100 million twinning project on the northwest end of Highway 17 to begin this spring, the Trans-Canada route from eastern Manitoba to near Ottawa is still two lanes, which can slow down traffic and trade as this route is widely used by trucks.

“We’re losing billions annually in  revenues…It’s not only a matter of commerce, but also a matter of safety and securityWe're losing billions annually in revenues... it's not only a matter of commerce, but also a matter of safety and security,” says Lorenc.

The federal government has made trade gateways a priority with programs such as the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, which aims to build a transportation system across Western Canada to facilitate trade between Canada and Asia, as well as a $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, which provides funding to provinces to improve their highways. 

Yet, the upgrades seem to be a reaction to an increase in accidents and traffic volume.  

“By the time you hit 7,500 to 8,000 vehicles a day, you’ve entered [the need for] a twinned highway,” says Terry McGuire, the project director at Parks Canada for Western North and overseer of the Banff National Park Twinning Project.

Protecting wildlife

The Canadian Automobile Association has named the section of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through the Banff National Park  one of the most treacherous highways in Canada.

Parks Canada has been slowing reconstructing the 83-km highway since 1980.

“The [current] twinning project in Banff National Park is primarily a result of increased traffic volumes and resulting accidents—not only vehicle collisions, people to people, but also vehicle to wildlife,” says McGuire.

These projects are very expensive and require at least two years of environmental assessments, slowing the twinning process down and putting a hold on future highway upgrades.

 New lanes are paved two years ago east of Lake Louise, AB 

“Twinning the 44-km through Yoko National Park is priced slightly under one billion dollars and through the Roger's Pass, it’s double and that’s just the section that falls through the Parks Canada jurisdiction,” McGuire says.

But two lane highways may not be as unsafe as some say.

“Twinned highways can have the adverse affects. You don’t have the impediment of being behind someone, so a driver might choose a passing opportunity that is not as safe,” says Gene Chartier, president of the Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers.

“But the conditions of the roads could always be improved…the Government needs to address safety needs, then get up maintenance and rehabilitation,” says Chartier.

But for Lorenc, it’s not enough to repave and twin the Trans-Canada Highway.

“We need the vision.  We need the commitment.  Not just with projects but with a national vision and strategy.”