Alberta Highway 11

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Alberta Highway 11 shield Alberta Highway 11 David Thompson shield

Highway 11
David Thompson Highway
240px
Highway 11 highlighted in red
Route information
Length: 318.2 km[1] (197.7 mi)
Major junctions
West end: Hwy 93 in Saskatchewan River Crossing
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East end: Hwy 12 near Nevis
Location
Specialized
and rural
municipalities:		 I.D. No. 9, Clearwater County, Lacombe County, Red Deer County, Stettler No. 6 County
Major cities: Red Deer
Towns: Rocky Mountain House, Sylvan Lake
Highway system
Provincial highways in Alberta
← Hwy 10 Hwy 11A →

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11 and officially named the David Thompson Highway, is a provincial highway in central Alberta, Canada. It runs for 318 km (198 mi) from Highway 93 at Saskatchewan River Crossing near Mount Sarbach in Banff National Park east to Highway 12 near Nevis. It passes by Nordegg and through Rocky Mountain House, Sylvan Lake and Red Deer along its course. The highway is named after David Thompson, a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker who explored the area between Rocky Mountain House and Kootenae House (near present-day Invermere, British Columbia) through Howse Pass.

Route description

File:Hwy11, AB,.jpg
Highway 11 towards Banff in August 2017

The majority of Highway 11 is maintained by Alberta Transportation. The segment within Banff National Park is maintained by the Government of Canada,[2] and within Red Deer limits the city has jurisdiction and is responsible for maintenance. It begins at the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) and travels east for 6 km (3.7 mi) through Banff National Park, where traffic is required to purchase a national parks pass.[3]

Beyond Banff National Park, the highway parallels the North Saskatchewan River and traverses the sparsely populated Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve. It passes by west shore of Abraham Lake and Nordegg. The highway continues east to Rocky Mountain House, where it is concurrent with Highway 22. Continuing east, the highway passes Alhambra, Condor, Eckville, and Benalto before bypassing Sylvan Lake and entering the City of Red Deer. The highway is a four-lane divided highway between Highway 20 and Red Deer, and crosses a causeway and bridge over Cygnet Lake.[4]

Highway 11 meets Highway 2 (Queen Elizabeth II Highway) at an interchange, entering Red Deer as 67 Street. It intersects Gaetz Avenue (Highway 2A) north of Downtown Red Deer near Parkland Mall, and crosses the Red Deer River before turning south and becoming 30 Avenue. At 55 Street, Highway 11 turns east and exits Red Deer, for a total length of 10 km (6.2 mi) within the city.

The highway passes the Canyon Ski Area, crosses the Red Deer River and passes Joffre. East of Joffre, the highway follows the top of the Red Deer River valley and intersects Highway 21. Highway 11 ends at its intersection with Highway 12 near Nevis, 20 km (12 mi) west of Stettler.

Future

Red Deer area

Traffic levels on Highway 11 have gradually increased west of Red Deer, resulting in multiple studies by Alberta Transportation for long-term planning of upgrades to the route. The studies call for the highway to be upgraded to a freeway standard in which all at-grade intersections would be removed between Highway 2 in Red Deer and the intersection at Highway 20 in Sylvan Lake.[5] There is also a plan that calls for the permanent closure of the Highway 781/50 Street intersection, with Highway 781 being realigned to the Highway 20 intersection.[5][6] There is also a study on twinning Highway 11 between Sylvan Lake and Highway 766 north near Eckville.[7] Presently the improvements are unfunded.

Red Deer is also constructing the North Highway Connector, also known as Northland Drive, which will serve as a northern bypass.[8][9] The connector begins at the Highway 2A/11A intersection, crosses the Red Deer River, and connects with Highway 11 in eastern Red Deer. Phase I is currently under construction connects with Highway 11 at 30 Avenue / 67 Street intersection, while a proposed Phase II would connect with 20 Avenue approximately 1.6 km (0.99 mi) further to the east.[10]

Alberta Transportation also has right of way to realign Highway 11 east of Red Deer, bypassing its present 55 Street alignment; documentation temporarily refers to this alignment as Highway 11X.[11]

Howse Pass

There have also been proposals to extend Highway 11 west of Highway 93 across Howse Pass and connect with British Columbia Highway 1 northwest of Golden, British Columbia, known as the 'Howse Pass Highway'.[12] Proponents of the highway argue that it would provide an alternate route to British Columbia and would relieve congestion along the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway. They also argue that it would reduce the distance between central Alberta and Vancouver by 95 km (59 mi), reduce the distance travelled through Banff National Park, and open up central Alberta to more economic opportunities.[13][14]

Opponents of the highway argue that it would cause significant environmental impact in an ecologically sensitive area, especially within Banff National Park which is a protected area.[15][16] They also argue that it would be cost prohibitive constructing the British Columbia section of the highway along the Blaeberry River, especially since the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway are requiring significant upgrades, and it is a low priority in British Columbia.[17] Howse Pass is also designated as a National Historic Site which further protects the area from development and as a result it is unlikely that the highway will be constructed.

Major intersections

From west to east:[18]

Rural/specialized municipality Location km[1] mi Destinations Notes
Banff National Park
(I.D. No. 9)		 Saskatchewan River Crossing 0.0 0.0 Hwy 93 (Icefields Parkway) – Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff Tolled, national park pass required; Hwy 11 western terminus
Clearwater County ​ 87.7 54.5 Hwy 734 (Forestry Trunk Road) – Waiparous, Edson, Hinton
Nordegg 89.9 55.9 Stewart Street Nordegg access road
​ 144.0 89.5 Sunchild Road Access to Sunchild First Nation and O'Chiese First Nation
168.7 104.8 Hwy 11A east – Rocky Mountain House
Hwy 756 north – Crimson Lake Provincial Park
172.5 107.2 Crosses the North Saskatchewan River
Rocky Mountain House 174.2 108.2 Hwy 22 north (Cowboy Trail) – Drayton Valley West end of Hwy 22 concurrency
177.7 110.4 Hwy 11A west / Hwy 598 east (52 Avenue) – Leslieville Access to Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site
181.1 112.5 To Hwy 752 south (Township Road 392)
​ 186.1 115.6 Hwy 22 south (Cowboy Trail) – Caroline, Sundre East end of Hwy 22 concurrency
203.6–
203.9		 126.5–
126.7		 Hwy 761 – Leslieville, Stauffer Intersections are offset; Hwy 761 concurrency for 300 m (980 ft)
Lacombe County ​ 218.4 135.7 Hwy 766 south West end of Hwy 766 concurrency
219.9 136.6 Hwy 766 north – Eckville East end of Hwy 766 concurrency
Red Deer County ​ 225.7 140.2 Invalid type: UAR south – Benalto
227.5 141.4 Township Road 390 Former Hwy 11A east
Sylvan Lake 238.8 148.4 Hwy 781 south – Innisfail
50 Street Westbound right-in/right-out
240.4 149.4 Hwy 20 north – Bentley, Rimbey
​ 254.2 158.0 Burnt Lake Trail Former Hwy 596
City of Red Deer 255.0 158.4 Hwy 2 – Edmonton, Calgary Hwy 2 exit 401; becomes 67 Street
256.6 159.4 Taylor Drive
258.2 160.4 Gaetz Avenue (Hwy 2A)
259.3 161.1 Riverside Drive Grade separated
259.4 161.2 Crosses the Red Deer River
261.5 162.5 30 Avenue Future connection to Hwy 11A;[10] Hwy 11 follows 30 Avenue south
263.0 163.4 55 Street / 30 Avenue Hwy 11 follows 55 Street east
Red Deer County ​ 274.3 170.4 Hwy 808 south
↑ / ↓ ​ 275.2 171.0 Crosses the Red Deer River
Lacombe County ​ 280.1 174.0 Hwy 815 north – Joffre
299.4 186.0 Range Road 235 Hwy 921 south (unsigned)[19]
304.7 189.3
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Hwy 601 north – Alix
311.0 193.2 Range Road 223 Hwy 921 north (unsigned)[19]
↑ / ↓ ​ 313.3 194.7 Hwy 21 – Camrose, Three Hills
County of Stettler No. 6 ​ 318.2 197.7 Hwy 12 – Lacombe, Stettler Hwy 11 eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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External links

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  18. ↑ Alberta Road Atlas (2005 ed.). Oshawa, ON: MapArt Publishing Corp. pp. 62, 63, 64, 65, and 68.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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