List of British Columbia provincial highways
This article lists all existing numbered highways in British Columbia, Canada.
Major routes
East-west
- The Trans-Canada Highway runs from Victoria to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Then, after a ferry ride to the mainland, it continues from Horseshoe Bay, through the Vancouver area, Abbotsford, Hope, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, and Revelstoke to Kicking Horse Pass on the BC/Alberta border. This is the major east-west route in the province.
- The Crowsnest Highway runs from Hope, then through Osoyoos, Castlegar, Cranbrook, right to Crowsnest Pass on the BC/Alberta border. This is a southern alternate route to the Trans-Canada, and runs very close to the Canada–US border.
- The Yellowhead/Trans-Canada Highway starts on Haida Gwaii. After a ferry ride to the mainland, it runs from Prince Rupert through Smithers and Prince George, and then meets the Alberta border at Yellowhead Pass.
- The Lougheed Highway is a major alternate route that runs from Vancouver to Hope, north of the Fraser River.
- The Okanagan Connector is a short but major route that connects the Okanagan Valley to the Coquihalla Highway at Merritt. 97C branches off Highway 97 at Peachland, about midway between Penticton and Kelowna.
North-south
- The Island Highway is an extension of Highway 1 on Vancouver Island. It runs from Nanaimo and provides access to all points northbound on Vancouver Island, including Parksville, Courtenay, Comox, Campbell River, and Port Hardy.
- The Patricia Bay Highway starts in Victoria and heads northbound through Saanich to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Recently, there was a gap between the segments of Highway 17, as the Mainland portion was designated as Highway 17A. The new South Fraser Perimeter Road has been named as Highway 17, and presently is open in Delta and Surrey between Highway 17a and Highway 15.
- Highway 99 starts as an extension of Interstate 5 at the Canada–US border in Surrey as a freeway until entering the city of Vancouver. There it becomes a series of various heavily signalized major city core thoroughfares, notably Granville Street and Georgia Street. After crossing the Lions Gate Bridge, the highway - now known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway, is a two-to-four lane route that accesses Squamish and Whistler, before veering east and meeting with Highway 97 north of Cache Creek.
- The Coquihalla/Southern Yellowhead Highway is a freeway that bypasses the slower Fraser Canyon portion of the Trans Canada Highway, connecting the cities of Hope, Merritt, and Kamloops. The segment between Hope and Merritt was a toll highway until 2008. North of Kamloops, the route is known as the Southern Yellowhead Highway, and meets up with the main route of the Yellowhead Highway near the Alberta border.
- Highway 97 is the longest highway in the province. The highway starts at the Canada–US border near Osoyoos. The highway, here known as the Okanagan Highway, passes through the major Okanagan Valley cities of Penticton, West Kelowna, Kelowna, and Vernon, before ending in Kamloops. From Kamloops, it is known as the Cariboo Highway, and passes through Cache Creek, Williams Lake, Quesnel, and ends in Prince George. North from there, it is known as the John Hart Highway, and ends in Dawson Creek. From there, the highway then is known as the famed Alaska Highway, and travels northwest through the province until it reaches the Yukon border.
Route list
Unnumbered highways
The following routes are maintained by the Ministry of Transportation as part of British Columbia's highway system, but they are Currently unnumbered.Unofficial numbers
Provincially maintained roads with informal or unofficial numbers:Pseudo routes
Provincially maintained routes which are unnumbered. Route numbered are unsigned and internally referred to as pseudo numbers:Yukon highways in British Columbia
The following routes are within British Columbia but are considered part of the Yukon highway system. The Alaska Highway crosses the 60th parallel north, and thus the border with the Yukon, nine times, the highway route number changes just once, between Lower Post, B.C., and Watson Lake, Yukon. The Yukon section east of here is maintained by Public Works Canada as part of the B.C. portion of Highway 97, while the B.C. section west of here is maintained by the Yukon Government as part of Yukon Highway 1.Defunct route numbers
The first two freeways built in British Columbia were given 400-series numbers, much like the 400-Series Highways in Ontario. Highways 401 and 499 were renumbered 1 and 99 respectively in 1973. The section of Highway 37 between Terrace and Kitimat was known as Highway 25 until 1986. In recent years, many routes have been devolved to regional and/or municipal authorities and have lost their official highway status, notably the Fraser Highway in the Lower Mainland and West Saanich Road on Vancouver Island. Also King George Highway through Surrey was renamed by the City in 2010 to King George Boulevard..Prior to 1941, British Columbia classified its major roads with letters:
Route | Length | Length | Southern or western terminus | Northern or eastern terminus | Local name | Notes |
A | 1,286 | 799 | Port Alberni Vancouver | Parksville Alberta border at Crowsnest Pass | Vancouver Island and mainland section; split in the Lower Mainland with branches followed the north and south shores of the Fraser River. Replaced by present-day Hwy 4, Hwy 19, Hwy 1, Hwy 7, Hwy 8, Hwy 5A, and Hwy 3. | |
B | 945 | 587 | Bella Coola Cache Creek | Williams Lake Alberta border at Kicking Horse Pass | Central Trans-Provincial Highway | Incomplete section between Bella Coola and Redstone; connected by Route S. Replaced by present-day Hwy 20, Hwy 1, and Hwy 23. |
C | 996 | 619 | Prince Rupert | Tête Jaune Cache | Northern Trans-Provincial Highway | Replaced by present-day Hwy 16. |
N | 348 | 216 | Victoria | Kelsey Bay | Island Highway | Replaced by present-day Hwy 1A, Hwy 1, Hwy 19A, and Hwy 19. |
R | 51 | 32 | U.S. border at Blaine, WA | Vancouver | Pacific Highway | Accessed Vancouver via the Pattullo Bridge. Replaced by Hwy 15 and former Hwy 1A. |
S | 484 | 301 | Spences Bridge | Prince George | Cariboo Highway | Replaced by Hwy 1 and Hwy 97. |
T | 634 | 394 | U.S. border near Osoyoos | Tête Jaune Cache | • Okanagan Highway • North Thompson Highway | Replaced by present-day Hwy 5 and Hwy 97. |
U | 427 | 264 | U.S. border at Roosville | Golden Alberta border at Vermilion Pass | • Kootenay–Columbia River Highway • Banff–Windermere Highway | Split at Radium Hot Springs with branches going to Golden and Vermilion Pass. Replaced by present-day Hwy 93 and Hwy 95. |