British Columbia provincial highway 1
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British Columbia provincial highway 1 is the B.C. section of the Trans-Canada Highway. Its total accumulated distance through British Columbia is 1,039 km, including the distance travelled on ferries.
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Vancouver Island section
The Island branch of Highway 1, known locally as the Island Highway (a name shared with Highway 19), is the main thoroughfare on the south Island. The highway was first given the "1" designation in 1941, and originally went between Victoria and Kelsey Bay, a small coastal community north of Campbell River. Highway 1 on the Island was shortened to terminate in the downtown core of the city of Nanaimo in 1953, with the section north of Nanaimo being re-numbered 19. When the ferry route between Departure Bay in Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver was taken over by BC Ferries in 1961, Highway 1 on the Island was extended to the Departure Bay ferry dock.
Route details
The Island section of highway 1, which is 117 km in total length, begins at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road in Victoria, where a large "mile zero" sign is erected. Highway 1 proceeds north through the city of Victoria for 4 km, passing by the southern terminus of Highway 17, before leaving the city at Tolmie Avenue. Once out of Victoria, highway 1 heads west on a 14-km long four-lane freeway, with three interchanges along its length, one of which leads to the start of Highway 14. The highway narrows to two lanes upon its entry into Goldstream provincial park. The highway from this point is known locally as the Malahat.
From the southern entrance to Goldstream park, the Malahat section of the highway, which is known for its steep grades, goes north for 20 km, becoming three lanes on its exit from Goldstream park and passing through the community of Malahat proper enroute, until it reaches the community of Mill Bay. North of Mill Bay, Highway 1 once again widens out into four lanes. The highway travels north for 29 km, past a junction to Shawnigan Lake and the communities of Cobble Hill, Cowichan Bay and Duncan before reaching a junction with Highway 18. The highway then proceeds north for 10 km to a junction with Chemainus.
From the Chemainus junction, Highway 1 travels 11 km northwest into the city of Ladysmith, and northwest for another 13 km to a junction with the community of Cassidy. 6 km north of the Cassidy junction, Highway 1 enters the city of Nanaimo, where Highway 19 merges onto the highway from the B.C. Ferry terminal at Duke Point. 2 km north, Highway 1 and Highway 19 split off at a junction with Cedar Road. Highway 19 proceeds west, while Highway 1 continues north. Highway 1 proceeds through the city of Nanaimo for 8 km north to the B.C. Ferry terminal at Departure Bay, where the Island section of Highway 1 terminates. B.C. Ferries then takes Highway 1 across the Strait of Georgia for 57 km to its Horseshoe Bay terminal.
Lower Mainland section
Like its Island section, the Highway on the mainland was first given the "1" designation in 1941. Highway 1's original alignment started out within the city limits of Vancouver, and followed Kingsway from Vancouver to Surrey, and then went along the Fraser Highway to Clearbrook. From Chilliwack, the highway originally went to Rosedale, which is a community just east of Chilliwack, along Yale Road, then along Flood-Hope Road to where it picks up its current alignment just across the Fraser River from Hope.
In 1959, Highway 1 was given an extension from within Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay by way of the Lion's Gate Bridge and Taylor Way in West Vancouver. In 1962, the section between Clearbrook and Chilliwack was re-routed to a new expressway.
In 1964, the Clearbrook-Rosedale section of Highway 1 was restored to its original alignment. Also in that year, a new freeway, originally designated as Highway 401, opened up on Highway 1's current alignment between West Vancouver and Rosedale. The freeway became part of Highway 1 in 1973.
In 1986, Highway 1 between Chilliwack and Hope was improved to a freeway. Through the 1990s, all signals and intersections on Highway 1 through Greater Vancouver were removed, making the entire section of Highway 1 between Horseshoe Bay and Hope a freeway.
Route details
Highway 1's total length in the Lower Mainland is 170 km long. On the mainland, the highway begins at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in West Vancouver. From here to the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, the highway is known locally as the Upper Levels Highway. There are nine interchanges on the 14-km stretch of the Highway within West Vancouver. The first interchange east of Horseshoe Bay brings Highway 99 onto a common alignment with Highway 1. After Taylor Way, where Highway 99 takes the exit off of Highway 1, the highway then crosses over the Capilano River into North Vancouver. Highway 1 travels for 9 km through North Vancouver, passing through seven interchanges, until crossing the 1 km-long Ironworkers Memorial Bridge over the Burrard Inlet into Vancouver. (The Second Narrows Bridge, was recently renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to honour the 27 workers who lost their lives during its construction.) The 4 km-long stretch of Highway 1 through the eastern part of Vancouver is the only freeway within Vancouver's city limits. In Vancouver, Highway 1 travels through the Cassiar Tunnel and passes through three interchanges before crossing into Burnaby at the interchange with Boundary Road.
The Burnaby stretch of Highway 1 is 11 km long, and goes through four interchanges before proceeding into Coquitlam. The Coquitlam stretch of Highway 1 lasts 7 km, with two interchanges along its length. The easternmost interchange on Highway 1 in Coquitlam leads to Highway 7. Once out of Coquitlam, Highway 1 crosses the Fraser River over the Port Mann Bridge into Surrey.
In Surrey, Highway 1 has three interchanges, the most easterly interchange of the three leading to Highway 15. 12 km east of the Highway's entry into Surrey, the Highway crosses into the Township of Langley. There are three interchanges on Highway 1 in its 18 km-long stretch through Langley. One leads to Highway 10, and another leads to Highway 13. Highway 1 then crosses from the Greater Vancouver Regional District into the Fraser Valley Regional District on its entry into Abbotsford. There are six interchanges on Highway 1 in its 33 km-long stretch through Abbotsford, one of which leads to Highway 11. Once Highway 1 leaves Abbotsford, it crosses over the Vedder Canal into Chilliwack. The highway goes through Chilliwack for 24 km, passing through five interchanges within the city.
2 km after leaving Chilliwack, Highway 1 reaches an interchange with Highway 9. East of the Highway 9 interchange, Highway 1 hugs the south bank of the Fraser River for 35 km, passing through seven interchanges, until reaching the interchange with Highway 3 at Hope. Highway 1 takes the exit off of the freeway at this point.
Interior section
In the Kootenays, Highway 1 originally went around the Rogers Pass area in its section from Revelstoke to Golden. In 1962, the section of Highway between Revelstoke and Golden was re-routed through Rogers Pass. Over the 1970s and 1980s, Highway 1's alignment between Hope and Cache Creek underwent a massive overhaul, including new tunnels and river spans. In Kamloops, a new bypass was constructed to re-route traffic on Highway 1 around the downtown area of the city.
Route details
The Interior section of Highway 1 is 695 km long, and closely follows the path of the Canadian Pacific Railway. After leaving the freeway, Highway 1 courses through the town centre of Hope for 2 km before heading north across the Fraser River. At this point, Highway 1 becomes two lanes. 1 km north of the Fraser crossing, Highway 1 reaches its east junction with Highway 7. Continuing from the Highway 7 junction, Highway 1 goes 106 km north on a route that includes seven mountain tunnels, past the communities of Yale, Spuzzum and Boston Bar, before reaching its junction with Highway 12 at Lytton. Leaving the Fraser River, and following the Thompson River another 37 km northeast, Highway 1 reaches a junction with another numbered route, Highway 8. 38 km north of the Highway 8 junction, Highway 1 passes through a junction with Highway 97C. Continuing 5 km north, the highway reaches the community of Cache Creek, where Highway 97 merges onto the Trans-Canada from the north.
East of Cache Creek, Highways 1 and 97 proceed on their common alignment for 72 km, passing through Savona enroute to the point where Highway 1 enters the area belonging to the city of Kamloops. Highway 5 merges onto the Trans-Canada from the south at this point, returning the freeway to Highway 1.
The 1/97/5 triplex proceeds east for 7 km on a freeway through the western part of Kamloops to where Highway 5 diverges north. Highways 1 and 97 leave Kamloops to the east 7 km later. The highway continues east for another 19 km to Monte Creek, where the freeway ends and Highway 97 diverges south from Highway 1. For the next 82 km east, Highway 1 takes a winding two-lane route through the communities of Pritchard, Chase and Sorrento before reaching the city of Salmon Arm on Shuswap Lake. Highway 97B meets Highway 1 in Salmon Arm.
After Salmon Arm, Highway 1 goes east for 27 km to a junction with Highway 97A at Sicamous. Over the next 71 km east, Highway 1 winds through the communities of Malakwa, Craigellachie and the Three Valley Gap, before reaching its junction with Highway 23 at Revelstoke, on the Columbia River. The next 148 km of Highway 1 to Golden winds east through Mount Revelstoke National Park and Glacier National Park, where the Rogers Pass area is located. There are seven snowsheds on Highway 1 just west of Rogers Pass.
After Glacier National Park and a time zone boundary crossing, Highway 1 passes over the Columbia River again at Donald Station, and then reaches its junction with Highway 95 at Golden. 73 km east of Golden, after Highway 1 has passed through Yoho National Park and the community of Field, Highway 1 crosses the Continental Divide into Alberta.
| Provincial Highways of British Columbia | 
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