Alberta Highway 40

Highway 40 marker Highway 40 marker
Highway 40
Bighorn Highway, Kananaskis Trail, Forestry Trunk Road
Route information
Maintained by Alberta Transportation
RestrictionsAnnually closed between Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Hwy 541 from December 1 - June 14.[2]
Crowsnest Pass segment
Length3.8 km (2.4 mi)
South end Highway 3 in Coleman
North endForestry Trunk Road north of Coleman
Kananaskis Trail segment
Length104.6 km (65.0 mi)
South end Highway 541 in Highwood House
North end Highway 1 (TCH) south of Seebe
Forestry Trunk Road segment
Length45.9 km (28.5 mi)
South end Highway 1A east of Ghost Lake
North end Highway 579 north of Waiparous
Northern segment
Length443.3 km (275.5 mi)
South end Highway 734 south of Coalspur
Major intersections Highway 47 in Coalspur
Highway 16 (TCH) in Hinton
North end Highway 43 in Grande Prairie
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Specialized and rural municipalitiesCrowsnest Pass, M.D. of Ranchland No. 66, Kananaskis I.D., M.D. of Bighorn No. 8, Rocky View County, Yellowhead County, M.D. Greenview No. 16, County of Grande Prairie No. 1
Major citiesGrande Prairie
TownsHinton
Highway system
← Highway 39→ Highway 41

Highway 40 is a south–north highway in western Alberta, Canada.[3] It is also named Bighorn Highway and Kananaskis Trail in Kananaskis Country. Its segmented sections extend from Coleman in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass northward to the City of Grande Prairie and is currently divided into four sections.[4][5]

Route description

The southernmost section is gravel; it runs for 3.8 km (2.4 mi) through the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, where it then becomes the Forestry Trunk Road to Highway 541,[4] which has a combined length of 106 km (66 mi).[1]

The second section of Highway 40 is Kananaskis Trail, which is paved and runs through Kananaskis Country for 105 km (65 mi) from Highway 541, over Highwood Pass, and through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Spray Valley Provincial Park. The highway passes Kananaskis Village before terminating at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).[1]

The third section is gravel and is part of the Forestry Trunk Road, which runs 46 km (29 mi) from Highway 1A to Highway 579.[1] The highway continues as the Forestry Trunk Road and Highway 734 for approximately 293 km (182 mi), through the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve. The intention is that one day the entire road will be a continuous paved highway. In the past, other gravel sections were named Highway 940; the 900 series in Alberta is used for temporary names. There is no signed connection between the Kananaskis Trail section and the Forestry Trunk Road section; however, it is connected by using Highway 1, Highway 1X, and Highway 1A between Seebe and Ghost Lake.

The fourth section is 443 km (275 mi) and runs from the Lovett River in Yellowhead County to the City of Grande Prairie. The 61-kilometre (38 mi) section south of Cadomin is gravel while the remainder is paved. The highway shares a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) concurrency with the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), before continuing north and passing through the Hamlet of Grande Cache en route to Grande Prairie.[1]

In Grande Prairie, Highway 40 becomes 108 Street. It formerly terminated at 100 Avenue where it met Highway 43;[5] however, when Highway 43X was completed in 2019,[6] the Highway 43 designation was moved to the new bypass and the Highway 40 designation was applied to 100 Avenue to connect to the new Highway 43 alignment, extending Highway 40 by 7.5 km (4.7 mi).[7]

Old Highway 40

A section of what is today Alberta Highway 501 on the south edge of the province, running between Cardston and Whiskey Gap was originally designated as Highway 40 prior to the 1970s. A further section of roadway marked Old Highway 40 runs south of Highway 501 from a junction south of Taylorville, and runs to the U.S. border. The only location of note along this roadway is a stone monument to Mormon settlers.

Highway 40X

The Province of Alberta is planning a bypass of southwestern Grande Prairie that is currently designated as Highway 40X.[5] The route is to start at Highway 40, between the Wapiti River and Highway 668, and link to Highway 43 on the city's western edge.[8] The Functional planning was completed in 2010 but construction still is unfunded.[9]

Major intersections

Starting from the south end of Highway 40:

Rural/specialized municipalityLocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Crowsnest PassColeman0.00.0 Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) – Fort Macleod, FernieSouthern terminus
Crowsnest Pass–M. D. of Ranchland No. 66 boundary​3.82.4Forestry Trunk RoadNorth end of Highway 40; former Highway 940 north
102 km (63 mi) gap in Highway 40
Kananaskis I.D.
(Kananaskis Country)		​105.565.6Forestry Trunk Road
Highway 541 east – Longview		South end of Kananaskis Trail; former Highway 940 south; south end of seasonal closure section[2]
143.289.0Highwood Pass – el. 2,206 m (7,238 ft)
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park162.9101.2Kananaskis Lakes TrailFormer Highway 742 north; north end of seasonal closure section[2]
​187.1116.3Mount Allan Drive – Kananaskis Village, Nakiska
202.3125.7 Highway 68 east (Sibbald Creek Trail)
Stoney I.R. Nos. 142, 143, and 144​210.1130.6 Highway 1 (TCH) – Canmore, Banff, CalgaryInterchange; Highway 1 exit 118; north end of Kananaskis Trail
45 km (28 mi) gap in Highway 40
Rocky View County​254.6158.2 Highway 1A (Bow Valley Trail) – Canmore, CochraneSouth end of Forestry Trunk Road concurrency
M.D. of Bighorn No. 8Waiparous271.6168.8
​300.5186.7 Highway 579 east – Water Valley, Cremona
Forestry Trunk Road to Highway 734 – Nordegg		North end of Highway 40; Forestry Trunk Road continues north
306 km (190 mi) gap in Highway 40
Yellowhead County​595.2369.8 Highway 734 south (Forestry Trunk Road)South end of Highway 40; continues as Highway 734 (Forestry Trunk Road) continues south[4]
Crosses the Lovett River
Coalspur628.3390.4 Highway 47 north – Robb, Edson
​639.1397.1Crosses the McLeod River
Cadomin657.6408.6
Hinton705.4438.3 Highway 16 (TCH/YH) east – EdmontonSouth end of Highway 16 concurrency
​707.3439.5 Highway 16 (TCH/YH) west – JasperNorth end of Highway 16 concurrency; south end of Big Horn Highway
Entrance712.1442.5Crosses the Athabasca River
​713.0443.0Brule Road – Brule
735.3456.9PAR 123 – William A. Switzer Provincial Park
M.D. of Greenview No. 16Muskeg River813.6505.5Forestry Trunk RoadFormer Highway 734 north
Grande Cache845.1525.1Hoppe Avenue, 100 Avenue
850.2528.3Crosses the Smoky River
​1,010.3627.8 Township Road 700 to Highway 666 – GrovedaleRoundabout
1,019.5633.5 Highway 666 west – GrovedaleGrade separated; southbound exit and northbound entrance
↑ / ↓​1,019.6633.6Crosses the Wapiti River
County of Grande Prairie No. 1​1,024.5636.6 Highway 668 east / Township Road 710
City of Grande Prairie1,027.7638.668 AvenueBecomes 108 Street
1,031.0640.6 100 Avenue / 108 Street to Highway 2 / Highway 43 – City Centre, EdmontonFormer Highway 40 northern terminus; former Highway 43 alignment; Highway 40 follows 100 Avenue west[7]
1,034.3642.7 124 Street – Grande Prairie Airport
1,038.5–
1,039.5		645.3–
645.9		 Highway 43 – Beaverlodge, Dawson Creek, EdmontonHighway 40 northern terminus;[7] future Highway 40X south; continues as Highway 43 west
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Alberta Highway 40" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Annual Road Closures". Alberta Parks. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Provincial Highways Designation Order, Alberta Transportation, p. 7
  4. ^ a b c Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (April 16, 2025). Alberta Numbered Highway Network (PDF) (Map). Government of Alberta. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "2015 Provincial Highway 1-216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  6. ^ Mason, Emma (September 15, 2019). "Highway 43X bypass officially opens to traffic". My Grande Prairie Now. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (April 16, 2025). Alberta Numbered Highway Network (PDF) (Map). Government of Alberta. Grande Prairie inset. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  8. ^ "Highway 40X Connector SW Bypass". Alberta Major Projects. Government of Alberta. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "Highway 40X Connector". County of Grande Prairie. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.