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The '''National Highway System''' in [[Canada]] is a federal designation for a strategic [[transport network]] of [[highway]]s and [[freeway]]s.<ref name=nhs>[http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/acg-acgd-menu-highways-2149.htm National Highway System]. [[Transport Canada]], December 20, 2011.</ref> The system includes but is not limited to the [[Trans-Canada Highway]],<ref name=nhs /> and currently consists of {{convert|38,021|km}} of roadway designated under one of three classes: Core Routes, Feeder Routes, and Northern and Remote Routes.<ref name=nhs />
The '''National Highway System''' in [[Canada]] is a federal designation for a strategic [[transport network]] of [[highway]]s and [[freeway]]s.<ref name=nhs>[http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/acg-acgd-menu-highways-2149.htm National Highway System]. [[Transport Canada]], December 20, 2011.</ref> The system includes but is not limited to the [[Trans-Canada Highway]],<ref name=nhs /> and currently consists of {{convert|38,021|km}} of roadway designated under one of three classes: Core Routes, Feeder Routes, and Northern and Remote Routes.<ref name=nhs />


Unlike the similar [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]] in the [[United States]], the Canadian system does not include any federally-maintained highways comparable to the [[Interstate Highway System|Interstates]] or the [[United States Numbered Highways|U.S. Route System]], and the [[Government of Canada]] maintains very little power or authority over the maintenance or expansion of the system beyond sharing part of the cost of strategically important highway projects. Highways within the system are not given any special signage, except where they are part of a Trans-Canada Highway route.
Unlike the similar [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]] in the [[United States]], the Canadian system does not include any federally-maintained highways comparable to the [[Interstate Highway System|Interstates]] or the [[United States Numbered Highways|U.S. Route System]], and the [[Government of Canada]] maintains very little power or authority over the maintenance or expansion of the system beyond sharing part of the cost of economically significant projects within the network. Highways within the system are not given any special signage, except where they are part of a Trans-Canada Highway route.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 22:26, 21 July 2014

National Highway System
Route information
Length38,021 km (23,625 mi)
Existed1988–present
Location
CountryCanada
Highway system

The National Highway System in Canada is a federal designation for a strategic transport network of highways and freeways.[1] The system includes but is not limited to the Trans-Canada Highway,[1] and currently consists of 38,021 kilometres (23,625 mi) of roadway designated under one of three classes: Core Routes, Feeder Routes, and Northern and Remote Routes.[1]

Unlike the similar National Highway System in the United States, the Canadian system does not include any federally-maintained highways comparable to the Interstates or the U.S. Route System, and the Government of Canada maintains very little power or authority over the maintenance or expansion of the system beyond sharing part of the cost of economically significant projects within the network. Highways within the system are not given any special signage, except where they are part of a Trans-Canada Highway route.

History

The system was first designated in 1988 by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, a council consisting of the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Transport.[1] A total of 24,500 kilometres (15,200 mi) of highway were originally designated as part of the system. Highways selected for the system were existing primary routes that supported interprovincial and international trade and travel, by connecting major population or commercial centres with each other, with major border crossings on the Canada-United States border, or with other transport hubs.[1]

The system was further expanded in the 2000s, with the addition of approximately 14,000 kilometres (8,700 mi) of highway that was not part of the original 1988 network.[1] It was in this era that the current "core", "feeder" and "Northern or remote" classes of route were established.[1] Not all highways within the system are designated in their entirety, but may instead be part of the system over only part of their length; a few highways even have two or more discontinuous segments designated as part of the system. In some locations, the National Highway System may also incorporate city arterial streets to connect highway routes which are part of the system but do not directly interconnect, or to link the system to an important intermodal transport hub — such as a shipping port, a railway terminal, an airport or a ferry terminal — which is not directly located on a provincial-class highway.

Routes within the system continue to be maintained, funded and signed as provincial, rather than federal, highways. However, the federal government provides some funding assistance for important maintenance and expansion projects on designated highways through cost sharing programs.[2] For instance, several recent maintenance projects on National Highway System routes in Saskatchewan were partly funded under the federal government's Building Canada Fund - Major Infrastructure Component,[2] while several four-laning projects in Ontario in the 2000s accessed federal funding under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program.[3]

There is no single, ongoing program for federal contributions to the National Highway System;[4] rather, these contributions have been made through a variety of separate infrastructure investment programs of defined length and scope.[4] Recent projects have identified public-private partnerships and dedicated fuel taxes as possible mechanisms for providing more stable funding, although no comprehensive program has been implemented to date.[4]

The National Highway System has been criticized for lacking a truly comprehensive expansion plan.[5] In many parts of the country, the system relies on two-lane highways, or expressways which are not fully up to international motorway standards; according to Lakehead University economics professor Livio di Matteo, many parts of the system, even on the main Trans-Canada Highway portion of the network, still leave "the nation’s east-west flow of personal and commercial traffic subject to the whims of an errant moose".[5]

Routes

In its current form, the National Highway System includes routes in all Canadian provinces and territories except Nunavut, which has no conventional road connections to any other Canadian province or territory.[1]

Alberta

The system includes 4,384 kilometres (2,724 mi) of highway in Alberta.[6]

British Columbia

The system includes 7,032 kilometres (4,369 mi) of highway in British Columbia.

Manitoba

The system includes 2,093 kilometres (1,301 mi) of highway in Manitoba.

New Brunswick

The system includes 1,825 kilometres (1,134 mi) of highway in New Brunswick.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The system includes 7,032 kilometres (4,369 mi) of highway in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Northwest Territories

The system includes 1,423 kilometres (884 mi) of highway in the Northwest Territories.

Nova Scotia

The system includes 1,199 kilometres (745 mi) of highway in Nova Scotia.

Ontario

The system includes 6,836 kilometres (4,248 mi) of highway in Ontario.

Prince Edward Island

The system includes 396 kilometres (246 mi) of highway in Prince Edward Island.

Quebec

The system includes 5,649 kilometres (3,510 mi) of highway in Quebec.

Saskatchewan

The system includes 2,688 kilometres (1,670 mi) of highway in Saskatchewan.

Yukon

The system includes 2,027 kilometres (1,260 mi) of highway in Yukon.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h National Highway System. Transport Canada, December 20, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Core National Highway System in Saskatchewan to be Improved". Government of Saskatchewan, February 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "McGuinty Government Secures Partnership To Improve Northern Highways". Government of Ontario, November 21, 2003.
  4. ^ a b c Allison Padova, Federal Participation in Highway Construction and Policy in Canada. Parliamentary Information and Research Service Economics Division, February 20, 2006
  5. ^ a b Livio di Matteo and Wayne Simpson, "Fix No. 1 Highway". Financial Post, April 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "National Highway System Review Task Force Report" (PDF) (PDF). Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. September 22, 2005. pp. 36–41. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
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