NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM
In response to growing recognition of the importance of highway
transportation to the Canadian economy and the need for action to preserve
Canada’s highway infrastructure, in 1987, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial
Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety
commissioned a multi-year National Highway Policy Study, which established
criteria that could be applied in each region of the country to define a
National Highway System.
As a result, the National Highway System was first defined and endorsed in
1988 by the Council of Ministers and included more than 24,300 kilometres of
existing primary routes that support inter-provincial and international trade
and travel by connecting, as directly as possible, a capital city, or major
provincial population or commercial centre in Canada with:
- another major provincial population or commercial centre;
- another major population or commercial centre in an adjacent province or
territory;
- a major port of exit or entry with the United States; and
- another transportation mode directly served by the highway mode, for
example, ferry terminals.
In September 2003, the Council of Deputy Ministers responsible for
Transportation and Highway Safety directed a committee of officials to undertake
the first-ever review of the highway system route designation and assess whether
conditions have changed since 1988, as some existing provincial and territorial
routes could now satisfy the criteria originally used to identify the system.
Any changes to the system are subject to the approval of the Council of
Ministers. Therefore, on September 23, 2004, as a result of demographic, social
and economic changes over the past 15 years, the Council of Ministers agreed to
add approximately 2,700 kilometres of strategic and nationally important highway
routes to the existing 1988 National Highway System, an 11 per cent increase.
These 2004 additions, along with the 1988 system designations, are now
considered the core system.
In addition, the Council of Ministers also agreed to establish a working
group to develop criteria to identify additional routes that, if agreed upon,
would primarily represent highways that are important from a provincial,
territorial and regional perspective.
The task force completed its work and recommended the Ministers approve the
addition of close to 4,500 kilometres of feeder routes and over 5,900 kilometres
of northern and remote routes to the system. The task force also recommended
over 500 kilometres of key intermodal connectors and close to 100 kilometres of
corrections be added under the core routes.
The task force recommendations were approved by the Council of Ministers on
September 22, 2005. The National Highway System now consists of over 38,000
kilometres of highways that are important from a national and regional
perspective. This amounts to a 56 per cent increase in the network length over
what was approved in 1988.
Corridors for Canada (investment of $65 million)
The Government of Canada has committed a total of $65 million for the
Corridors for Canada program, which is designed to improve highway
infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. Projects funded under the program
will contribute to economic growth by improving access to oil and gas resources
and facilitating the construction of pipelines. The projects will also help
improve the safety of local residents and tourists.
The Corridors for Canada program is divided into two phases. The first phase
of the program has involved the reconstruction of highway segments on the
Dempster Highway and in the Slave Province Transportation Corridor, and the
construction of bridges on the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road. The Governments of
Canada and the Northwest Territories have signed an agreement under the Canada
Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF) to cost-share the $40 million associated
with this phase of the program.
The second phase of the Corridors for Canada program will include the
construction of additional bridges and selective grade improvements on the
Mackenzie Valley Winter Road; additional upgrades on the Dempster Highway (No.8)
and the Slave Province Transportation Corridor (Highways No.3 and No.4); the
upgrading of the Mackenzie Highway (No.1); and the upgrading of the Liard
Highway (No.7). The Government of Canada will contribute $45 million of the
total cost of $90 million for this phase of the program.
September 2006
NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM MAP
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