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Alberta Highway 4
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Alberta Highway 4
Highway 4 is a 103-kilometre (64 mi) highway in southern Alberta, Canada, that runs from Highway 3 in Lethbridge to Interstate 15 in Montana, United States. The highway was designated in 1999 as the First Special Service Force Memorial Highway in honour of elite soldiers who travelled to Helena, Montana, for training before World War II. The highway continues into the United States retaining that name.
It begins in Coutts at Alberta's busiest border crossing, winding north through gentle rolling hills and farmlands in the south of the province. It bypasses Milk River, Warner, and Stirling before reaching Lethbridge, where it becomes 43 Street and ends at Crowsnest Trail on the east side of the city. In 1995, it was designated as part of the CANAMEX Corridor that links Canada with Mexico and the United States, including the major cities of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego, which lie on Interstate 15.
Between Lethbridge and Highway 61 near Stirling, Highway 4 is signed as part of the Red Coat Trail, a historic route stretching from southern Alberta into Manitoba that is advertised as approximating the path travelled by the North-West Mounted Police on their quest to the prairies.
The highway began as a trail parallel to a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway that was built in the late 1800s connecting Lethbridge to Great Falls. It had been named the Sunshine Trail by 1912, and developed into an all-weather gravelled road by the 1930s. Paving and a realignment to eliminate curves was completed by 1947, and in the late 1980s Alberta Transportation announced plans to twin the entire length as part of upgrades to the CANAMEX Corridor south of Calgary that included Highways 2 and 3. An expressway bypass of Milk River completed all work in 2009. A bypass of Lethbridge at the highway's northern terminus is also proposed; it would link Highway 4 to a newly aligned Highway 3 north of the city, making Alberta's portion of the CANAMEX Corridor free-flowing from Coutts to Fort Macleod.
A core route of the National Highway System, Highway 4 is identified as a key international corridor. It is a four-lane, divided highway, constructed parallel to a line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Outside of Lethbridge and Coutts, the highway has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph), like most other major divided highways in Alberta outside of urban areas.
Interstate 15 becomes Highway 4 as it crosses the international border between Montana and Alberta into Coutts, the only border crossing between Montana and Alberta that is open 24 hours year-round. The highway curves north out of Coutts alongside the railway to a three-way intersection with Highway 501 which leads west to Del Bonita. The two highways continue concurrently to the north, briefly paralleling Milk River. The concurrency ends and Highway 501 splits to the east into the community of Milk River, becoming Railway Street, while Highway 4 continues north across the river to bypass the town.
Highway 4 continues 16 km (9.9 mi) north to Warner, which it bypasses to the east; the original alignment of the highway was directly through the community. From Warner, Highway 36 splits to the north en route to Taber and Vauxhall. Highway 4 continues north-northwest to the Hamlet of New Dayton and an intersection with Highway 52 at Craddock, leading west to Raymond. Further north, Stirling Lake and the town of Stirling lie immediately west of Highway 4. New pavement was built east of Stirling to allow the divided highway to curve smoothly to the northeast, and a portion of the former two lane road remains. Just north of Stirling, Highway 61 splits to the east leading to Foremost. North of Stirling, the community of Wilson Siding lies at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 845. Highway 4 reaches Lethbridge and curves due west across the CPR tracks becoming 24 Avenue South.
In Lethbridge, the highway turns north onto 43 Street as a major arterial road with a speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph). It intersects the major east–west arterial routes of 20 Avenue and South Parkside Drive in south Lethbridge before crossing the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks a final time, then ends at an intersection with Crowsnest Trail. With only four traffic lights, it provides an alternative to the busy Mayor Magrath Drive, the main north–south route in Lethbridge, which has a dozen sets of lights over the same distance. The section of 43 Street near 6 Avenue South is the busiest part of Highway 4, carrying over 19,000 vehicles per day in 2017. Between Lethbridge and Wilson Siding, traffic quickly decreases to less than 10,000 vehicles per day, and less than 5,000 vehicles per day for the remaining 86 km (53 mi) until Coutts.
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Alberta Highway 4
Highway 4 is a 103-kilometre (64 mi) highway in southern Alberta, Canada, that runs from Highway 3 in Lethbridge to Interstate 15 in Montana, United States. The highway was designated in 1999 as the First Special Service Force Memorial Highway in honour of elite soldiers who travelled to Helena, Montana, for training before World War II. The highway continues into the United States retaining that name.
It begins in Coutts at Alberta's busiest border crossing, winding north through gentle rolling hills and farmlands in the south of the province. It bypasses Milk River, Warner, and Stirling before reaching Lethbridge, where it becomes 43 Street and ends at Crowsnest Trail on the east side of the city. In 1995, it was designated as part of the CANAMEX Corridor that links Canada with Mexico and the United States, including the major cities of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego, which lie on Interstate 15.
Between Lethbridge and Highway 61 near Stirling, Highway 4 is signed as part of the Red Coat Trail, a historic route stretching from southern Alberta into Manitoba that is advertised as approximating the path travelled by the North-West Mounted Police on their quest to the prairies.
The highway began as a trail parallel to a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway that was built in the late 1800s connecting Lethbridge to Great Falls. It had been named the Sunshine Trail by 1912, and developed into an all-weather gravelled road by the 1930s. Paving and a realignment to eliminate curves was completed by 1947, and in the late 1980s Alberta Transportation announced plans to twin the entire length as part of upgrades to the CANAMEX Corridor south of Calgary that included Highways 2 and 3. An expressway bypass of Milk River completed all work in 2009. A bypass of Lethbridge at the highway's northern terminus is also proposed; it would link Highway 4 to a newly aligned Highway 3 north of the city, making Alberta's portion of the CANAMEX Corridor free-flowing from Coutts to Fort Macleod.
A core route of the National Highway System, Highway 4 is identified as a key international corridor. It is a four-lane, divided highway, constructed parallel to a line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Outside of Lethbridge and Coutts, the highway has a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph), like most other major divided highways in Alberta outside of urban areas.
Interstate 15 becomes Highway 4 as it crosses the international border between Montana and Alberta into Coutts, the only border crossing between Montana and Alberta that is open 24 hours year-round. The highway curves north out of Coutts alongside the railway to a three-way intersection with Highway 501 which leads west to Del Bonita. The two highways continue concurrently to the north, briefly paralleling Milk River. The concurrency ends and Highway 501 splits to the east into the community of Milk River, becoming Railway Street, while Highway 4 continues north across the river to bypass the town.
Highway 4 continues 16 km (9.9 mi) north to Warner, which it bypasses to the east; the original alignment of the highway was directly through the community. From Warner, Highway 36 splits to the north en route to Taber and Vauxhall. Highway 4 continues north-northwest to the Hamlet of New Dayton and an intersection with Highway 52 at Craddock, leading west to Raymond. Further north, Stirling Lake and the town of Stirling lie immediately west of Highway 4. New pavement was built east of Stirling to allow the divided highway to curve smoothly to the northeast, and a portion of the former two lane road remains. Just north of Stirling, Highway 61 splits to the east leading to Foremost. North of Stirling, the community of Wilson Siding lies at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 845. Highway 4 reaches Lethbridge and curves due west across the CPR tracks becoming 24 Avenue South.
In Lethbridge, the highway turns north onto 43 Street as a major arterial road with a speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph). It intersects the major east–west arterial routes of 20 Avenue and South Parkside Drive in south Lethbridge before crossing the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks a final time, then ends at an intersection with Crowsnest Trail. With only four traffic lights, it provides an alternative to the busy Mayor Magrath Drive, the main north–south route in Lethbridge, which has a dozen sets of lights over the same distance. The section of 43 Street near 6 Avenue South is the busiest part of Highway 4, carrying over 19,000 vehicles per day in 2017. Between Lethbridge and Wilson Siding, traffic quickly decreases to less than 10,000 vehicles per day, and less than 5,000 vehicles per day for the remaining 86 km (53 mi) until Coutts.
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