Highway 16 is a major eastwest highway in central Alberta, Canada, which connects Jasper with Lloydminster via Edmonton. It forms a portion of the Yellowhead Highway, a major interprovincial route of the Trans-Canada Highway system that stretches from Masset, British Columbia, on Graham Island, to the main Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) west of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, near Winnipeg. Highway 16 spans approximately from Alberta's border with British Columbia in the west to its border with Saskatchewan in the east. As of 2010, all but less than of the route was divided, with a minimum of two lanes in each direction. It is designated a core route in Canada's National Highway System.
Route description Jasper National Park British Columbia Highway 16 becomes Alberta Highway 16 as it crosses the Continental Divide and Yellowhead Pass into Alberta, entering Jasper National Park, which was established in 1907 and encompasses of mountain terrain as part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1984. The highway travels in an easterly direction through the Municipality of Jasper until it reaches the intersection with Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway) and the west access to the Jasper townsite. East of Highway 93, the highway turns to the north, passes the east access to the Jasper townsite, and continues in a northeast direction along the Athabasca River through Improvement District No. 12. The segment of Highway 16 through Jasper National Park is maintained by the Government of Canada.
Jasper National Park to Edmonton
Upon exiting Jasper National Park, Highway 16 travels through the rural municipalities of Yellowhead County and Parkland County and is maintained by Alberta Transportation until it reaches Alberta's capital city, Edmonton. The highway is a two-lane, undivided highway for , where it becomes a four-lane, divided highway. The highway continues northeast through the Town of Hinton, the largest community on the highway between Edmonton and Jasper National Park. Hinton was incorporated in 1958 and named for William P. Hinton, a senior official of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Alberta's first pulp mill opened in Hinton in 1957 and pulp and paper manufacturing remains the town's dominant industry. The highway continues east to the locality of Obed, where it crosses Obed Summit, the highest point on the Yellowhead Highway.
The highway passes through the Town of Edson, where the highway splits into parallel one-streets, with eastbound traffic following 2 Avenue and westbound traffic following 4 Avenue. Edson, incorporated in 1911, was named for Edson Joseph Chamberlin, the general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway during its construction. It continues east where it passes by the Hamlets of Niton Junction, Wildwood, Evansburg, and Entwistle. The highway crosses the Arctic Divide between Entwistle (which is on the Pembina River) and Magnolia Bridge (on the Sturgeon River).
It then passes through the Hamlet of Gainford and north of Wabamun Lake, where it passes by the Summer Village of Seba Beach, Hamlet of Fallis, Hamlet of Wabamun, and Hamlet of Kapasiwin before intersecting Highway 43. The highway intersects Highway 16A (Parkland Highway), which prior to 1997 was part of Highway 16, and passes through the Town of Stony Plain, City of Spruce Grove, and serves as an alternate route into Edmonton. The present alignment bypasses Stony Plain and serves as the northern boundary of Spruce Grove. Highway 16 is part of the CANAMEX Corridor between Highway 43 and its western intersection with Anthony Henday Drive, Edmonton's ring road.
Edmonton
Highway 16 passes through Edmonton as a major expressway called Yellowhead Trail, maintained by the City of Edmonton. Most sections of Yellowhead Trail are free-flowing, while a few intersections still exist from 127 Street to 66 Street as of 2024. The city closed access to Yellowhead Trail from 89 Street in 2019, marking the first milestone of the Freeway Conversion Program.
Edmonton to Lloydminster
Highway 16 exits Edmonton and enters Strathcona County just west of its eastern intersection with Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216). The highway travels east and serves as the division between Edmonton and the Urban Service Area of Sherwood Park. The highway continues east past the Hamlet of Ardrossan and through Elk Island National Park. The park was established as a wildlife reserve in 1906 and designated a national park in 1913; it covers approximately east of Edmonton. It is the only completely fenced national park in Canada, protecting herds of plains bison and wood bison along with moose, elk, and over 230 bird species. East of the park, the highway passes the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, founded in 1971 and designated a provincial Historic Site in 1975. The site interprets Ukrainian settlement in east-central Alberta between 1892 and 1930 through over 30 restored historic structures staffed by costumed interpreters. The highway then passes through the rural municipalities of Lamont County, County of Minburn, and the County of Vermilion River. The highway continues in a general southeast direction by Town of Mundare and the Town of Vegreville, where Highway 16A passes directly through Vegreville. Vegreville is home to a pysanka sculpture, built in 1973–74 to mark the centennial of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The highway continues by Hamlet of Lavoy, Hamlet of Ranfurly, Village of Innisfree, Hamlet of Minburn, Village of Mannville, Town of Vermilion, Village of Kitscoty, and Hamlet of Blackfoot. The highway is maintained by Alberta Transportation, with the exception of the segment through Elk Island National Park which is maintained by the Government of Canada. Highway 16 passes through the City of Lloydminster along Ray Nelson Drive (44 Street) and is maintained by the City of Lloydminster. Lloydminster was established in April 1903 by British immigrants led by Reverend George Exton Lloyd, whose name the settlement bears. When Alberta and Saskatchewan were created as provinces in 1905, the interprovincial boundary bisected the settlement; the two portions amalgamated into a single municipality in 1930 and achieved city status in 1958. Highway 16 is an arterial street; eventually, the highway crosses into Saskatchewan at its intersection with Highway 17 (50 Avenue), where it becomes Saskatchewan Highway 16.
History
The Yellowhead Highway is named after the Yellowhead Pass in the Rocky Mountains. During the early 1800s, Pierre Bostonais, an Iroquois-Métis trapper with streaks of blonde in his hair, worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. Because of his hair colour, French-speaking voyageurs referred to him as "Tête Jaune", literally "Yellow Head". By 1819, Bostonais acted as a guide for the company and had explored a route down the Fraser River to the present city of Prince George. Nearly a century later, the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) and Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) constructed lines that the Yellowhead Highway later paralleled. The two lines between Lobstick and Red Pass Junction were combined into a joint route in 1917, with portions of both lines abandoned. The GTP and CNoR both became part of the new Canadian National Railway (CNR) by 1924.
Following World War I, as automobile use increased exponentially, CNR surveyor Fred Driscoll and Edmonton Automobile and Good Roads Association president formed a committee lobbying for the creation of the Yellowhead Highway. Driscoll believed the abandoned railway bed would be an ideal base for a road. The Edmonton Automobile Association offered a gold medal to the first person to travel from Edmonton to Victoria through the gap. Charles Neiymer and Frank Silverthorne, sponsored by Lines Motors of Edmonton, departed in an Overland Four on June 17, 1922. The following week, George Gordon and J. Sims departed Edmonton in a Ford Model T, following the same route. On July 4, both pairs arrived in Victoria and were each awarded gold medals.
However, it would take until World War II for any improvements to be made this overland route. The displacement of Japanese-Canadians from the Pacific coast to internment camps in the interior led to some developments. of road was constructed along the railway bed, and an additional through steep terrain. By 1944, the Tote Road was opened through Jasper and into the Fraser Valley.
In August 1948, a motorcade was organized as a demonstration of the need for the highway. The Trans-Canada Highway Act was enacted in 1949, providing a 90% subsidy to upgrade selected routes to modern standards. However, the Tote Highway was not included under this subsidy. During the same time frame, the Trans Mountain Oil Pipe Line Company began looking at the Tote Road as a potential route for a pipeline between Edmonton and Vancouver. Construction began in 1952, and largely resulted in the destruction of the road along the pipeline's path.
Gradually, work progressed to reconstruct the highway. Elsewhere, the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1957. The Yellowhead Highway became eligible for federal funding soon thereafter. By 1969, the Tote Road was generally rebuilt and paved. On August 15, 1970, British Columbia Premier W. A. C. Bennett officially opened the Yellowhead Highway.
Construction and improvements Alberta Transportation's 2023 provincial construction program included several projects along Highway 16. Bridge rehabilitation work at the Highway 16 and Highway 43 interchange near Carvel was in design, as were culvert replacements on Norris Creek near Mundare and on Rooster Creek near Obed. A corridor planning study for the Highway 16 and Mundare area was also initiated under the program.
The 2024 program included active construction projects on the highway. A 32-kilometre repaving section and a separate 19-kilometre repaving section were under construction between Clover Bar Road and west of Highway 834. An intersection improvement at Highway 16 and Highway 830 was under construction, along with safety upgrades at Range Road intersections 210, 211, 212, 214, and 224 east of Edmonton. In design were 19 kilometres of repaving between Highway 31 and Range Road 34, 13 kilometres near Wabamun, and sections totalling 43 kilometres west of Lloydminster. Bridge deck rehabilitation was in design for structures at the Highway 16 and Highway 43 interchange, the McLeod River bridge near Edson, the Pembina River bridge near Entwistle, the Lobstick River bridge near Niton Junction, the Clover Bar Road interchange, the Switzer Drive flyover at Hinton, and the Wolf Creek and Maskuta Creek bridges near Edson and Hinton. Culvert replacements near Hinton, Obed, Chip Lake, Evansburg, and Kitscoty were also in design. A new overpass at the Highway 16 and Highway 881 intersection was in planning.
Future Alberta Transportation has conducted long-term studies to twin Highway 16 between Jasper National Park and Highway 40 and freeway upgrades both west and east of Edmonton. Highway bypass alignments have also been planned for Hinton, Edson, and Lloydminster, all of which have been designated as Highway 16X.