British Columbia/Highway classification
This page describes the highway classification scheme used in British Columbia (BC) following the 2022 Canadian highway guidelines.
Guidelines
These tagging guidelines are tentative, and should be discussed with other BC mappers before applying to the map. The existing guidelines in the main provincial page still applies. Metro Vancouver is a special case.
- highway=motorway - Freeways (or officially, schedule 1 highways, e.g. Trans-Canada between Vancouver and east of Chilliwack, Coquihalla Highway, part of BC 97C). Pedestrians, farm vehicles animals, bicycles and vehicles incapable of exceeding 60 km/h are prohibited, but some freeways allow bicycles especially in the Interior.
- highway=trunk - NHS core routes that aren't freeway standard (e.g. Crowsnest Highway, Yellowhead Highway, Cariboo Highway, Alaska Highway), plus some additional routes listed below. In Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission, includes some expressways and connectors between the freeways (e.g. BC 10, BC 11, BC 15, non-freeway segments of BC 17, Lougheed Highway between Coquitlam and Mission)
- highway=primary - Most provincial highways that aren't trunk or motorway, plus some large arterials in Metro Vancouver.
- highway=secondary - Minor roads linking towns not served by the highways. Most arterial roads in urban areas.
- highway=tertiary - other important rural roads, collector streets in urban areas
- highway=unclassified - most rural roads, and streets outside residential areas
- highway=residential - residential roads
expressway=yes will be used to indicate roads that are designed for high speed but are not completely controlled-access or are isolated freeway segments with only one interchange or is not long enough. In British Columbia, these are usually divided, with some grade separations. The classification of such roads follow those listed above.
Population centres
Population centres for determining trunk links include cities that are core of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the denser parts of the province such as the Lower Mainland and south Vancouver Island. For the sparser areas, population centres used are usually control cities designated by BC Ministry of Transportation.
| Destination | Region | Estimated population of CMA/agglomeration/incorporated area | Primary highways | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | Lower Mainland | 2,640,000 | Including Metro Vancouver (official definition) | |
| Victoria | Vancouver Island | 397,000 | Including Capital Regional District | |
| Kelowna | Okanagan | 222,000 | ||
| Abbotsford | Lower Mainland | 196,000 | Including Mission | |
| Nanaimo | Vancouver Island | 116,000 | ||
| Kamloops | Thompson-Nicola | 114,100 | ||
| Chilliwack | Lower Mainland | 114,000 | ||
| Prince George | Northern BC | 90,000 | ||
| Campbell River | Vancouver Island | 40,704 | ||
| Cranbrook | Kootenays | 27,000 | ||
| Prince Rupert | Northern BC | 13,000 | ||
| Dawson Creek | Kootenays | 12,000 | ||
| Castlegar | Kootenays | 8,000 |
Out-of-province and across the US border
- Calgary, AB
- Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Edmonton, AB
- Grande Prairie, AB
- Kalispell, MT
- Lethbridge, AB
- Seattle, WA
- Spokane, WA
- Wenatchee, WA
- Whitehorse, YT
Also of consideration for determining potential trunk routings are border crossings, especially to match any changes south of the border. Highways connecting with the busiest border crossings, which are also open 24 hours, will be tagged trunk except the crossing serving Point Roberts, Washington state. This should be coordinated with changes in Washington state, Idaho and Montana.
- Douglas–Blaine (Peace Arch): BC 99/I-5
- Blaine–Pacific Highway: BC 15/WA 543
- Abbotsford-Huntingdon/Sumas: BC 11/WA 9
- Osoyoos-Oroville: BC 97/US 97
- Paterson-Frontier: BC 395/US 395
- Kingsgate-Eastport: BC 95/US 95
- Roosville: BC 93/US 93
Motorways
highway=motorway roads in British Columbia include all signed freeways (officially termed schedule 1 highways, indicated by signage prohibiting pedestrians, bicycles, farm vehicles and vehicles incapable of exceeding 60 km/h), mostly concentrated in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. They do not form a separate network, but they are clearly signposted at their entry points (endpoints and on-ramps). That said, there are parts of the freeway network that allows bicycles, especially in the Interior (e.g. the Coquihalla between the Crowsnest and Merritt and the Okanagan Connector).
| Highway | Cities served | Motorway status begins | Motorway status ends | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) | Victoria and Langford | Tillicum Road | West Shore Parkway | |
| BC 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) | Vancouver → Abbotsford → Chilliwack → Kamloops (via the Coq) | Port of Horseshoe Bay | BC 3/5 at Hope | |
| Coquihalla Highway | Vancouver and Abbotsford (via Highway 1) → Kamloops | BC 1 at Hope | BC 1 at Kamloops | Bypass of BC 1. Concurrent with BC 3 between Hope and exit 177. |
| Patricia Bay Highway | Victoria and Saanich | Saanich Fire Department access | Haliburton Road | |
| Patricia Bay Highway | Sidney | McDonald Park Road | Swartz Bay ferry terminal | |
| BC 17 | Delta | 56 Street | Tillbury Road | Connects with BC 99. |
| BC 17 | New Westminster | BC 91C | Old Yale Road | Isolated freeway, indirectly connected to BC 91 via BC 91C. Endpoints being upgraded to freeway standard. |
| BC 17A | New Westminster | BC 17 | Old Yale Road | Spur freeway connected to BC 17. |
| Inland Island Highway | Parksville and Qualicum | exit 46 | exit 71 | Bypass of the East Island Highway. |
| Inland Island Highway | Courtenay | exit 87 | exit 127 | Bypass of the East Island Highway. |
| BC 91 | Metro Vancouver | BC 99 near Surrey | Okanagan Highway (BC 97) | Named Annacis Highway and East-West Connector. Alternate route of Highway 99 via New Westminster. |
| Okanagan Connector | Vancouver (via the Coq) → Kelowna | North Princeton Highway near Merritt | Okanagan Highway (BC 97) | |
| BC 99 | Seattle (via I-5) → US border → Vancouver | north of Peace Arch border crossing | exit 41B | |
| Knight Street | Richmond and Vancouver | Westminster Highway | Southeast Marine Drive | Connects with BC 91. Not signed as freeway, but well-integrated with freeway network and built to freeway standard. |
Edge cases
| Highway | Cities served | Motorway status begins | Motorway status ends | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) | Kamloops | Holman Road | Frontage road access east of exit 399 | Not signed as freeway but a fairly long enough disconnected freeway segment with multiple interchanges. Should this be a motorway or a trunk + expressway? |
Trunks
| Highway | NHS | Cities served/location | Trunk status begins | Trunk status ends | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) | Core | Victoria - Vancouver – Kamloops - Calgary (via Alberta Highway 1) | Saanich Road | Alberta boundary | Runs between Hope and Kamloops via Cache Creek. Some sections in Victoria, Lower Mainland and the Interior designated freeway. |
| BC 2 | Core | Dawson Creek – Grande Prairie | Dawson Creek | Alberta Highway 43 at Alberta boundary | Entire route |
| Crowsnest Highway | Core | Vancouver (via BC 1) - Castlegar - Cranbrook - Lethbridge | Coquihalla Highway exit 177 near Hope | Alberta boundary | Entire route |
| South Yellowhead Highway | Core | Kamloops - Edmonton (via BC 16) | BC 1/Coquihalla Highway at Kamloops | BC 16 at Tête Jaune Cache | |
| BC 10 | No | Metro Vancouver | BC 91 at Delta | BC 1 at Langley Township | Entire route. Along with BC 17 around Surrey, connects BC 1 and BC 91/99 without passing through the denser parts of Metro Vancouver. |
| BC 11 | Feeder | US border – Abbotsford | WA 9 at Sumas border station | BC 1 at Mission | |
| 176 Street | Core | US border – Vancouver (via BC 1) | WA 543 at Blaine-Pacific Highway border crossing | BC 1 at Surrey | Entire route. |
| BC 16 (Yellowhead Highway) | Core | Prince Rupert - Prince George – Edmonton (via Alberta Highway 16) | Port of Prince Rupert | Alberta boundary | |
| BC 17 | Core (Victoria-Sidney and Port of Delta-BC 99) | Victoria - Vancouver | Port of Victoria | BC 1 in Surrey | Named Patricia Bay Highway and South Fraser Perimeter Road. Some sections in Victoria, Delta and New Westminster freeway. |
| BC 19 | Core (Nanaimo–Parksville) Feeder (Parksville–Campbell River), No (remainder) | Port of Duke Point – Nanaimo – Campbell River – Prince Rupert (via ferry through Port Hardy Bella Bella) | Port of Duke Point at Namaimo | Port Hardy | Entire route. Segments around Parksville and Courtenay freeway. |
| BC 49 | No | Dawson Creek – Alberta boundary – | Dawson Creek | Alberta Highway 49 at Alberta boundary | Entire route. Also classified trunk to coordinate with Alberta proposed trunk network which includes Alberta Highway 49. |
| BC 93 | No | Kalispell, MT (via US 93) – US border – Cranbrook | US 93 at Roosville | BC 3 near Elko | |
| BC 95 | No | Coeur d'Alene (via US 95) – US border – Cranbrook | US 95 at Roosville | BC 3 near Cranbrook | Upgraded to trunk 115534719 along with US 95 across Idaho. |
| Okanagan Highway | Feeder (US border-Okanagan Connector), Core (Okanagan Connector and Vernon) | Wenatchee, WA (via US 97) – US border – Penticton - Kelowna – Vernon | US 97 at Osoyoos-Oroville border crossing | BC 97A near Vernon. | Section south of Osoyoos promoted in 438664748 along with US 97 as part of Washington highway classification. |
| Cariboo Highway, John Hart Highway and Alaska Highway | Core | Kamloops – Prince George – Dawson Creen – – Whitehorse, YT | BC 1 at Cache Creek | Alaska Highway at Yukon boundary. | Include isolated segments of Alaska Highway at BC-Yukon boundary. |
| BC 97 | Core | Vernon – Revelstoke (via BC 1) | Okanagan Highway (BC 97) at Vernon | BC 1 at Sicamous | |
| BC 97B | Core | Vernon (via BC 97A) – Kamloops (via BC 1) | BC 97B near Enderby | BC 1 at Salmon Arm | |
| Okanagan Connector | Core | Vancouver (via BC 5) – Kelowna (via BC 97) | Coquihalla Highway (BC 5) at Merritt | BC 97 near West Kelowna | Freeway between Princeton Highway and Okanagan Highway |
| BC 99 | Core | Seattle, WA (via I-5) – Vancouver | I-5 at Peace Arch border crossing | Vancouver |
Expressways
Resources
Neighbouring provinces and US states
- Alberta - Has project.
- Idaho - No project
- Montana - No project.
- Washington state - Has project