Alberta Provincial Highway No. 28A, commonly referred to as Highway 28A, is an 18-kilometre (11 mi) highway in Alberta, Canada that connects Highway 15 in northeast Edmonton to Highway 28 near Gibbons. It is numbered 17 Street NE within Edmonton and forms an alternate route to Highway 28 into the city from the north. As the southernmost component of the Edmonton–Fort McMurray corridor, the highway is designated as a core route of Canada's National Highway System for its entire length.
 Highway 28A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Highway 28A highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of Highway 28 | ||||
| Maintained by Alberta Transportation | ||||
| Length | 17.71 km[1] (11.00 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Highway 15 in Edmonton | |||
 Highway 37 near Ft. Saskatchewan Highway 643 in Gibbons | ||||
| North end |  Highway 28 near Gibbons | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Alberta | |||
| Specialized and rural municipalities | Sturgeon County | |||
| Major cities | Edmonton | |||
| Towns | Gibbons | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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| National Highway System | ||||
Highway 28A began as a gravel road in the 1930s, formerly designated as Highway 37 which it now intersects at the north Edmonton city limit. Alberta Transportation has plans to upgrade Highways 28 and 28A to a divided highway, with long term plans for a freeway between Edmonton and Fort McMurray.
Route description
editLike most rural two-lane highways in Alberta, Highway 28A is not a controlled-access highway, as numerous driveways and local roads intersect it at-grade. Nevertheless, it forms part of the Edmonton-Fort McMurray corridor and is designated as a core route of the National Highway System.[2] The highway begins at an intersection in northeast Edmonton where it splits to the north from Manning Drive (Highway 15) near 227 Avenue.[3] As 17 Street NE, the two-lane highway proceeds through rural residential and agricultural lands north of Edmonton for approximately 3.5 km (2 mi)to Highway 37, crossing into Sturgeon County.[1] It continues north to the town of Gibbons in which it intersects 50 Avenue and Highway 643 (53 Avenue), approximately 37 km (23 mi) north of downtown Edmonton.[4] A bridge carries a branch of the Canadian National Railway over the highway before the road crosses the Sturgeon River on a culvert. While crossing the river, the road briefly widens to a divided highway then immediately terminates at a trumpet interchange with Highway 28.[3]
History
editHighway 28A had been in place as a gravel road since at least 1940, then signed as Highway 37 running from Highway 15 to north of Gibbons.[5] At this time, Highway 28 terminated near Bon Accord and did not connect to present day Highway 28A. A route from Mundare to Cold Lake via Brosseau and St. Paul had already been built by 1930, which later comprised portions of Highway 28 by the mid-1950s.[6][7] The culvert over the Sturgeon River was built in 1970. The railway overpass in Gibbons was constructed in 1973, followed by the Highway 28 interchange in 1974.[8]
Another 46 km (29 mi) section formerly existed between Ashmont and Hoselaw as a bypass of St. Paul, forming a shorter route to Cold Lake than Highway 28. As part of an effort to simplify highway route numbering, this section was re-signed as Highway 28 in 2006, when Highway 28 through St. Paul was re-signed as Highway 29.[9]
Future
editAlberta Transportation ultimately intends to upgrade the entire Edmonton-Fort McMurray corridor to a divided highway.[10] A functional study which included public consultation was completed in 2011 to develop plans for interchanges and access management along Highway 28A.[4] It calls for potential modifications to the existing interchange at Highway 28, and new interchanges at Highway 643 in Gibbons and Township Road 554 to the south. The highway would be realigned slightly east of Gibbons to allow for widening, necessitating new bridges over the Sturgeon River and a relocation of the Canadian National Railway overpass in Gibbons.[4]
Major intersections
editStarting from the south end of Highway 28A:
| Rural/specialized municipality | Location | km[3] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Edmonton | 0.0 | 0.0 | Highway 15 (Manning Drive) – Fort Saskatchewan | Begins as 17 Street NE | |
| Sturgeon County | | 3.4 | 2.1 | Highway 37 – Onoway, Fort Saskatchewan | Traffic signals |
| Gibbons | 16.4 | 10.2 | Highway 643 east / 53 Avenue | ||
| 17.7 | 11.0 | Highway 28 – Cold Lake, Fort McMurray, Bon Accord, Edmonton | Trumpet interchange | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b "2016 Provincial Highway 1-216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ^ "Canada's National Highway System - Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. September 2016. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Highway 28A in central Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Executive Summary" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. December 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ MacPherson (1940). "Road Map - Province of Alberta". Edmonton: Department of Public Works. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ "Motor roads in Western Canada and United States connections leading to Calgary & Canadian Rockies (21 MB)". Alberta Development Board. 1929. Retrieved November 12, 2016 – via University of Calgary.
- ^ "Shell Map of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba". Shell Oil Company. 1956. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ "Transportation Infrastructure Management System - Existing Structures in the Provincial Highway Corridor" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. September 28, 2012. p. 121. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ "Travel to St. Paul made easier with new Highway 29 designation". Alberta Transportation. October 10, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ Tumilty, Ryan (June 6, 2012). "Eventual expansion planned for local highways". St. Albert Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
Alberta Transportation plans to twin Highway 28 and Highway 28A, running all the way into Edmonton. Functional alignment studies have been completed on all of 28A, and on Highway 28 between Gibbons and Highway 63 as well as from Edmonton to Highway 642, with the last remaining section expected soon.
