Alberta Highway 63

Highway 63
Route information
Length:	443 km (275 mi)
Major junctions
South end:	Hwy 28 / Hwy 829 southwest of Radway
	Hwy 18 Hwy 55 Hwy 881 Hwy 69
North end:	North of Fort MacKay
Location
Specialized and rural municipalities:	Thorhild County, Athabasca County, Lac La Biche County, Wood Buffalo R.M.
Major cities:	Fort McMurray
Villages:	Boyle
Highway system
Provincial highways in Alberta ← Hwy 62 Hwy 64 →

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 63^[1] is a north–south highway in northern Alberta, Canada. In the south, Highway 63 begins at its intersection with Highway 28 approximately 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Radway, passing through Boyle and Fort McMurray before ending approximately 16 km (10 mi) north of its second crossing of the Athabasca River near Fort MacKay.

Highway 63 in Fort McMurray near Prairie Loop Blvd

Much of Highway 63 passes through boreal forest, although aspen parkland and farmland is predominant as far as Wandering River. The highway also passes through the Athabasca Oil Sands between Fort McMurray and Fort MacKay.

From its terminus to Fort McMurray, the highway is designated as a core route of Canada's National Highway System.

Highway format

Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray

Highway 63 has seen an increasingly high volume of traffic due to the growing oilsands industry in the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo, included in which is the oil centre of Fort McMurray, which has led to serious transportation-related problems. Trucks carrying large equipment can cause traffic delays, since they can be large enough to occupy two traffic lanes. Until 2016, most of the highway was a two-lane undivided roadway, with the exception of approximately 55 km (34 mi) from south of its intersection with Highway 881 through Fort McMurray to south of Fort MacKay. It is also the only road leading out of Fort McMurray, which makes it a critical link to the growing community.

After years of both public and political pressure, the provincial government announced in February 2006^[2] that it would begin twinning the entire two-lane portion of the highway to a four-lane divided standard from Atmore to just south of Fort McMurray. The twinning began in 2006 and was estimated to take at least five years to complete.^[3]

As of October 2009, the twinning of approximately 16 km (10 mi) of this 240 km (150 mi) corridor had been completed,^[4] with another 16 km (10 mi) expected to be graded by late 2011.^[5] In October 2012, it was announced the remaining portion of Highway 63 between Grassland and Fort McMurray will be twinned by the end of 2016^[6] and 36 km (22 mi) of twinned highway opened near Wandering River on November 5, 2012.^[7] Interchanges within Fort McMurray at Confederation Way and Thickwood Boulevard were completed in late 2013.^[8]

Safety concerns

Between 2001 and 2005, over 1,000 crashes occurred on Highway 63 in which 25 people were killed and 257 others were injured.^[9]

Major intersections

Rural/specialized municipality	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Continues as Hwy 829 south
Thorhild County		0	0	Hwy 28 – Cold Lake, Redwater, Edmonton Hwy 829 south – Redwater	Hwy 63 begins 54°02′14″N 113°01′33″W / 54.0372°N 113.0257°W
		13	8	Hwy 18 west – Thorhild, Westlock, Barrhead Hwy 656 east	54°09′06″N 113°01′37″W / 54.1518°N 113.0269°W
	Newbrook	34	21	Hwy 661 – Rochester	54°19′33″N 112°56′23″W / 54.3259°N 112.9398°W
Athabasca County		64	40	Hwy 663 west – Colinton	Hwy 663 concurrency begins 54°35′15″N 112°56′43″W / 54.5874°N 112.9453°W
	Boyle	73	45	Hwy 663 east – Caslan, Hylo	Hwy 663 concurrency ends 54°35′16″N 112°49′06″W / 54.5879°N 112.8183°W
		74	46	Hwy 831 south – Long Lake Provincial Park, Waskatenau, Lamont	54°35′38″N 112°48′19″W / 54.5940°N 112.8052°W
		89	55	Hwy 55 west – Athabasca	Hwy 55 concurrency begins 54°43′58″N 112°48′16″W / 54.7329°N 112.8045°W
	Grassland	103	64	1st Street W	Passes through Grassland 54°49′13″N 112°41′15″W / 54.8203°N 112.6876°W
	Atmore	112	70	Hwy 55 east – Lac La Biche, Cold Lake Hwy 855 south – Smoky Lake	Hwy 63 branches north Hwy 55 concurrency ends 54°49′05″N 112°34′28″W / 54.8181°N 112.5745°W
	Wandering River	156	97	road	Passes Wandering River 55°11′52″N 112°28′06″W / 55.1978°N 112.4684°W
R.M. of Wood Buffalo	Mariana Lake	250	155	road	Passes Mariana Lake 55°57′12″N 112°00′50″W / 55.9534°N 112.0139°W
		336	209	Hwy 881 south – Anzac, Conklin, Lac La Biche	56°31′08″N 111°19′00″W / 56.519°N 111.3166°W
	Fort McMurray	352	219	Hwy 69 east – Airport, Saprae Creek	56°39′32″N 111°20′05″W / 56.6589°N 111.3348°W
		352	219	MacKenzie Boulevard	56°40′20″N 111°21′00″W / 56.6721°N 111.3499°W
		355	221	Beacon Hill Drive / Gregoire Drive	56°41′14″N 111°21′11″W / 56.6871°N 111.3531°W
		357	222	Tolen Drive / King Street / Prairie Loop Boulevard	Interchange 56°42′23″N 111°21′18″W / 56.7065°N 111.3550°W
		358	222	Hospital Street / Abasand Drive	Interchange 56°42′53″N 111°21′59″W / 56.7147°N 111.3663°W
		359.4	223.3	Hardin Street	Traffic signals; southbound bypass lane 56°43′26″N 111°22′57″W / 56.7240°N 111.3826°W
		359.7	223.5	Main Street	Interchange proposed;[10] no present access 56°43′32″N 111°23′05″W / 56.7255°N 111.3846°W
		359.9	223.6	Morrison Street	Traffic signals; southbound bypass lane 56°43′38″N 111°23′12″W / 56.7273°N 111.3868°W
		360.4	223.9	Franklin Avenue / C.A. Knight Way	Interchange Southbound exit, northbound entrance 56°43′51″N 111°23′30″W / 56.7308°N 111.3917°W
		361	224	Crosses Athabasca River Athabasca River Bridge (northbound), Steinhauer Bridge (southbound) Grant MacEwan Bridge (southbound Franklin Avenue exit)[11]
		363	226	Thickwood Boulevard	Interchange 56°44′42″N 111°24′12″W / 56.7451°N 111.4033°W
		365	227	Confederation Way	Interchange 56°45′34″N 111°25′04″W / 56.7595°N 111.4177°W
		366	227	TaigaNova Crescent	56°46′16″N 111°25′26″W / 56.7712°N 111.4239°W
		368	229	Hwy 686 west / Parsons Access Road	Interchange 56°47′13″N 111°25′43″W / 56.7869°N 111.4286°W
		389	242	Base Plant Road / Voyageur Road	Interchange 56°58′10″N 111°29′14″W / 56.9695°N 111.4872°W
		399	248	Hwy 63 U-turn	Northbound U-turn after short one-way seperation of lanes 57°02′16″N 111°33′23″W / 57.0379°N 111.5563°W
	Fort MacKay	412	256	Fort MacKay Road	57°07′27″N 111°37′39″W / 57.1242°N 111.6274°W
		413	257	Crosses Athabasca River
		429	267	Hwy 63 ends	57°24′39″N 111°37′36″W / 57.4109°N 111.6266°W
Continues as winter road to Fort Chipewyan, Wood Buffalo National Park, and Fort Smith
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

References

1. Provincial Highways Designation Order, Alberta Transportation, p. 9
2. Alberta Government announcement
3. Government of Alberta - Infrastructure project
4. The Oil Sands Developers Group- Transportation Fact Sheet: October 2009.
5. Alberta Transportation- Highway 63 twinning will resume: March 2010.
6. "Highway 63 twinning fast-tracked for fall 2016 completion". Government of Alberta. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
7. "Newly-twinned Highway 63 section north of Wandering River opens today". Government of Alberta. 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
8. "Highway 63 twinning update - countdown to 2016". Alberta Government. April 19, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
9. "Multi-vehicle crash on Highway 63 kills 2". CBC News. 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
10. Devos, P.Eng., Henry; Rebus, P.Eng., Bob; Furtado, P.Eng., Glen. "Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation" (PDF). Resolving Network Hierarchy with an Unconventional Core C/D Highway Concept, Highway 63, Fort McMurray. McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. p. 13. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
11. "Alberta opens new Fort McMurray bridge seven months early". Government of Alberta. 10 Dec 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2016.

External links

• 2010 Provincial Highways 1 - 216 Series Progress Chart (map, 8 MB) by Alberta Transportation.
• Northeast Provincial Highway Projects by Alberta Transportation