Calgary Trail

Calgary Trail

104 Street
Maintained by	the City of Edmonton and Alberta Transportation
Length	14.6 km (9.1 mi)
Location	Edmonton
South end	City Limits (41 Avenue SW)
Major junctions	Ellerslie Road, Anthony Henday Drive, 23 Avenue, 34 Avenue, Whitemud Drive, 51 Avenue, 63 Avenue, Whyte Avenue
North end	Saskatchewan Drive

Calgary Trail is a major one-way arterial road in south Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is a major commuter route for communities south of Edmonton, such as Leduc.

The road begins at Saskatchewan Drive in Old Strathcona as 104 Street, which runs as a two-way street until it reaches University Avenue. It continues in a southbound direction to 55 Avenue, when it becomes Calgary Trail. At Whitemud Drive, Highway 2 follows Calgary Trail. Near 31 Avenue, the road veers slightly to the east and a median is all that separates Calgary Trail from Gateway Boulevard (headed northbound). The road continues as a two-way freeway to the city limits and further south towards the Edmonton International Airport, Red Deer, and Calgary as the QE2 Highway.

History

The road is the remnant of the northern terminus of the Calgary and Edmonton Trail, a land transport route between the fur trading posts of Fort Edmonton and Fort Calgary, used as far back as the early 1800.^[1] Calgary Trail previously had Northbound and Southbound designations, and were renamed in 2001 as Gateway Boulevard and Calgary Trail, respectively. Initially, the name change met with some controversy.^[2][3] The name Calgary Trail stood for many years, as this was Alberta's primary highway to Calgary following the rail lines. The rails no longer continue north past Whyte Avenue; however, CPR still has a rail yard serving the industrial district along the east side of Gateway Boulevard.

Neighbourhoods

List of neighbourhoods Calgary Trail runs through or next to, in order from south to north:^[4]

• Blackmud Creek
• Blackburne
• Bearspaw
• Keheewin
• Ermineskin
• Steinhauer
• Duggan
• Rideau Park
• Empire Park
• Pleasantview
• Allendale
• Queen Alexandra
• Strathcona

Interchanges and intersections

This is a list of major intersections, starting at the south end of Calgary Trail.^[4]

Direction	Intersecting road	Current intersection type	Coordinates
South-North	41 Avenue SW	At-grade	53°23′45″N 113°30′35″W / 53.39583°N 113.50972°W
	Ellerslie Road (9 Avenue SW)	Diamond interchange	53°25′29″N 113°29′35″W / 53.42472°N 113.49306°W
	Anthony Henday Drive	Stack interchange	53°26′14″N 113°29′25″W / 53.43722°N 113.49028°W
	19 Avenue NW	Diamond interchange	53°26′48″N 113°29′34″W / 53.44667°N 113.49278°W
	23 Avenue NW	Diamond interchange	53°27′14″N 113°29′33″W / 53.45389°N 113.49250°W
	Gateway Boulevard	(South end of diamond)	53°27′39″N 113°29′33″W / 53.46083°N 113.49250°W
	34 Avenue NW	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°28′4″N 113°29′44″W / 53.46778°N 113.49556°W
	G.A. MacDonald Avenue	At-grade	53°28′33″N 113°29′44″W / 53.47583°N 113.49556°W
	Whitemud Drive	Diamond interchange	53°28′50″N 113°29′44″W / 53.48056°N 113.49556°W
	51 Avenue	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°29′17″N 113°29′42″W / 53.48806°N 113.49500°W
	54 Avenue	At-grade	53°29′28″N 113°29′42″W / 53.49111°N 113.49500°W
	61 Avenue	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°29′53″N 113°29′52″W / 53.49806°N 113.49778°W
	Allendale Road / 63 Avenue	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°29′59″N 113°29′52″W / 53.49972°N 113.49778°W
	University Avenue	At-grade	53°30′42″N 113°29′51″W / 53.51167°N 113.49750°W
	Whyte (82) Avenue	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°31′5″N 113°29′51″W / 53.51806°N 113.49750°W
	Saskatchewan Drive	At-grade (traffic lights)	53°31′24″N 113°29′51″W / 53.52333°N 113.49750°W

References

1. Placenames of Alberta. "The naming along the Calgary - Edmonton Trail". Retrieved 2009-12-24.
2. http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/08/25/ctrll000825.html 'Gateway Boulevard' idea may lead nowhere. CBC News, 2000-08-25.
3. "Name change brings mixed reviews". CBC News. 2000-09-26. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
4. City of Edmonton map utility