Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety

National Highway System Review

Task Force Report

September 22, 2005

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary...................................................................................................................... 4

1. Context ................................................................................................................................... 7

2. National Highway System Review Task Force Membership............................................ 8

3. Background ........................................................................................................................... 9a) Development of Canadas National Highway System..................................................................... 9

i) Identification of a National Highway System 1988 - 1992 ......................................................... 9ii) National Highway System Update 1998 ................................................................................ 11iii) Strategic Economic Highway System - 1998 ............................................................................ 11iv) National Highway System Review 2003/04........................................................................... 12v) Transport Canada Due Diligence Review 2004.................................................................. 12

b) Selected International Experience Criteria for National Highway Systems ............................... 13i) United States.............................................................................................................................. 13ii) Australia .................................................................................................................................... 14

4. Task Force Review - Approach and Findings:................................................................. 16

a) Updated Route Inventory for the National Highway System ........................................................ 16b) Identification of Corrections Needed to the Current National Highway System........................... 17

i) Anomalies in the findings of Transport Canada Due Diligence Review ............................... 17ii) Linkages to intermodal facilities ............................................................................................... 19iii) Linkages to international border crossings ................................................................................ 20

c) Development of Definitions for Pavement and Structural Rehabilitation Work ........................... 21d) Development of the concept of Route Categories for the National Highway System.................. 22

i) Core Route Network.................................................................................................................. 24ii) Feeder Route Network............................................................................................................... 25iii) Northern and Remote Route Network ....................................................................................... 27

5. Outstanding Issues .............................................................................................................. 29a) Intra-metropolitan Connections: .................................................................................................... 29b) Performance Characteristics for the National Highway System ................................................ 30c) Ongoing Review of the National Highway System....................................................................... 30

6. Conclusions:......................................................................................................................... 31

7. Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 32

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Proposed National Highway System ................................................................... 34

Appendix 2: Route Inventory for the National Highway System (September 2004)............ 36a) Summary........................................................................................................................................ 36b) Route Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 37

Appendix 3: NHS Corrections Anomalies (Core Routes) .................................................... 42a) Summary........................................................................................................................................ 42b) Route Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 42

Appendix 4: NHS Corrections - Intermodal Linkages (Core Routes) ................................... 43a) Summary........................................................................................................................................ 43b) Route Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 44

Appendix 5: Feeder Route Network Proposed Routes......................................................... 48a) Summary........................................................................................................................................ 48b) Route Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 49

i) Feeder Routes ............................................................................................................................ 49ii) Connections to Intermodal Facilities (Feeder Routes) .............................................................. 50iii) Connections to International Border Crossings (Feeder Routes) .............................................. 50

Appendix 6: Northern and Remote Network Proposed Routes .......................................... 51a) Summary........................................................................................................................................ 51b) Route Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 51

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Executive Summary

Canadas National Highway System (NHS) was established in 1988 as a result of a federal-provincial-territorial cooperative study of the state and investment needs of key interprovincialand international highway linkages.

In 2004, a review and refinement of the criteria used to identify the NHS was undertaken byTransport Canada, which resulted in a proposal to add additional routes to the system. InSeptember 2004 the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safetyapproved the proposed additions, and directed that a further review be undertaken of the NationalHighway System, using a criteria based approach like that employed by Transport Canada.

The Council also agreed that projects which involve significant rehabilitation of pavements andstructures should be eligible for cost sharing, and directed that definitions be developed whichwould allow rehabilitation projects to be distinguished from maintenance activities on pavementsand structures.

A Task Force was formed to address these issues, with participation by all federal, provincial andterritorial transportation departments.

A detailed review of the NHS route network was undertaken to verify the accuracy andconsistency in reporting of route and segment lengths. As a result, the length of the NHS wasestablished at 27,002 kilometers, including the network identified in 1988 and the additionsapproved in September 2004.

A review of the approach used by Transport Canada in 2004 to apply eligibility criteria andthresholds was also undertaken. Additional information on a number of candidate routes wasobtained, to support re-application of the criteria. This new analysis resulted in 8 additionalroutes (98 km in total) being identified as anomalies and deserving of inclusion in the 2004NHS additions.

A review by the Task Force of linkages from the NHS to intermodal facilities and internationalborder crossings was also undertaken to improve the consistency of the intent and approach firstused in 1988. Specific eligibility criteria were developed and applied, resulting in identificationof a number of additional routes in these categories, with an aggregate length of 508 km, forinclusion in the NHS.

The criteria based review of the National Highway System was pursued and developed, resultingin a proposal for a system comprised of three categories of routes:

Core Routes Key interprovincial and international corridor routes (the original 1988 NHS routes, the

September 2004 additions, anomalies to the 2004 additions, and links to key intermodalfacilities and major border crossings which connect with core routes)

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Feeder Routes Key linkages to the Core Routes from population and economic centres (including links

to intermodal facilities and significant border crossings)

Northern and Remote Routes Key linkages to Core and Feeder routes that provide the primary means of access to

northern and remote areas, economic activities and resources.

Eligibility criteria and thresholds were developed for each of these categories, and were used toevaluate candidate routes proposed by provinces and territories. The evaluation resulted in aproposal for a restructured and expanded National Highway System, as follows:

Jur