British Columbia Highway 101
British Columbia Highway 101, also known as the Sunshine Coast Highway, is the main north-south thoroughfare on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada.
Highway 101 | |
|---|---|
| Sunshine Coast Highway | |
Highway 101 highlighted in red. | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure | |
| Length | 156 km[1] (97 mi) |
| Existed | 1962–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Langdale Ferry Terminal |
| Earls Cove–Saltery Bay ferry | |
| North end | Lund |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Regional districts | Sechelt |
| Major cities | Powell River |
| Towns | Gibsons |
| Highway system | |
| | |
Highway 101, which first opened in 1962, is divided into two separate land segments, with a ferry link in between. The highway is maintained by Capilano Highway Services.[2] Despite its location on the mainland, the highway is unique for not being connected to the rest of the British Columbia highway system. Access to the highway can only be obtained by taking ferries from Horseshoe Bay to the south end in Gibsons or Comox to Powell River. Highway 101 between Langdale and Powell River is designated as a feeder route of the Canadian National Highway System.[3]
Route description
The total distance of Highway 101, including the ferry link, is approximately 156 kilometres (97 mi). The highway begins in the south at the BC Ferries terminal at Langdale, which connects the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver via a ferry route across Howe Sound to Horseshoe Bay. The southern land section of Highway 101 is 80 kilometres (50 mi) long, and includes from south to north, the communities of Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay and Pender Harbour. The ferry link across the Jervis Inlet lasts 9.5 nautical miles (17.6 km) between Earls Cove to the south and Saltery Bay to the north.[4] The 59-kilometre-long (37 mi) northern land section of Highway 101 includes, from southeast to northwest, the hamlets of Stillwater and Lang Bay, the city of Powell River, the Tla'amin Nation and the community of Lund, at the northern terminus of the highway.
Fixed link proposals
The provincial government has conducted several feasibility studies on connecting Highway 101 to the Lower Mainland, as well as replacing the Earls Cove–Saltery Bay ferry. A study launched by the BC Liberal government in 2015 identified four proposals costing between $2.1 billion and $4.4 billion:[5]
- A 58-kilometre (36 mi) extension of Highway 101 along the west shore of Howe Sound that would connect to Highway 99 near Squamish.
- A 22-kilometre (14 mi) extension of Highway 101 across Howe Sound on a pair of suspension bridges via the Anvil Island, with a connection to Highway 99 near Lions Bay. The Islands Trust opposes this option.
- A new 200-kilometre (120 mi) highway connecting Powell River to Squamish with a pair of tunnels under the Coast Mountains.
- A 19-kilometre (12 mi) highway link between the two sections of Highway 101 eliminating the ferry between Saltery Bay and Earls Cove via a pair of suspension bridges.
All four options were considered feasible, with positive cost to benefit ratios for the two bridge options. The study was inconclusive and recommended further analysis of the four options.[6] The NDP government announced in December 2017 that the study would not move forward due to technical and financial issues.[5]
Major intersections
From south to north:
| Regional District | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunshine Coast | Langdale | 0.00 | 0.00 | Langdale Ferry Terminal – BC Ferries to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal ( Hwy 1 east / Hwy 99) | |
| 0.93 | 0.58 | Marine Drive (Hwy 912:2566 south) / Port Mellon Highway (Hwy 912:2565 north) – Gibsons, Port Mellon | |||
| Gibsons | 4.07 | 2.53 | Reed Road | ||
| 4.89 | 3.04 | Gibsons Way, School Road | Hwy 101 branches west | ||
| 6.10 | 3.79 | Pratt Road, Payne Road | |||
| Roberts Creek | 15.40 | 9.57 | Roberts Creek Road | ||
| Sechelt | 41.25 | 25.63 | Field Road | ||
| Sechelt First Nation | 25.80 | 16.03 | Ti'Ta Way | ||
| Sechelt | 26.26 | 16.32 | Dolphin Street, Wharf Avenue | ||
| 28.84 | 17.92 | Norwest Bay Road | |||
| Madeira Park | 58.09 | 36.10 | Madeira Park Road (Hwy 912:2573 north) | ||
| Earls Cove | 80.29 | 49.89 | Earls Cove ferry terminal | ||
| Jervis Inlet | Earls Cove – Saltery Bay Ferry Approximately 17.6 km (9.5 nmi)[4] | ||||
| qathet | Saltery Bay | 97.89 | 60.83 | Saltery Bay ferry terminal | |
| Powell River | 125.11 | 77.74 | Joyce Avenue | ||
| 128.67 | 79.95 | Wharf Street (Hwy 911:2576 west) / Westview Avenue – Ferries | Access to Texada Island and Comox via ferry | ||
| 129.61 | 80.54 | Alberni Street, Abbotsford Street | |||
| 133.66 | 83.05 | Arbutus Avenue, Marine Avenue | |||
| Lund | 156.36 | 97.16 | Lund Water Taxi – Passenger Ferry to Savary Island | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- ^ a b Landmark Kilometre Inventory (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2017. pp. 590–597.
- ^ "Highway Maintenance". Capilano Highway Services. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ (PDF). Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Government of British Columbia. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 15, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "BC Ferries Schedules: Sechelt - Powell River (Earls Cove-Saltery Bay)". BC Ferries. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Watson, Bridgette (December 7, 2017). "Province scraps plan for fixed link to Sunshine Coast". CBC News. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ Binnie (2017). "Sunshine Coast Fixed Link Feasibility Study" (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
External links
Media related to British Columbia Highway 101 at Wikimedia Commons