British Columbia Highway 95


Highway 95 is a north-south highway in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, opened in 1957. The highway connects with U.S. Route 95, from which the highway takes its number, at the Canada–U.S. border at Kingsgate, just north of Eastport, Idaho. The section between the Canada-U.S. border and the Crowsnest Highway is known as the Yahk–Kingsgate Highway while the section between the Crowsnest Highway and Golden is known as the Kootenay–Columbia Highway.
Highway 95 is one of the most overlapped highways in the province, i.e., it shares most of its route with other numbered highways.

Route description

The long Highway 95 begins at the international border in a small community called Kingsgate, and follows the Moyie River northeast for to the town of Yahk, where it merges onto the Crowsnest Highway. Highway 95 follows the Crowsnest Highway northeast for to the city of Cranbrook, where Highway 95A, designated in 1968 and following the original alignment of Highway 95 for through Kimberley and Ta Ta Creek, begins. From Cranbrook, it is another east to the Fort Steele junction, where Highway 3 hands Highway 95 off to Highway 93.
From the Fort Steele junction, Highway 95 follows Highway 93 north for through the community of Wasa, to where Highway 95A's east junction is located. From the Highway 95A junction, Highway 93/95 follows the Kootenay River upstream for, through Skookumchuck to the town of Canal Flats, at the southern end of Columbia Lake. North of Canal Flats, Highway 93/95 travels for along the Columbia River, through the communities of Fairmont Hot Springs, Windermere and Invermere to the town of Radium Hot Springs, where Highway 93 diverges east. Highway 95 continues to follow the Columbia River north for, through the locations of Edgewater, Brisco, Spillimacheen and Parson, to where it terminates at its junction with the Trans-Canada Highway at Golden.

History

Prior to 1941, British Columbia used lettered routes as opposed to numbers, and the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as part of Route U, which continued south to U.S. Route 93 at Roosville along present-day Highway 93. In 1941, British Columbia introduced numbered highways, with Highway 95 begin designated on Yahk–Kingsgate Highway, the northern extension of U.S. Route 95, while the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as Highway 4. In 1953, the Highway 4 was moved to its present location on Vancouver Island, with the Kootenay–Columbia Highway being renumbered to Highway 95. In 1968, Highway 95 was realigned to bypass Kimberley, with the former section becoming Highway 95A.

Major intersections

From south to north: