Highway 550 marker

Highway 550

Route information
Maintained by Alberta Transportation
Length39.5 km[1] (24.5 mi)
Major junctions
West end Hwy 1 (TCH) near Bassano
Major intersections Hwy 36 near Duchess
East end Hwy 873 in Duchess
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Specialized and rural municipalitiesCounty of Newell
VillagesRosemary, Duchess
Highway system
← Hwy 549→ Hwy 552

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 550, commonly referred to as Highway 550, is an east–west highway in southern Alberta, Canada. It is a two-lane undivided highway in the County of Newell runs from the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1), 5 km (3 mi) southeast of the Town of Bassano, through the Village of Rosemary, to Highway 873 in Duchess.[2] Township Road 212 functions as a western extension of Highway 550 and connects to Bassano.[3]

History

Highway 550, along Highway 873 between Brooks and Duchess, was originally designated as part of Highway 2, which at the time was an east–west interprovincial highway that ran through Calgary and Medicine Hat (the present-day Highway 2 was designated as Highway 1).[4] In 1941, Highway 2 was renumbered to Highway 1 to allow for contiguous numbering through Western Canada along the future Trans-Canada Highway, which was commissioned in 1949.[5] In the mid-1950s, the Trans-Canada Highway was realigned between Brooks and Bassano, resulting in the Duchess-Bassano section being decommissioned and reverting to the County of Newell.[6] When the Secondary Highway system was established in the mid 1970s, the route became Highway 550.[7]

Major intersections

From west to east: The entire route is in Newell County.

Locationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
​0.00.0Township Road 212 – BassanoContinues west
Hwy 1 (TCH) – Calgary, Medicine Hat
11.67.2 Hwy 862 north – Gem
Rosemary25.115.6
​35.522.1 Hwy 36 – Hanna, Brooks
Duchess39.524.5 Hwy 873 south / Range Road 144 – Brooks
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b Google (2017-01-24). "Highway 550 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  2. ^ "Provincial Highways 500 - 986 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. ^ Road Map (PDF) (Map). County of Newell. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  4. ^ Department of Public Works (1939). Alberta Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Government of Alberta. §§ B-2, C-2.
  5. ^ "Trans-Canada Highway Act". Department of Justice Canada. R.S.C. 1970, c. T-12. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  6. ^ The H.M. Gousha Company (1956). Shell Map of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Map). The Shell Oil Company. § E-13.
  7. ^ Travel Alberta (1978–1979). Alberta Official Road Map (Map). Government of Alberta. § M-7.
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