Highway 873 marker

Highway 873

Route information
Maintained by Alberta Transportation
City of Brooks
Length57.4 km[1] (35.7 mi)
Major junctions
South endRange Road 162 near Rainier
Major intersections Hwy 36 near Rainier
Hwy 542 in Brooks
Hwy 1 (TCH) in Brooks
North end Hwy 550 in Duchess
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Specialized and rural municipalitiesCounty of Newell
Major citiesBrooks
VillagesDuchess
Highway system
← Hwy 872→ Hwy 875

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 873, commonly referred to as Highway 873, is a highway in southern Alberta, Canada. It generally runs north-south from Range Road 162 near the Hamlet of Rainier, through the City of Brooks to Highway 550 in Village of Duchess.[2][3]

Route description

Highway 873 is a two-lane undivided highway in the County of Newell that begins as an east-west route at the intersection of Range Road 162 and Township Road 164, 1.6 km (1.0 mi) west of Rainer. It travels east to the intersection of Highway 36 where it becomes a gravel highway and continues east along the south end of Lake Newell to Highway 535, where it turns north and continues towards Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, where at the park entrance it once again becomes a paved highway.[2] Highway 873 continues north where it enters Brooks along 7 Street E where it follows a series of city streets, a short concurrency with Highway 542, and leaves Brooks along 2 Street W, the city's main commercial strip. It crosses the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) at the city's northern boundary and continues north past Highway 544 to Duchess where it ends at the intersection of Highway 550. The roadway continues north as Range Road 144.[2]

History

The section of Highway 873 between Brooks and Duchess has had multiple designations in its history. Along with Highway 550, the route was originally designated as part of Highway 2, which at the time was an east-west inter-provincial 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 continual 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 the Brooks-Duchess section becoming part of Highway 36.[6] In the 1970s, Highway 36 north was realigned to align with the Highway 1/36 (south) junction located west of Brooks, resulting in the Brooks-Duchess section becoming Highway 873.[7]

Major intersections

From south to north:

Rural/specialized municipalityLocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
County of Newell​0.00.0Range Road 162 / Township Road 164Hwy 873 southern terminus
Rainier1.60.99Range Road 161
​6.84.2 Hwy 36 – Brooks, Taber
​18.211.3 Hwy 535 west – Tilley
​23.414.5PAR 103 west – Kinbrook Island Provincial Park
City of Brooks37.023.0Sutherland Drive
7 Street E		Hwy 873 turns onto Sutherland Drive; shortcut route continues north on 7 Street  E (trucks prohibited)[8]
38.123.7 Cassils Road (Hwy 542 east)Hwy 873 follows Cassils Road; southern end of Hwy 542 concurrency
38.824.17 Street E / Lakewood RoadShortcut route along 7 Street E (trucks prohibited)[8]
39.724.72 Street W – City Centre
Cassils Road (Hwy 542 west)		Hwy 873 follows 2 Street W; northern end of Hwy 542 concurrency
41.826.0 Hwy 1 (TCH) – Calgary, Medicine HatInterchange
County of Newell​52.732.7 Hwy 544 – Patricia, Dinosaur Provincial Park
Duchess57.435.7 Hwy 550 west – Rosemary, Bassano
Range Road 144		Hwy 873 northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b Google (2017-01-24). "Highway 873 in Alberta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  2. ^ a b c Road Map (PDF) (Map). County of Newell. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. ^ "Provincial Highways 500 - 986 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. 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, F-13.
  7. ^ Travel Alberta (1978–1979). Alberta Official Road Map (Map). Government of Alberta. § M-7.
  8. ^ a b Truck Routes (Map). City of Brooks. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
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