British Columbia Highway 7

Highway 7
Lougheed Highway Broadway Haney Bypass
Sections in red denotes Highway 7
Route information
Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Length	150 km[1][2] (93 mi)
Existed	1941–present
Major junctions
West end	Highway 99 (Granville Street) in Vancouver
Major intersections	Highway 1 (TCH) in Coquitlam Highway 7B in Port Coquitlam Golden Ears Way in Maple Ridge Highway 11 in Mission Highway 9 in Kent
East end	Highway 1 (TCH) near Hope
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional districts	Mission, Kent, Hope
Major cities	Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways
← Highway 6 → Highway 7B

Highway 7, known for most of its length as the Lougheed Highway and Broadway, is an alternative route to Highway 1 through the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Whereas the controlled-access Highway 1 follows the southern bank of the Fraser River, Highway 7 follows the northern bank.

Highway 7 was first commissioned in 1941, and originally went from Vancouver to Harrison Hot Springs; between Port Moody and Port Coquitlam it followed the then existing Dewdney Trunk Road. In 1953, Highway 7 between Vancouver and Coquitlam was moved to its current alignment. Its eastern end was moved south from Harrison Hot Springs to Agassiz in 1956, and then east to Ruby Creek in 1968. In September 1972, the eastern end of Highway 7 was extended to include a junction with Highway 1 just north of Hope.^[3]

The name of the highway, unlike that of Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, is pronounced /ˈloʊhiːd/. The highway is named after Nelson Seymour Lougheed, MLA for the Dewdney District and the BC Minister of Public Works (1928–1929), who ran a logging company in the area.

Highway 7's total length under the jurisdiction of the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation (MOT) is 118 km (73 mi). Highway 7 is signed as far west as Granville Street on Broadway in Vancouver, all the way east through Burnaby into Coquitlam, which is under the jurisdiction of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink). The section under the MOT's jurisdiction begins at the westbound exit with Highway 1 near Schoolhouse Street, with a total length of 2.3 km (1.4 mi). The highway then turns immediately northeast, meets with Highway 1 at the Cape Horn Interchange, and has an exit with United Boulevard. The highway leaves the MOT's jurisdiction 300 m (980 ft) after the interchange.^[4] TransLink again has jurisdiction of Highway 7 from the point east of Ottawa Street to the point east of United Boulevard.^[5]

Highway 7 falls under the MOT's jurisdiction again after Ottawa Street, crossing over the Pitt River Bridge into Pitt Meadows. 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of the Pitt River bridge, it crosses into Maple Ridge at Maple Meadows Way, and the highway then crosses into Mission another 20 km (12 mi) east. 9 km (5.6 mi) of Highway 7's entry into Mission, it meets a junction with Highway 11. 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the Highway 11 junction, Highway 7 leaves Mission over the Hatzic Pump Bridge.

27 km (17 mi) east of the Highway's eastern exit from Mission, Highway 7 enters the Municipality of Kent. 14 km (8.7 mi) east, it reaches a junction with Highway 9 at Agassiz. 18 km (11 mi) northeast of the Highway 9 junction, it leaves Kent. Another 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast, Highway 7 finally reaches its eastern terminus at a junction with Highway 1 at Haig, just across the Fraser River from the main part of Hope.

Lougheed Highway as it exists today is the direct successor to the Dewdney Trunk Road, which was completed around 1900.^[6] In fact, portions of the Trunk Road were incorporated into the Lougheed Highway.^[6] A subsidized ferry service across the Pitt River was instigated on September 27, 1902,^[7] and was replaced in March 1915 by the first Pitt River Bridge.^[8] In the mid-1920s, the section from Harrison Mills to Agassiz over Woodside Mountain was built, being completed by the end of the 1926/27 fiscal year.^[9] This also included a bridge over the Harrison River.^[10] Around 1929, portions of the highway which followed Nicomen Slough were relocated.^[11]

From 1928 to 1931, contractors and the Public Works Department built in sections what is now the present alignment of Lougheed Highway from the Pitt River Bridge through to Mission.^[12][13][14] The route followed the already existing powerlines in Pitt Meadows,^[15] went through Haney, continued in the vicinity of the already existing River Road,^[16] and then followed the Fraser River to Mission. Ideas for a highway connecting Haney to Mission the via the path the Lougheed takes today can be traced back at least to 1919.^[17] Around the time of the construction of today's Lougheed through Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, construction of what was then called the "Central Arterial Highway"^[18] started through Burnaby.^[19] The provincial government however, failed to complete the entire projected road^[20] and it wouldn't be until 1946 that the effort to build the road recommenced.^[21][22] The missing link in the road from what is now Lakeside Drive to Blue Mountain St. and Brunette Avenue was completed by June 1948.^[23]

On August 14, 1950, the present truss bridge that carries eastbound traffic over the Coquitlam River was officially opened by Roderick Charles MacDonald.^[24]

In September 1954, the section of Lougheed through the flats south of Maillardville and around Cape Horn was opened in a two-lane configuration.^[25][26] Previously, the highway followed streets that now make up both Brunette and Cape Horn Avenues.^[27][28]

In 1957 several bridges including the first Pitt River Bridge and the bridge at Harrison Mills were replaced. W. A. C. Bennett opened the new Pitt River and Harrison River Bridges on October 21.^[29] Around that time via the Mt. Woodside section was improved significantly.^[29] Work on the Agassiz-Haig Highway was also sought over.^[30] Around 1958, the highway was widened to four lanes from Boundary Road to North Road, entirely in Burnaby.^[31][32]

In the 1970s, several sections of the highway were widened from Coquitlam to Maple Ridge. In 1971 or early 1972, work to widen the highway to four lanes from Cape Horn to Pitt River Road was completed.^[33] The Agassiz-Haig section of the highway was finally opened in September 1972 after many years of construction and want.^[34][35] By early 1973 the segment from the Pitt River Bridge to Haney had also been widened to a four-lane standard.^[36]

From about 1953 and up until 1975, Highway 7 followed Westwood Street from today's Orchid Street intersection, over the now-gone Scott Creek bridge and along Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam border to the intersection with Barnet Highway.^[37] This portion was replaced by the Sharpe Street Extension which completed and opened on September 5, 1975.^[38]

In 1981 work to widen the North Road to Cape Horn Interchange section was completed.^[39] Work on widening of the section of highway from Haney to Albion was being done during the early to mid-eighties.^[40]

Through the 1990s, efforts were made to widen the highway from Albion to Mission. In 1991 and 1992, the section between Highway 11 and Grant Street was widened to four lanes for $4,571,000.^[41] In 1992 and 1993, the highway was widened to four lanes from the western boundary of Langley I.R. 5 to Whonnock for $12.7 million^[42]

In 1999, portions of Highway 7 and a former alignment were devolved to the municipalities of Burnaby,^[a] Coquitlam,^[b] Port Coquitlam,^[c] and Maple Ridge.^{[d][43][44][45]}

Around 2001, work to widen Lougheed highway from Brunette Avenue to Schoolhouse Street in Coquitlam to a six-lane cross section was completed.^[46] From October 2004 to about November 2005 the section from 285 Street to Mclean Street in Silverdale was widened to four lanes.^[47][48] In 2011, widening of the highway to four lanes from Wren street to Nelson street was completed.^[49]

From May 2018 to July 2020, work was underway to widen the portion of highway between Nelson Street and the Silverdale area in Mission. The project was completed successfully.^[50] As of 2022^[update], only one section remains to be widened to four lanes from Vancouver to Mission. This section, from 266 St. to 287 St. is, as of December 2022, under construction.^[51][52]

On November 14, 2021, the province experienced extreme rainfall events that led to debris flows and flooding.^[53] As a result, two mudslides occurred late that evening near Seabird Island on the Agassiz-Haig section of the highway, trapping nearly 100 vehicles between the two slides.^[54] The next day, Canadian military personnel used helicopters to safely transport over 300 people to Agassiz.^[55]

From west to east:

Regional District	Location	km[1][2]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Metro Vancouver	Vancouver	0.00	0.00	Broadway Granville Street (Highway 99) – City Centre, Whistler, Airport (YVR), USA Border	South Granville station (under construction); Hwy 7 western terminus; Broadway continues west
		0.85	0.53	Oak Street	Near  Oak–VGH station (under construction); alternate route to Highway 99 south
		1.70	1.06	Cambie Street – City Centre	Broadway–City Hall station (Millennium Line connection under construction)
		2.70	1.68	Main Street – City Centre	Mount Pleasant station (under construction)
		2.80	1.74	Kingsway	Former Highway 1A / Highway 99A
		4.40	2.73	Clark Drive
		5.00	3.11	Commercial Drive	Commercial–Broadway station
		6.90	4.29	Renfrew Street	Near  Renfrew station
		7.60	4.72	Rupert Street	Rupert station; eastern terminus of Broadway; Hwy 7 becomes Lougheed Highway
	Vancouver–Burnaby boundary	8.50	5.28	Boundary Road
	Burnaby	10.00	6.21	Willingdon Avenue	Brentwood Town Centre station
		11.60	7.21	Holdom Avenue	Holdom station
		12.70	7.89	Kensington Avenue	Grade separated; eastbound exit and entrance
		12.90	8.02	Sperling Avenue	Sperling–Burnaby Lake station; access to Winston Avenue and Kensington Avenue
		15.00	9.32	Lake City Way	Lake City Way station
		16.40	10.19	Production Way, Brighton Avenue	Production Way–University station
		16.90	10.50	Gaglardi Way – Simon Fraser University
		18.00	11.18	Government Street, Austin Avenue	Lougheed Town Centre station
	Burnaby–Coquitlam boundary	18.50	11.50	North Road – New Westminster, Pattullo Bridge
	Coquitlam	20.20– 20.30	12.55– 12.61	Blue Mountain Street, Brunette Avenue – New Westminster, Pattullo Bridge
		22.00– 24.80	13.67– 15.41	Highway 1 (TCH) – Vancouver, Port Mann Bridge, Surrey, Hope Highway 7B east (Mary Hill Bypass) – Maple Ridge United Boulevard	Cape Horn Interchange No access from Hwy 7 east to Hwy 1 west; Hwy 7 turns north
		29.60	18.39	Barnet Highway / Pinetree Way	Hwy 7 branches east; former Highway 7A west; near  Coquitlam Central station
	Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam boundary	30.20	18.77	Westwood Street
	Port Coquitlam	31.40	19.51	Shaughnessy Street	Access to  Port Coquitlam station
		33.10	20.57	Coast Meridian Road	Partially grade separated
		33.80	21.00	Ottawa Street
				East end of TransLink jurisdiction[56]
		34.80	21.62	Highway 7B west (Mary Hill Bypass) to Highway 1 (TCH) – Vancouver	Interchange
	Port Coquitlam–Pitt Meadows boundary	35.14– 35.66	21.83– 22.16	Pitt River Bridge crosses the Pitt River
	Pitt Meadows	36.28	22.54	Old Dewdney Trunk Road, Kennedy Road
		38.84	24.13	Harris Road	Access to  Pitt Meadows station
		40.56	25.20	Golden Ears Way (Highway 916) to Highway 1 (TCH) – Golden Ears Bridge, Langley, Surrey	Partially grade separated
	Maple Ridge	40.99	25.47	Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Meadows Way	Entrance from Golden Ears Way north; access to  Maple Meadows station
		45.22	28.10	222 Street, Haney Bypass / Lougheed Highway	Hwy 7 follows Haney Bypass
		45.67	28.38	223 Street, Callaghan Avenue (to 224 Street)	Near  Port Haney station
		47.78	29.69	Lougheed Highway / Kanaka Way	Hwy 7 returns to Lougheed Hwy
Fraser Valley	Mission	69.46	43.16	Highway 11 south to Highway 1 (TCH) / Cedar Valley Connector – Abbotsford	Hwy 11 northern terminus
		70.51	43.81	West end of one-way road pair
		71.21	44.25	Horne Street	Eastbound access to Horne Street Connector; near  Mission City station
		71.34	44.33	Glasgow Avenue (Highway 915:0671) to Highway 11 south / Murray Street – Abbotsford	Connects to Horne Street Connector; no direct eastbound access
		72.64	45.14	East end of one-way road pair
	Kent	103.90	64.56	Harrison River Bridge crosses the Harrison River
		118.42	73.58	Highway 9 north (Hot Springs Road) / Else Road – Harrison Hot Springs	Hwy 7 turns right; west end of Hwy 9 concurrency
		120.01	74.57	Highway 9 south (Evergreen Drive) – Agassiz, Chilliwack	East end of Hwy 9 concurrency
		121.61	75.56	Agassiz Bypass (Highway 915:2752) to Highway 9 south – Chilliwack, Vancouver	Agassiz Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Hope	150.44	93.48	Highway 1 (TCH) to Highway 3 / Highway 5 – Hope, Cache Creek, Princeton, Merritt	Haig Interchange Hwy 7 eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition