Alberta Highway 1A

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Highway 1A is the name of three main spurs off the Alberta portion of the Trans-Canada Highway. However, it is not the only name used for spurs off Highway 1 - Highway 1X] is another such designation. These highways, however, are not part of the Trans-Canada Highway network, and only have Alberta's provincial primary highway shields instead of the ones used for the Trans-Canada Highway.

Bow Valley Parkway

The westernmost of the 1A routes is also known as the Bow Valley Parkway. It begins near Lake Louise within Banff National Park, and runs eastward, paralleling the main Highway 1 to the north, though it provides more immediate access to attractions such as Castle Mountain, Johnston Canyon. This spur terminates at its junction with Highway 1 a few kilometres west of Banff.

This spur has a reduced speed limit of 60 km/h (40 mph), and is closed to vehicular traffic for part of the year as it also serves as an important wildlife corridor.

Bow Valley Trail

), it does not carry any highway designations beyond this point.

Calgary to Chestermere

The other Highway 1A also begins at the city of Calgary. It is currently disputed as to the location of the western terminus, and different maps will either have a short version of this Highway 1A which begins at Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2) and 17th Avenue South (an east-west principal arterial road leading into east Calgary), or a longer version which begins at the intersection of 16th Avenue North (Trans-Canada Highway) and 14th Street West (a north-south principal arterial road leading into north Calgary). Some maps also indicate that the Canmore-Calgary and Calgary-Chestermere routes form one single highway. Although real-world evidence seems to indicate that the shorter version is indeed correct, the longer version will be described here.

The highway begins southbound on 14th Street West and continues past the Bow River to 9th Avenue South (eastbound) or 6th Avenue South (westbound), and continuing through the city's downtown core. After the highway passes Blackfoot Trail, it becomes 17th Avenue South (International Avenue), passing Deerfoot Trail (and the short version terminus), which continus on an easterly route through east Calgary and eventually out of the city. After the road leaves Calgary, it is known as Township Road 242 (continuing in an easterly direction) until reaching the town of Chestermere, where it takes a turn to the northeast. Within Chestermere it retains the 17th Avenue South street name used in Calgary (even though it is no longer in that place in the grid). Highway 1A then ends when it meets up with the Trans-Canada Highway on the eastern edge of Chestermere.

Some maps add an additional leg to Highway 1A within Calgary, connecting it to the Bow Valley Trail version. These maps show 1A branching off Crowchild Trail at Banff Trail N.W., to 16th Avenue N.W., proceeding east (and overlapping with Highway 1) to 14th Street, and then south as described above.

Highway 1X

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text_size = 1.4emMidway between Cochrane and Canmore, a spur highway called Highway 1X runs south from 1A to join with the Trans-Canada. This spur passes through the Morley area and is primarily an access point for the First Nations lands in the area, as well as a shortcut between Highway 1 and 1A. Only a few kilometres in length, it is one of Alberta's shortest provincial-grade highways.