The Big Bend Highway is a former highway in the interior of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and was the original alignment of Highway 1 (Hwy 1) which followed the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

between Revelstoke and Golden through the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...

History

Big Bend Country In the Canadian province of British Columbia, Big Bend Country is the region around the northernmost section of the Columbia River, which changes from a northwestward course along the Rocky Mountain Trench to curve around the northern end of the S ...

was important as it was one of the few land routes possible for a wagon road to connect the Pacific Colony with the rest of British North America. After the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

in the late 1860s, travellers used canoes or river steamers until the completion of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

in the 1880s. In the early 20th century, the Southern Trans-Provincial Highway was the only automobile route which connected southwestern British Columbia with

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. The Big Bend Highway, part of the ''Central Trans-Provincial Highway'', was constructed between 1929 and 1940 and was jointly funded by the provincial and federal governments. It was a relief project during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and constructed by pick and shovel. Initially designated as ''Route A'', it opened on June 29, 1940 and was re-designated as Hwy 1 in 1941. It was regarded as a perilous gravel road that featured steep grades and runoffs from melting snow in the summer and was closed in the winter, with travellers preferring to use a

car shuttle train A car shuttle train, or (sometimes) car-carrying train, is a shuttle train used to transport accompanied cars (automobiles), and usually also bicycles and other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance. Car shuttle trains usual ...

. In 1949, the Trans-Canada Highway Act was passed which allowed construction of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

, and in 1956 the decision was made to reroute the highway between Revelstoke and

Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...

through Rogers Pass, which officially opened on September 3, 1962; reducing the travel time by approximately five hours. After the rerouting of Hwy 1, the western segment of the Big Bend Highway between Revelstoke and Mica Creek became Hwy 23 in 1964 and was reconstructed in the late 1960s. In 1973,

Mica Dam Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operated b ...

was completed and sections of the road were flooded by McNaughton Lake (now

Kinbasket Lake Kinbasket Lake (or Kinbasket Reservoir) is a reservoir on the Columbia River in southeast British Columbia, north of the city of Revelstoke and the town of Golden. The reservoir was created by the construction of the Mica Dam. The lake includes ...

); other sections were bypassed in the 1980s in anticipation the creation of

Revelstoke Lake Lake Revelstoke or Revelstoke Lake or Revelstoke Lake Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Columbia River, north of the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia and south of Mica Creek. This lake is the reservoir formed by the Revelstoke Dam, wh ...

, which was part of the

Revelstoke Dam Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon Dam, is a hydroelectric dam (combined earthfill dam and gravity dam) spanning the Columbia River, north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. The powerhouse was completed in 1984 and has an inst ...

project. An unsubmerged eastern section of the Big Bend Highway is now a forestry services road and connects with Marl Creek Provincial Park.

References

{{BCHighways Historic trails and roads in British Columbia Columbia Country Columbia River Former segments of the Trans-Canada Highway