Alberta Highway 3A

Highway 3A
Location
Specialized and rural municipalities	Pincher Creek No. 9 M.D., Willow Creek No. 26 M.D., Lethbridge County, Taber M.D.
Major cities	Lethbridge
Villages	Barnwell
Highway system
Provincial highways in Alberta ← Hwy 3 Hwy 4 →

Alberta Provincial Highway No. 3A, commonly referred to as Highway 3A, is the designation of four alternate routes of Highway 3 in southern Alberta, Canada.^[1] All four segments are former alignments of Highway 3, also known as the Crowsnest Highway.

From west to east, the first segment of Highway 3A begins west of the Highway 3 intersection with Highway 22, east of Burmis, and ends east of the same intersection with Highway 22, west of Lundbreck. This 3.6 km (2.2 mi) segment crosses the Crowsnest River and provides a viewing opportunity of Lundbreck Falls.^[2]

The second segment is 6.8 km (4.2 mi) in length, beginning 21 km (13 mi) east of Fort Macleod. Highway 3A splits to the north from Highway 3 and runs through the Hamlet of Monarch along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, before merging with Highway 23 and rejoining Highway 3 at a point 19 km (12 mi) west of Lethbridge.^[2]

The third segment of Highway 3A provides access to west Lethbridge. It diverges from Highway 3 southeast of Coalhurst, in the form of a Y interchange running for only 650 m (2,130 ft) as Westside Drive in the County of Lethbridge to the city limit where the Highway 3A designation ends.^[2]

The fourth and easternmost segment is also an original alignment of Highway 3, passing through the centre of Barnwell. The town was bypassed to the south when twinning of Highway 3 was extended to Taber.^[2]

Four segments of Highway 3A in southern Alberta

References