Highway 1 to close in Kicking Horse Canyon for fall construction

The highway through Kicking Horse Canyon near Golden will see closures through the fall for construction work.

Crews spent the summer months making improvements to the highway that leads from the Interior to Alberta, but the Ministry of Transportation said full closures are necessary for more complex work. That will include construction on, and adjacent to, the existing highway and using heavy equipment on the road.

Starting at noon, Sept. 26, all through traffic on Highway 1 from Golden to Castle Junction will be routed via Highways 93S and 95, adding as much as an hour and a half to travel times. Destinations through the construction zone, such as Lake Louise and Field, will remain accessible from the East throughout the closure.

Congestion and delays on the alternate route during busier periods, such as weekends and the Remembrance Day holiday, is expected.

The closure is expected to last until 6 a.m. Dec. 1, though it will be reopened temporarily for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend from noon Oct. 7 to noon Oct. 11.

The construction zone will be opened for limited local and commuter traffic. Eligible commuters must obtain prearranged permits to travel through the work site twice daily between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A pilot vehicle will escort the local traffic through the work zone.

Pilot vehicles will also escort school buses through the area to ensure students can still access their classes, and emergency vehicles will be provided escorted passage on short notice when responding to calls.

It’s expected the work to convert the 4.8 kilometre section of narrow, winding two-lane road into a modern four-lane standard highway will be complete in winter 2023-24. This upgrade is intended to make the route safer and more reliable for people travelling through Kicking Horse Canyon.