page_title: Alberta Highway 3
section_title: Export Highway and east twinning
hierarchical_section_title: Alberta Highway 3 / History / Later years / Export Highway and east twinning
caption_attribution_description: Alignment of the Export Highway in Alberta, Canada, a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor.
context_page_description: Alberta Provincial Highway No. 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3 and officially named the Crowsnest Highway, is a 324-kilometre highway that traverses southern Alberta, Canada, running from the Crowsnest Pass through Lethbridge to the Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat. Together with British Columbia Highway 3 which begins in Hope, it forms an interprovincial route that serves as an alternate to the Trans-Canada from the Lower Mainland to the Canadian Prairies.
  Highway 3 begins as a two-lane continuation of BC Highway 3 in the Canadian Rockies at Crowsnest Pass, winding through the foothills to a junction with Highway 2 west of Fort Macleod. Briefly concurrent with Highway 2, it becomes a divided highway and part of Alberta's "Export Highway", a segment of the CANAMEX Corridor that stretches from Alaska to Mexico. In Lethbridge it is an expressway named Crowsnest Trail that crosses the Oldman River and meets the northern termini of Highways 4 and 5; the former is a major route that assumes the designation of the Export Highway, connecting to Interstate 15 in Montana, while the latter branches southwest to Magrath and Cardston.
context_section_description: A bypass of Blairmore was completed in October 1983 after more than a year of construction.  The highway was formerly routed down Main Street of the community (20 Avenue) at a reduced speed limit.  At the east end of Blairmore, a new bridge over the Crowsnest River was constructed, and the highway curves north around the community before rejoining the existing alignment west of the town.  The $3.9 million project was estimated to save almost 15 minutes of driving time through Blairmore.  Alberta Transportation estimated that work on a Coleman bypass would likely proceed within five years, but this did not come to fruition.
  In 1989, Alberta announced plans to twin the entire length of the Export Highway, a name given to the southern portion of Alberta's north-south trade corridor that includes Highway 2 from Calgary to Fort Macleod, Highway 3 between Fort Macleod and Lethbridge, and the entire length of Highway 4 from Lethbridge to the United States border.  The plan was for Highway 2 to be twinned first, followed by Highway 3 then 4.  Highway 3 required twinning only from Fort Macleod to Monarch, as the remainder to Lethbridge had already been completed.  Work included the construction of two new steel bridges over the Oldman River in 1996 which formed a bypass to the south of Monarch.  The former alignment of the highway through Monarch was re-designated as Highway 3A, relegating the previously controversial interchange at Highway 23 to service of local Monarch traffic.  Travellers continuing west on Highway 3 toward Fort Macleod from Lethbridge no longer had to exit the highway and reduce their speed to navigate a single lane ramp, and were not at risk of missing the exit and accidentally proceeding north on Highway 23 toward Vulcan.  Twinning on Highway 3 west of Monarch continued into 1997 and was completed at a cost of $31 million.
  Though Alberta had prioritized the Export Highway, twinning work was also progressing east of Coaldale in the mid-1990s.  Alberta Transportation minister Steve West announced in 1995 that Barnwell would not be bypassed, and the twinned highway would instead continue on its existing alignment through the centre of the village at a reduced speed limit.  Some members of the community opposed the decision, citing increased vehicular safety of the recommended bypass alignment south of the village, and a safer environment for pedestrians who would not have to cross highway traffic.  Representatives from Barnwell acknowledged that bypassing the town might be detrimental to growth of the community.  Local MLA Ron Hierath stated that residents who lived north of the old highway were in favour of the bypass being constructed to the south of the town, while residents on the south side preferred the alignment through the centre of the town.  Amidst the controversy, the decision was later reversed by West, and the twinned Highway 3 was constructed south of Barnwell with the former alignment designated as Highway 3A.  After a slight delay in 1995, twinning continued in 1996 and had been completed to Cranford by the end of 1997, and to Taber by the end of the decade.  In 1999, Infrastructure minister Ed Stelmach stated that twinning the remainder of the highway from Taber to Medicine Hat was not a priority, despite pleas from local officials.
caption: Highway 3 between Fort Macleod and Lethbridge is a part of a north-south trade corridor in Alberta that connects Alaska to Mexico. Alberta continues work to upgrade the entire corridor to a divided highway.
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