page_title: Glacier National Park (Canada)
section_title: Connaught Tunnel and the Trans-Canada Highway
hierarchical_section_title: Glacier National Park (Canada) / History / Connaught Tunnel and the Trans-Canada Highway
caption_attribution_description: English: The aftermath of the 4 March 1910 avalanches at snow shed 14 in Rogers Pass, British Columbia, Canada. Fifty-eight men died in what is still the nation's worst avalanche disaster.
context_page_description: Glacier National Park is part of a system of 43 parks and park reserves across Canada, and one of seven national parks in British Columbia. Established in 1886, the park encompasses 1,349 km², and includes a portion of the Selkirk Mountains which are part of the larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. It also contains the Rogers Pass National Historic Site.
  The park's history is closely tied to two primary Canadian transportation routes, the Canadian Pacific Railway, completed in 1885, and the Trans-Canada Highway, completed in 1963. Rogers Pass in the centre of the park eluded explorers until 1881. The railway brought with it tourism, the establishment of Glacier National Park and the construction of a popular alpine hotel. The heavy winter snows and steep, avalanche-prone valleys of the park have been a major obstacle to transportation, necessitating much railway engineering and avalanche control measures.
  The park contains high peaks, large, active glaciers, and one of Canada's largest cave systems. Its dense forests support populations of large mammals, birds, and alpine species. The region is noted for its heavy snowfall.
context_section_description: After its first winter in operation in 1886, it became clear to the CPR that the heavy snows of Rogers Pass were going to be a serious challenge.  Extensive snow sheds were built to shelter the rails from frequent avalanches.  These wood sheds became a fire hazard in the summer months, so a separate summer track was built.  In 1910, while clearing one slide, another avalanche came down Avalanche Mountain, killing 62 men. More than half the workers killed in the slide were of Japanese descent. In all, two hundred railway employees were killed between 1886 and 1916. In 1912, the CPR admitted defeat and started the construction of an eight-kilometre tunnel under the pass and Mount Macdonald.  The Connaught Tunnel opened in 1916.
  The new tunnel bypassed Glacier House's siding, and the resulting lack of rail passengers spelled the end for the once-popular hotel.  It was closed in 1925, and torn down four years later.  The park saw few visitors besides campers from the Alpine Club of Canada's summer camps for the next thirty years.  Until this point, automobile travellers crossing the Columbia Mountains had to use the circuitous Big Bend Highway, which followed the upper reaches of the Columbia River north in a large loop.  With the planned inundation of much of that valley by hydro projects outlined in the Columbia River Treaty, a new highway route was needed.  In 1963, the Trans-Canada Highway was built through Rogers Pass, bringing tourists back to the park in large numbers. Parks Canada built several new campgrounds and expanded the trail system.
caption: CPR workers attempt to rescue buried colleagues in the 1910 Rogers Pass avalanche
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