Highway 2 (also known as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Calgary and Edmonton) is a major highway in Alberta, Canada, that stretches from the Canada–United States border through Alberta's largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, to Grande Prairie. Running primarily north to south for approximately , it is the longest and busiest highway in Alberta, carrying more than 150,000 vehicles per day near Downtown Calgary. The Fort Macleod–Edmonton section forms a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor that links Alaska with Mexico; while the Donnelly–Grimshaw section forms a portion of the Arctic Corridor that links Edmonton with the Northwest Territories. More than half of Alberta's 5 million residents live in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor created by Highway 2.
U.S. Route 89 enters Alberta from Montana and becomes Highway 2, a two-lane, undivided road that traverses the foothills of southern Alberta to Fort Macleod where it intersects Highway 3 and becomes divided. In Calgary, the route is a busy freeway, Deerfoot Trail, that continues into central Alberta as the "Queen Elizabeth II Highway", bypassing Red Deer. In Edmonton, Highway 2 is briefly concurrent with freeway sections of Highways 216 and 16 before bisecting St. Albert and reverting to two lanes en route to Athabasca. It bends northwest along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake as the Northern Woods and Water Route into High Prairie, before turning north to Peace River, west to Fairview, and finally south to Grande Prairie, where it ends at Highway 43.
Originally numbered as Highway 1, Highway 2 is the oldest major highway in Alberta and the first to stretch north into the Peace Country. It was historically known as the Calgary and Edmonton Trail, Sunshine Trail, and the Blue Trail. Major changes include the construction of a divided expressway between Calgary and Edmonton in the 1960s, realignment along Deerfoot Trail in Calgary the 1980s, and twinning south of Nanton in the 1990s. A Highway 43 realignment in 1998 shortened Highway 2 by nearly to its current northern terminus in Grande Prairie; it previously extended west to British Columbia Highway 2 at the border. Several projects including median widening and interchange upgrades have been undertaken in the 2010s to increase the safety of the highway's busier sections, with further improvements either under construction or awaiting funding. Bypasses of Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and Nanton are planned as part of Alberta's effort to make its portion of the CANAMEX Corridor free-flowing from border to border.
Route description Overview Much of Highway 2 is a core route in the National Highway System of Canada: between Fort Macleod and Edmonton and between Donnelly and Grimshaw. The posted speed limit along the majority of the highway between Fort Macleod and Morinville is , with a brief section south of Leduc having a posted speed limit of .. In urban areas, such as through Claresholm, Nanton, Calgary, and Edmonton, it ranges from . During the winter, accidents are common on the stretch of the highway between Calgary and Edmonton as the weather can change rapidly and drivers underestimate the conditions, overwhelming emergency services attempting to respond. As the main north–south access in Alberta, Highway 2 is the preferred path of the CANAMEX Corridor. Between Fort Macleod and Morinville, Highway 2 maintains no fewer than four lanes of traffic and is largely a freeway between Okotoks and Edmonton, with improvements underway to eliminate the at-grade crossings that remain. Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors has invested more than $2 billion in the highway since construction of the divided expressway between Calgary and Edmonton began in the 1960s.
Southern Alberta Rocky Mountain Foothills Alberta's Highway 2 begins at the United States border, as the two-lane U.S. Route 89 crosses into Canada at Carway, Alberta. The road proceeds north through the Rocky Mountain Foothills to a brief concurrency with Highway 501, before bisecting the town of Cardston. At the north end of town, the highway enters Blood Indian Reserve No. 148 and Highway 5 splits west to Waterton Lakes National Park; it is briefly concurrent with Highway 2 before splitting east to cross the St. Mary River en route to Magrath and Lethbridge. Highway 2 continues north to another short concurrency with Highway 505 during which it crosses the Waterton River to Stand Off, continuing across the Belly River to Fort Macleod in the Municipal District of Willow Creek.
Less than before meeting Highway 3 southeast of Fort Macleod, Highway 2 becomes a divided highway. Highway 3 splits east to Lethbridge, and the combined Highways 2 and 3 turn due west through town as a divided highway at a speed limit of , where Highway 2 assumes its CANMEX Corridor designation. West of town, the highways diverge at an interchange; Highway 3 continues west as the Crowsnest Highway to Pincher Creek and British Columbia, and Highway 2 turns north across the Oldman River as a four-lane, divided highway. It continues approximately north to Granum from which Highway 519 splits to the east. In tandem with Highway 23, Highway 519 is often used by CANAMEX traffic to bypass Fort Macleod. Further north on Highway 2, the towns of Claresholm and Nanton are each bisected at a reduced speed limit of . The highway is concurrent with Highway 533 for its brief distance through Nanton.
North of Nanton, the highway continues into the Foothills County to a major junction with Highways 23 and 2A at High River, after which it veers northwest to cross the Highwood River. On the other side of the river, a second interchange provides access to Okotoks via Highways 7 and 2A, and Highway 2 continues north across the Sheep River to De Winton where Highway 2A splits into southwest Calgary as Macleod Trail, and Highway 2 veers northeast toward the Bow River valley and southeast Calgary.
Calgary
From its split with Macleod Trail, Highway 2 becomes a major freeway, Deerfoot Trail, which descends to cross the Bow River before entering Calgary's city limits. In the city, it crosses the river twice more, jogging back and forth between its east and west bank. The freeway intersects the Stoney Trail ring road at the south end of Calgary, with signage recommending that traffic en route to Calgary International Airport, Edmonton, and Medicine Hat use eastbound Stoney Trail as a bypass. Deerfoot Trail then merges with the major routes of Anderson Road and Bow Bottom Trail. Crossing Glenmore Trail (Highway 8), Memorial Drive (access to downtown Calgary) and 16 Avenue NE (Highway 1), Deerfoot Trail continues into north Calgary, past the Calgary International Airport en route to a second interchange with Stoney Trail at the Calgary city limit. The Deerfoot Trail designation is dropped, and the highway carries on north into Rocky View County.
Central Alberta
Queen Elizabeth II Highway
Highway 2 exits north Calgary as a six-lane freeway called the "Queen Elizabeth II Highway", a name it retains until the southern city limit of Edmonton. It passes the major shopping centre of CrossIron Mills, bisecting the city of Airdrie several kilometres later. North of Airdrie, the route extends to Highway 72 before bypassing Crossfield and entering Mountain View County, continuing north past interchanges at Highways 581 and 582 leading to the communities of Carstairs and Didsbury, respectively. The highway meets Highway 27 at a cloverleaf interchange near Olds, approximately halfway between Calgary and Red Deer. Highway 2 enters Red Deer County and proceeds to interchanges with Highway 587 at Bowden, Highways 54 and 590 at Innisfail, and Highway 42 near Penhold prior to the city of Red Deer. South of the city, from McKenzie Road to 19 Street, the highway widens to six lanes through an area known as Gasoline Alley. It is a popular stop for travellers and truckers including fuel stations and food establishments on either side of the highway, accessible via the interchange at McKenzie Road.For a partial list of businesses in Gasoline Alley, see Continuing north, the highway again reduces to four lanes, veering left to bypass Red Deer to the west while Gaetz Avenue splits north into the city.
West of Red Deer, Highway 2 passes Red Deer College and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame before descending into the valley of the Red Deer River. It crosses the river alongside a railroad bridge, then curves north to interchanges with Highways 11 and 11A, leading west to Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake, respectively. North of 11A, the highway crosses the Blindman River into Lacombe County to an interchange with Highway 597 at Blackfalds, curving slightly northeast to an interchange at Highway 12 at Lacombe.
North of Lacombe, Highway 2 is again briefly concurrent with Highway 2A before reaching Highway 53 near Ponoka just after crossing the Battle River. The four-lane highway continues approximately through gentle rolling hills of aspen parkland in Ponoka County to an interchange at Highway 611 where it enters Wetaskiwin County. Near Bearhills Lake, the highway meets Highway 13, providing access east to Wetaskiwin and Camrose, and west to Pigeon Lake. North of an interchange with Highway 616 the highway enters Leduc County, bending northeast toward the city of Leduc.
After entering Leduc city limits, Highway 2 meets Highway 2A, which proceeds southeast through Leduc's southern suburbs as a four lane arterial road. Highway 2 immediately travels over Highway 39 at a diamond interchange, serving as the main access to central Leduc and ultimately leading west to Drayton Valley. Now six lanes wide, Highway 2 curves slightly to the northeast to pass on the east side of Edmonton International Airport, still south of Edmonton's city limits. The grass median significantly widens to over , and access to the airport and Nisku is provided by an interchange at Airport Road. Traffic levels increase as commuters travel to and from the Leduc area to Edmonton, and the highway meets a second interchange at Highway 19/625 which serves the airport. The highway curves slightly to the northeast to an interchange at 41 Avenue SW, marking the Edmonton city limit and the end of the "Queen Elizabeth II Highway" designation.
Edmonton and Sturgeon County
Five separately named routes are designated as Highway 2 in the cities of Edmonton and St. Albert, denoted by varying levels of signage. At the south end of Edmonton, the highway significantly widens to five lanes each way. The northbound lanes become Gateway Boulevard and the southbound lanes Calgary Trail, and the two carriageways diverge to pass Gateway Park, located in the median of the highway and accessible from both directions. North of the park, the two directions of travel come back together, now at a reduced speed limit of , to meet at the major east–west arterial of Ellerslie Road, providing access to Edmonton's southern residential areas of Heritage Valley, Ellerslie, and Summerside. This diamond interchange is intertwined with the major cloverstack interchange at Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) which immediately follows. Henday is a ring road that surrounds Edmonton, connecting Highway 2 with Highway 16. Signage directs traffic destined for Lloydminster, Cold Lake, and Fort McMurray to use the southeast portion of Henday to reach Highway 16 north of Sherwood Park. Traffic destined for Jasper, along with the CANAMEX Corridor, is directed onto the southwest portion of Henday to reach Highway 16 at Edmonton's west end.