Transportation Engineering

Mountain Highways

Mountain highway engineering involves the design and planning of the major roadways through the mountains. All highway development in Canadian National Parks must adhere to very strict environmental assessment procedures.

Highway 1 near Canmore photos courtesy of Alberta Infrastructure & Dr. Morrall

Coquihalla Highway, BC

The engineers try to minimize the impact of construction on the environment by utilizing steep rockfills and avoiding wetlands and rivers whenever possible. They ensure that construction waste is recycled or properly disposed of, that any extra native topsoil is stockpiled for future use, that any borrow pits and road right of ways are reseeded using only seed found naturally in the park, and that special animal crossings are built to allow safe passage for the park wildlife.

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Hana Highway on Maui
There are supposed to be approximately 600 curves on this highway and some of those are hairpin turns. The speed limit on the highway is around 25mph with curves at 10mph. The engineers built several pull outs along the road to allow slower traffic to pull over. Along the road you can see the ditches and weirs used to collect the rain water. The water is sent to central Maui for irrigation purposes.

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Mountain highway engineering includes:

Animal Crossings

Truck Escape Lanes

Safety Barriers

Avalanche Sheds, Retaining Walls & Rock Nets

Rock Cuts & Anchors

Support Walls