British Columbia Highway 101

Highway 101
Sunshine Coast Highway
Highway 101 highlighted in red.
Route information
Maintained by British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Length	156 km[1] (97 mi)
Existed	1962–present
Major junctions
South end	Langdale Ferry Terminal
Major intersections	Earls Cove–Saltery Bay ferry
North end	Lund
Location
Districts	Sechelt
Major cities	Powell River
Towns	Gibsons
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways ← Hwy 99 → Hwy 113

British Columbia Highway 101, also known as the Sunshine Coast Highway, is the main north-south thoroughfare on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada.

Highway 101, which first opened in 1962, is divided into two separate land segments, with a ferry link in between. The highway is maintained by Capilano Highway Services.^[2] Despite its location on the mainland, the highway is unique for not being connected to the rest of the British Columbia highway system. Access to the highway can only be obtained by taking ferries from Horseshoe Bay to the south end in Gibsons or Comox to Powell River. Highway 101 between Langdale and Powell River is designated as a feeder route of the Canadian National Highway System.^[3]

Route description[]

Highway 101 at Gibsons

The total distance of Highway 101, including the ferry link, is approximately 156 kilometres (97 mi). The highway begins in the south at the BC Ferries terminal at Langdale, which connects the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver via a ferry route across Howe Sound to Horseshoe Bay. The southern land section of Highway 101 is 80 kilometres (50 mi) long, and includes from south to north, the communities of Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay and Pender Harbour. The ferry link across the Jervis Inlet lasts 9.5 nautical miles (17.6 km) between Earls Cove to the south and Saltery Bay to the north.^[4] The 59-kilometre-long (37 mi) northern land section of Highway 101 includes, from southeast to northwest, the hamlets of Stillwater and Lang Bay, the city of Powell River, the Tla'amin Nation and the community of Lund, at the northern terminus of the highway.

Fixed link proposals[]

The provincial government has conducted several feasibility studies on connecting Highway 101 to the Sunshine Coast, as well as replacing the Earls Cove–Saltery Bay ferry. A study launched by the BC Liberal government in 2015 identified four proposals costing between $2.1 billion and $4.4 billion:^[5]

• A 58-kilometre (36 mi) extension of Highway 101 along the west shore of Howe Sound that would connect to Highway 99 near Squamish.
• A 22-kilometre (14 mi) extension of Highway 101 across Howe Sound on a pair of suspension bridges via the Anvil Island, with a connection to Highway 99 near Lions Bay.
• A new 200-kilometre (120 mi) highway connecting Powell River to Squamish with a pair of tunnels under the Coast Mountains.
• A 19-kilometre (12 mi) highway link between the two sections of Highway 101 eliminating the ferry between Saltery Bay and Earls Cove via a pair of suspension bridges.

All four options were considered feasible, with positive cost to benefit ratios for the two bridge options. The study was inconclusive and recommended further analysis of the four options.^[6] The NDP government announced in February 2017 that the study would not move forward due to technical and financial issues.^[5]

Major intersections[]

Milestone marker in Lund designating a terminus of the highway.

From south to north:

Regional District	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Sunshine Coast	Langdale	0.00	0.00	Langdale Ferry Terminal – BC Ferries to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal ( Hwy 1 east / Hwy 99)
		0.93	0.58	Marine Drive ( south) / Port Mellon Highway ( north) – Gibsons, Port Mellon
	Gibsons	4.07	2.53	Reed Road
		4.89	3.04	Gibsons Way, School Road	Hwy 101 branches west
		6.10	3.79	Pratt Road, Payne Road
	Roberts Creek	15.40	9.57	Roberts Creek Road
	Sechelt	41.25	25.63	Field Road
	Sechelt First Nation	25.80	16.03	Ti'Ta Way
	Sechelt	26.26	16.32	Dolphin Street, Wharf Avenue
		28.84	17.92	Norwest Bay Road
	Madeira Park	58.09	36.10	Madeira Park Road ( north)
	Earls Cove	80.29	49.89	Earls Cove ferry terminal
Jervis Inlet				Earls Cove – Saltery Bay Ferry Approximately 17.6 km (9.5 nmi)[4]
Powell River	Saltery Bay	97.89	60.83	Saltery Bay ferry terminal
	Powell River	125.11	77.74	Joyce Avenue
		128.67	79.95	Wharf Street ( west) / Westview Avenue – Ferries	Access to Texada Island and Comox via ferry
		129.61	80.54	Alberni Street, Abbotsford Street
		133.66	83.05	Arbutus Avenue, Marine Avenue
	Lund	156.36	97.16	Lund Water Taxi – Passenger Ferry to Savary Island
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Tolled

References[]

External links[]

Media related to British Columbia Highway 101 at Wikimedia Commons

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