Highway 29
Connecting the community of Hudson's Hope with the Alaska Highway and Fort St. John, Highway 29 winds along the north side of the Peace River in northeastern British Columbia.
When reservoir filling begins in September 2023, the Site C reservoir will widen the Peace River by two-to-three times, covering parts of the highway.
As a result, BC Hydro is partnering with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to realign six segments of Highway 29. Construction started in 2018 and will continue until mid-2023.
The work involves designing and building 32 km of highway, including new bridges at Cache Creek, Halfway River, Lynx Creek and Farrell Creek.
Realigning each segment involves:
- Geotechnical, environmental, and archeological studies
- Improved highway alignments, including grading, paving and bridge construction
- Geotechnical stabilization works
- Moving electrical and phone lines to accommodate new highway construction
- Decommissioning the existing highway after construction
During construction, the highway will remain open to ensure efficient movement through the construction sites.
Some minor delays should be expected, and drivers should slow down and obey all traffic control personnel and signage. Get the latest traffic updates at drivebc.ca.
Learn more
- Highway 29 Information sheet PDF • 240 KB
- Highway 29 Description of construction activities PDF • 240 KB
Highway 29 segments for realignment
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Segment length: 6 km
Site preparation: 2018 to 2020
Construction: 2020 to 2023
At Cache Creek East, the new reservoir will cover the existing highway, requiring us to build a new highway alignment and a new bridge across Cache Creek.
We will begin work on Cache Creek East in fall 2019 by building an embankment on the easternmost portion of the segment.
Completed activities
- Geotechnical investigations
Current activities
- Site drainage
- Excavation, placing and grading granular materials
- Removing vegetation and debris
- Geotechnical drilling
- Grading, paving and bridge construction
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Segment length: 4 km
Site preparation: 2017 to 2018
Construction: 2018 to 2020
Construction of Cache Creek West began in 2018. This four-kilometre segment of highway west of the Cache Creek Bridge will be realigned to prepare for reservoir filling in September 2023.
Completed activities
- Geotechnical, archaeological, and environmental investigations
- Site construction staging
- Equipment area preparation
- Contractor mobilization
- Clearing of vegetation and debris
Current activities
- Grading and culvert installation
Future activities
- Paving following construction of new highway alignment grade
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Segment length: 1.5 km
Site preparation: 2019 to 2020
Construction: 2020 to 2021
A segment of Highway 29 at Dry Creek will be covered by the new reservoir. The new alignment for this segment includes design and construction of 1.5 km of new highway.
Completed activities
- Geotechnical investigations
Current activities
- Archaeological studies
Future activities
- Site preparation
- Road construction, including grading, paving and culvert construction
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Segment length: 2 km
Site preparation: 2020
Construction: 2021 to 2023
This segment of highway at Farrell Creek will be covered by the new reservoir. The new alignment involves construction of a new bridge across Farrell Creek.
Completed activities
- Geotechnical investigations
Current activities
- Archaeological studies
Future activities
- Site preparation
- Road construction, including grading, paving and bridge construction
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Segment length: 6 km
Site preparation: 2020
Construction: 2021 to 2022
While the existing stretch of Highway 29 east of Farrell Creek will not be covered by the new reservoir, it may be more prone to erosion. For this reason, we are relocating the highway north, outside of the impacted area.
Completed activities
- Geotechnical investigations
Current activities
- n/a
Future activities
- Site preparation
- Road construction, including grading and paving
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Segment length: 4 km
Site preparation: 2019
Construction: 2019 to 2022
We began preparing for construction of the realignment at Halfway River in early 2019. In this area, the reservoir will cover the existing highway and bridge, requiring re-alignment of the highway and construction of a new bridge. This new segment of highway will be three kilometres long, and the new bridge will be one kilometre long.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has awarded the contract for construction of this segment to Eiffage-Infracon Halfway River Joint Venture (Note: This joint venture is not affiliated with Halfway River First Nations).
Computer rendering of future bridge over Halfway River
Completed activities
- Geotechnical and environmental investigations
- Clearing of vegetation and debris
Future activities
- Contractor mobilization for bridge and road construction is beginning in early 2020. This includes moving equipment to site, disposing of wood waste, and removing vegetation and topsoil.
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Segment length: 8 km
Site preparation: 2019 to 2021
Construction: 2019 to 2023
As the longest segment of highway to be realigned, it will take four years to construct the Lynx Creek segment. These eight kilometres of highway include a new bridge, causeway, and embankment.
Construction of the embankment will start in fall 2019. Activities will include:
- Contractor mobilization: Moving equipment and materials to site. Materials will be stored in a laydown area located between Dry Creek and Farrell Creek.
- Site preparation: Clearing vegetation and preparing the site for equipment, contractor construction facilities and access roads.
- Causeway construction on to several islands in the Peace River near Dry Creek.
- Clearing vegetation from the islands, as part of our reservoir clearing program, and in order to excavate gravel for highway construction. The gravel from these islands will be used for the duration of the Highway 29 project on the Dry Creek and Farrell Creek segments.
- Building the new highway embankment slightly south of the existing alignment.
Learn more
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