Section of Hwy 1 in Kicking Horse Canyon to be closed for 15 days this fall

Highway 1 between Golden, B.C. and Alberta's Castle Junction will be closed for several days over two periods this fall due to construction on the latest phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon project. 

A 4.8-kilometre stretch of the Trans Canada Highway, just east of Golden, will first be closed from noon MT on Monday, Sept. 18, until noon MT on Friday, Sept. 22. 

A second closure will take place from noon MT on Monday, Sept. 25 until noon MT on Friday, Oct. 6. 

During the closures, traffic will be redirected through highways 93S and 95, which can add up to an hour-and-a-half of travel time. 

The stretch of Highway from Castle Junction to Field, B.C., will remain open during the construction period, according to the province.

"At the west end, this means there's no point going beyond the intersection to Lafontaine Road on Golden Hill," reads an email from a Transportation Ministry spokesperson. "At the east end, it's the Kicking Horse Rest area/Yoho (5-mile) Bridge."

Highway 1 will be fully open for the Thanksgiving Day long weekend, the province says. However, there will be more daytime and overnight closures after the holiday weekend. 

Local and commuter traffic will be allowed to travel through the construction zone twice daily, with prearranged permits, at 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. MT. School buses will also have escorts through the area, and emergency vehicles can be escorted through on short notice.

The area has been closed periodically over the past 18 months, including multi-day closures in the spring of 2022 and 2023.  

The final phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon project to widen and upgrade the section of Highway 1 between Golden and Yoho National Park is expected to be complete this winter.

The B.C. and federal governments have spent more than $600 million on the project.