The conversion/upgrading of Highway 16 between Highway 36 and Range Road 2-3 is not expected to occur for at least another 20 or more years but undertaking an access management study in advance provides local users and municipal officials with a blueprint for planning along the corridor in preparation for when access will be controlled and limited to interchanges only. The Highway 16 corridor has multiple intersections, driveways and farm accesses that connect directly to the highway interspersed with interchanges near larger towns. The area has several environmental features as well as a local road network that accommodates varying uses ranging from the movement of farming equipment and school buses to oil and gas maintenance vehicles. The typical frontage road approach to access management between interchanges was not conducive to the nature of the area and could not be implemented in some areas due to natural features. A plan was needed that would meld into the local area and be considered as non-intrusive as possible. This paper will present the thought processes, consultation approach and various factors that were considered during the development of the plan that could be implemented in phases, were flexible enough to accommodate the changes that might occur over the next 20 plus years and could be endorsed by the various towns, villages, hamlets and counties along this section of Highway 16.
