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South Peace Profile

Transportation

Northern Corridor

Timber Supply in Dawson CreekThe Northern Corridor spans over half of continental Canada and reaches well into the heartland of North America south of Chicago, USA. It travels through the lowest elevations of the Americas great continental divide, also known as the “Yellow Head Pass,” and forms the straightest, shortest, flattest route for Asian- North American trade. Three Northern British Columbia ports provide efficient access to this corridor; Kitimat,Stewart and Prince Rupert. Each port offers unique advantages and servicesClick to Enlarge (link opens in a new window)
Source: Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure 

thatmeet the needs of the region and international trade.

Trans-continental rail, Trans Canada Highway and direct air service into international Air Hubs are in place. The corridor services business covered by the North American Free Trade Agreement, through a variety of break bulk and container services in ports operated by governments and those run by private port interests.

The Northern Corridor is less impeded by road closures, significant weather patterns and avalanches than the Southern Canadian corridor. It provides “one less day” shipping advantage to or from Asia compared to all other North American Port locations including Vancouver and all USA pacific Ports.

Canadian National Rail (CN Rail) reaches well into the heartland of America with shipping agreements in place with major US rail carriers. CN has made significant investments in the Northern Corridor rail line including extended sidings, upgrades to signal systems, increased bridge and tunnel clearances. The corridor is serviced by five international airports and four northern airports with Prince George offering international services. The largest passenger service airport west of Prince George and north of British Columbia’s Okanagan region is the Terrace-Kitimat Northwest Regional airport.

Northern Corridor Specifications:

Commercial Vehicle Without Permits Specifications Commercial Vehicles With Permit Specifications
Max Width 2.59 m Max Width 4.40 m
Max Height 4.15 m Max Height 4.72 m
Max Weight Max Weight
Super B 63,500 kgs Super B 64,000 kgs
Single Axel 9,100 kgs Single Axel 9,100 kgs
Tandem Axel (set) 17,000 kgs Tandem Axel (set) 23,000 kgs
Tandem Axel (set) 24,000 kgs Tridem Axel (set) 29,000 kgs

(Source: Invest in BC Community Profile)

 

Overhead Clearance:

Yellowhead Highway 16 from BC border to Prince Rupert   Clearance
Khyex River Bridge  5.95 m
Kitsequcla Overpass   5.70 m
Tete Jaune Underpass   4.96 m
Highway 37 from Hwy 16 North to Yukon Border
Irving River Bridge #2    5.74 m
Devil Creek Bridge    5.74 m
Highway 37 from Hwy 16 South to Kitimat
Williams Creek Bridge    4.97 m
Hirsch Creek Bridge      4.72 m
Kitimat River Bridge       5.08 m
Highway 37A from Hwy 37 to Stewart
No Clearance
Highway 97 from Dawson Creek to Quesnel
Bellows CN Railway Overpass   4.96 m
Hixon CN Railway Overpass    4.90 m
Stoner CN Railway Overpass     4.70 m
Red Rock CN Railway Overpass    4.64 m
Bijoux CN Railway Overpass       6.30 m
West Pine CN Railway Overpass      4.92 m
East Pine CN Railway Overpass     5.00 m
Salmon River Bridge   5.40 m
Parsnip River Bridge     5.05 m

(Source: Invest in BC Community Profile)

 

Road

The South Peace region is found in the northeastern part of the Province of British Columbia and is a transportation hub in the north.  There are four major entrances into the Province of BC from the east, Highway #3, Highway #1, Highway # 16 and Highway # 2.  Highway #2 is the most northern major entrance into BC and travels from Edmonton and Grande Prairie to the Village of Pouce Coupe and then into Dawson Creek.  Highway 97, the Hart Highway is the only highway that links the rest of BC with the South Peace region and ends in Dawson Creek.  From there the world famous Alaska Highway embarks from Dawson Creek, making its 1500 mile journey north.  Because of these converging highways it makes the South Peace region a major hub and destination for tourists and business alike.

Dawson Creek is located at the junction of four maintained highways, Highway 97- the Hart Highway, Highway 97 North- the Alaska Highway, Highway 49 East- Spirit River Highway, and Highway 2 South- the Edmonton Tupper Highway. 

Chetwynd is found on Highway 97, the Hart Highway which travels from Prince George to Dawson Creek, and Highway 29 which provides access to Tumbler Ridge to the south and Hudson’s Hope to the north. 

There are three main routes to and from Tumbler Ridge.  Highway 29 which enters and exits from the west via Chetwynd, and Highway 52- the Heritage Highway.  The Heritage Highway provides access to Tumbler Ridge from two places.  The first access point is west of Dawson Creek on Highway 97 and the second access point is south east of Pouce Coupe on Highway 2- the Tupper Edmonton Highway.

Pouce Coupe, which prides itself on being the “Gateway to BC’s Peace Country”, is the first municipality in BC on Highway 2 from Alberta.  Highway 2 goes from Dawson Creek, through Pouce Coupe and then on to Grande Prairie and Edmonton, Alberta.

Distance chart to communities in the South Peace region (in kilometers):

Location

Chetwynd

Dawson Creek (Including Pouce Coupe)

Tumbler Ridge

Prince George

304

406

406

Edmonton

691

591

705

Kamloops

828

931

969

Calgary

983

885

1000

Vancouver

1086

1184

1184

Victoria

1168

1268

1268

Seattle

1203

1304

1304

Fort St. John

174

75

190

Grande Prairie

234

133

250

Dawson Creek

101

X

115

Chetwynd

X

101

90

Tumbler Ridge

90

115

X

(Source: Invest in BC Community Profile)

Ministry of Transportation
Website:www.gov.bc.ca/tran (link opens in a new window)

Road Maps of BC and South Peace Region
Website:http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/TransportationMaps/Maps/BritishColumbia.htm (link opens in a new window)

Provincial Permit Centre
Phone number: 1 800 559-9688


Air

The Dawson Creek Airport has scheduled flights via Central Mountain Air and Swan Air and provides regular service to a number of major cities and international airports, those most notably being Vancouver and Edmonton.  There are no parking fees or airport improvement fees.  The Dawson Creek airport does not charge general aviation fees for those with their own aircraft.  The Dawson Creek airport provides air service for the South Peace region although there are larger airports located in Grande Prairie, Alberta and Fort St. John, BC.

There is a small airport located to the southeast of Tumbler Ridge and has regular flights via Central Mountain Air.  It has a 4000 foot runway for chartered flights and North Cariboo Air offers chartered flights to Tumbler Ridge from Fort St. John, Edmonton and Calgary.

Chetwynd also has a municipal airport that is registered for day and night use.  It is used by 10 locally used aircrafts.  The runway is 4500 feet long and 100 feet wide.

Grande Prairie has the largest airport in the area and is the gateway to the Alberta and BC Peace region.  The airport has daily direct flights to Edmonton, Calgary, and one stop connections to Vancouver and the rest of the world.  Carriers include West Jet, Air Canada, Swan Air and Airco Aircraft Charters.

North Peace Regional Airport is located in Fort St. John in the heart of BC’s Peace region.  The airport serves the surrounding area with carriers such as Air Canada, Swan Air and Central Mountain Air.  There are regular scheduled flights to Vancouver, Prince George, Fort Nelson, Edmonton, and Calgary and one stop connections to most major cities in the world.

Prince George Airport is the closest international airport to the South Peace region.  The airports carriers include Air Canada, Central Mountain Air, West Jet, Purolator, DHL, and Northern Thunderbird.  They have 161 nonstop flights with three runways and a customs point of entry. 

Air Canada
Website:  www.aircanada.com (link opens in a new window)

Airco Charters
Website:  www.aircocharters.com (link opens in a new window)

Central Mountain Air
Website:  www.flycma.com (link opens in a new window)

Dawson Creek Airport
Phone:  250 782-3142

Grande Prairie Airport
Website:  www.grandeprairieairport.com (link opens in a new window)

North Cariboo Air
Website:  www.flynca.com (link opens in a new window)

North Peace Regional Airport
Website:  www.fsjairport.com (link opens in a new window)

Swan Air
Website:  www.swanbergair.com (link opens in a new window)

West Jet
Website:  www.westjet.com (link opens in a new window)


Rail

The Canadian National Railway has a small network of railway through the South Peace and can still provide service to Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge. 

Between 1983 and 2003 BC Rail hauled coal from the mines in Tumbler Ridge south to Prince George where CN then transported the Coal to Prince Rupert for export to Japan.  BC Rail also hauled grain out of Dawson Creek and the Peace region to CN in Prince George for shipment to Prince Rupert and Asia.  In 2004 the government of BC sold BC Rail to CN.  CN now controls and owns all of the railways in northern BC.  They can provide shipping solutions to South Peace via Edmonton, Vancouver and Prince Rupert terminals.

VIA provides passenger service to Prince George.  This is the closest rail passenger service to the South Peace region.

CN Rail

South Peace rail lines

Main or Branch Line

Shortline or National line

Capabilities

Branch and Main

Shortline and National Line

Cargo-Bulk,Container,Liquid,Multi Commodity

VIA Rail

Prince George

Main or Branch Line

Shortline or National Line

Capabilities

Branch and Main

Shortline and National

Passenger

(Source: Invest in BC Community Profile)

CN rail
Website:  www.cn.ca (link opens in a new window)

 

Bus

Greyhound Canada
Website:  www.greyhound.ca (link opens in a new window)
Greyhound Canada provides bus service through the South Peace.  Bus routes come in and out of the south via Prince George and the rest of southern BC which comes through Chetwynd and Dawson Creek.  There are also routes that come from Fort St. John from the north and Grande Prairie from the east, both converging in Dawson Creek.  There are bus terminals which provide package pick up and delivery plus passenger ticket purchases in Dawson Creek and Chetwynd.

BC Transit
Website:  www.bctransit.com (link opens in a new window)
Dawson Creek is the only locality in the South Peace with city buses.  There are three routes around town.  The City of Dawson Creek has recently purchased new drop floor buses which provide easier access for handicapped and senior citizens.

 

Courier Services

Greyhound Canada
Website:  www.greyhound.ca (link opens in a new window)
Greyhound Canada provides courier service to Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Groundbirch and Pouce Coupe.  They have main terminals for packages in Dawson Creek and Chetwynd.

Purolator
Website:  www.purolator.com (link opens in a new window)
Purolator has drop off locations at Three Monkeys Intelligent located at 933 102nd Ave in Dawson Creek - telephone at 250 782-3766, and Valley Pure Water located at 4616 North Access Road in Chetwynd- telephone at 250 788-2165.

DHL
Website:  www.dhl.ca (link opens in a new window)
DHL has drop off locations at DHL Express located in Dawson Creek at 524- 114th Ave, Country Lane Creations located at 235 Main St in Tumbler Ridge, and at Coffee Talk Express located at 4917 South Access Road in Chetwynd.  DHL can be reached at 1 800 CALL DHL.

 

Ports

The Port of Prince Rupert and the Port of Kitimat are the most northern international shipping ports in Pacific North America.  They are also one of only three deep sea ports on the west coast, the other two are located in Vancouver and San Francisco.  The shipping ports support major international trading routes that cover grain, coal, forest products and oil shipping from north western Canada to the Asian markets and vice versa.  Both of these ports are from 1 to 1 and a half days closer to the Asian market than any other southern port.   

Port Prince Rupert Kitimat
Terminals Fairview (Container), Ridley (coal, wood pellets), Prince Rupert Grain, Northland Cruise Rio Tinto Alcan-Break Bulk, Methanex Petrochemical, Eurocan Breakbulk
Type of Port Ocean Deep Sea
Channel Depth 35-55 meters 45-200 fathoms, 18-185 meters
Turning Basin 1.1-2.2 nautical miles
Types of Facilities shallow water barging, deep water barging, general cargo, containerized, refrigerated, cruise ship, storage,  shallow water barging, deep water barging, general cargo, storage, 
Highway Servicing Port Highway #16  Highway #16 via Hwy #37
Railway Servicing Port CN Rail CN Rail
Types of Services Bulk/break-bulk: coal, petroleum coke, wood pellets, grain, logs Bulk/break-bulk, methanol, ammonia condensate, pitch, alumina, bauxite condensate
Imports Retail (electronics, apparel, furniture, auto parts), petroleum products, industrial inputs (tiles, glass) Pitch, alumina, bauxite condensate, methanol
Exports Midwest- specialty crops, scrap metal, recycled paper Kraft paper, aluminum sheeting
British Columbia- forest products, aluminum, seafood
Shipping Lines Cosco, Hanjin, Yang Ming, K-Line, Quickload Transloading Services, Shipping Agents, GW Nickerson CO., Northcoast Shipping, Rupert Marine Shipping, Tidals Transport and Trading Ltd. Waterfront Shipping, Gearbulk
Customs Point of  Entry Phone: 250 627-3003 Phone: 250 627-3003

 

 

Shipping Distance Chart

Location Kitimat Prince Rupert Stewart Vancouver Los Angeles Yokohama Japan Hong Kong Kaohsiung Kang (Taiwan) Xingang (China)
Kitimat X 121 NM 264 NM 400NM 1394 NM 3941 NM 5444 NM 6187 NM 6187 NM
7.5 Hrs. 17 Hrs. 1 Day 3.5 Days 10 Days 14 Days 16 Days 16 Days
Prince Rupert 121 NM X 123 NM 477 NM 1432 NM 3810 NM 5323 NM 6110 NM 6110 NM
7..5 Hrs. 10 Hrs. 1.2 Days 3.6 Days 9.8 Days 14 Days 16 Days 15.7 Days
Stewart 264 NM 123 NM X 573 NM 1529 NM 3896 NM 5406 NM 5155 NM 4749 NM
17 Hrs. 10 Hrs. 1.5 Days 4 Days 10.3 Days 14 Days 13 Days 13 Days
Vancouver 400 NM 477 NM 573 NM X 991NM 4262 NM 5763 NM 6587 NM 7578 NM
1 Day 1.2 Days 1.5 Days 2.5 Days 11 Days 15 Days 17 Days 20 Days
Los Angeles 1391 NM 1432 NM 1529 NM 991 NM X 4839 NM 6380 NM 7578 NM 8959 NM
3.5 Days 3.6 Days 4 Days 2.5 Days 12.5 Days 18 Days 20 Days 23 Days
Yokohama 3941 NM 3810 NM 3896 NM 4262 NM 4839 NM X 1585 NM 1335 NM 1335 NM
10 Days 9.8 Days 10 Days 11 Days 12 Days 4 Days 3.4 Days 3.4 Days
Hong Kong 5444 NM 5323 NM 5406 NM 5763 NM 6380 NM 1585 NM X 290 NM 290 NM
14 Days 14 Days 14 Days 15 Days 18 Days 4 Days 18 Hrs. 18 Hrs.
Kaohsiung Kang 6187 NM 6587 NM 5155 NM 6587 NM 7578 NM 1335 NM 290 NM X 227 NM
16 Days 17 Days 13 Days 17 Days 20 Days 3.4 Days 18 Hrs. 14 Hrs.
Xingang 6187 NM 6587 NM 4749 NM 7578 NM 8959 NM 1335 NM 290 NM 227 NM X
16 Days 17 Days 13 Days 20 Days 23 Days 3.4 Days 18 Hrs. 14 Hrs.

 

(Source: US Government “Distance Between Ports” Prepared and Published by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency)