British Columbia Highway 15

Highway 15 and State Route 543
Pacific Highway 176th Street
Highways 15 and 543 highlighted in red.
Route information
Maintained by B.C. MoT and WSDOT
Length:	20.99 km (13.04 mi) BC: 19.9 km (12.4 mi)[1] WA: 1.09 mi (1.75 km)[2]
History:	BC: 1913 – present WA: 1919 – present[3]
Major junctions
South end:	I‑5 near Blaine, Washington
	BC 10 in Surrey BC 1A in Surrey Golden Ears Way in Surrey
North end:	BC 1 / BC 17 in Surrey
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways ← BC 14 BC 16 → ← SR 542 SR 544 →

Highway 15 (BC 15), known locally as the Pacific Highway, is a 20.99-kilometre-long (13.04 mi) north–south highway primarily located in the City of Surrey, British Columbia. The southern terminus is with Interstate 5 (I-5) near Blaine, Washington as Washington State Route 543 (SR 543). SR 543 is a 1.09-mile-long (1.75 km) connector between I-5 and the Canada–US border, linking with BC 15. Over 3,000 trucks per day pass through the border crossing along SR 543 and BC 15,^[4] because the Peace Arch border crossing does not allow commercial trucks.

Route description

SR 543 starts at an incomplete trumpet interchange with I-5 and heads north, passing the now closed Blaine Municipal Airport. An at-grade interchange with H Street is next, before the road widens and an interior lane diamond interchange with D street, providing access to Blaine and the last northbound exit before the border.^[5] Traffic from 12th Street can access both northbound and southbound SR 543, and traffic from southbound SR 543 can access 12th Street as the final interchange before the Canada–US border.^[6]

The border features both a NEXUS lane for passenger vehicles,^[7] as well as a Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lane for commercial trucks.^[8] Border crossing times can become significantly delayed such as in the event of certain Seattle Mariners baseball games and summer holiday travel.^[9] During the reconstruction of the Peace Arch border crossing, delays at the Pacific Highway crossing were similar to times seen right after the attacks of September 11.^[10]

Continuing north, now as BC 15, the highway passes farmland and intersects 8 Avenue, which provides access to British Columbia Highway 99 to the west. The highway turns west slightly before entering Cloverdale and crossing over railroad tracks of the Southern Railway of British Columbia. BC 10 is intersected before the highway moves back towards the east and its original alignment on 176th Street. Farmland once again surrounds the highway as it interchanges with the Fraser Highway and terminates at a Parclo A4 interchange with BC 1.^[11][12] On December 21, 2013 the CA$1 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road opened, linking the northern terminus of BC 15 to Delta in the west.^[13]

History

Canadian border control

The Pacific Highway was opened as a gravel road on July 12, 1913 and again on September 3, 1923 as a paved road. For a time between 1942 and 1958, BC 15 was designated number 99A after the King George Highway (Hwy. 99 from 1942 to 1972, Hwy. 99A from 1973 to 2006) superseded it as the primary route to the Canada–US border. In 2008, the highway was widened to four lanes as part of the Gateway Program to improve provincial highways in Metro Vancouver. (In 2009, the city of Surrey renamed "King George Highway" to "King George Boulevard").

Prior to the current Washington route numbering system, this route was designated as Primary State Highway 1 Truck Route.^[14]

A construction project was completed in August 2008^[15] on the United States side, at a total cost of US$50.8 million, which improved the interchange with D street, which is now raised above SR 543. The left lane from SR 543 in each direction is raised above for travelers wishing to access D Street, while the rest of the traffic continues below the intersection. Two additional lanes have been added going northbound, and one additional lane has been added southbound.^[16]

Major intersections

Washington State Route 543

The entire highway is in Blaine, Whatcom County.

mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	I‑5 – Bellingham, Seattle	Southern terminus, northbound entrance and southbound exit
0.82	1.32	D Street – Blaine City Center	Grade-separated interchange
1.09	1.75		Canada–US border
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

British Columbia Highway 15

The entire route is in Surrey, Metro Vancouver.

km	mi	Destinations	Notes
0.0	0.0	Canada–US border	Begin BC 15
1.6	0.99	8 Avenue to BC 99 – Peace Arch border crossing, Vancouver
11.4	7.1	BC 10 (56 Avenue) – Surrey, Langley
15.3	9.5	BC 1A (Fraser Highway) – Whalley, Langley
19.5	12.1	Golden Ears Way north to BC 7 – Maple Ridge 96 Avenue west – North Delta
20.1	12.5	BC 1 – Vancouver, Abbotsford, Hope BC 17 south – Delta	Northern terminus. Roadway continues as BC 17 (South Fraser Perimeter Road).
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Google (September 2, 2009). "BC 15" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
2. Strategic Planning and Programming Division (2007). State Highway Log: Planning Report (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 1562. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
3. Staff. "Forty Years with the Washington Department of Highways" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
4. Blake, Abbey (November 20, 2004). "Omnibus Spending Bill Includes 2nd District Priorities" (Press release). Office of Representative Rick Larsen. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
5. SR 543 lane configuration (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
6. Staff. "§ 47.17.797". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
7. Staff (August 13, 2008). "Directory of CBSA Offices". Canada Border Services Agency. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
8. Staff. "Where is FAST available?". Canada Border Services Agency. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
9. "Expect delays when traveling across the border this weekend". CKWX-AM. August 13, 2009. Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
10. Bolt, Kristen Millares (March 9, 2007). "Wait at Canadian border going from bad to brutal". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
11. Google (September 2, 2009). "BC 15 / SR 543" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
12. Highway Planning Section (May 28, 2008). "Official Numbered Routes in British Columbia". British Columbia Ministry of Transportation. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
13. "South Fraser Perimeter Road, B.C.'s newest highway, opens". British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. December 21, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
14. Prahl, C. G. (December 2, 1965). "Identification of State Highways" (PDF). Washington State Highway Commission. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
15. "SR 543 - I-5 to Canadian Border: Additional Lanes for Freight". Washington State Department of Transportation. August 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
16. Lane diagram of SR-543 (Map). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 17, 2008.

External links

• Camera facing queuing area for US Border control
• Border wait times (from BC Government)
• Border wait times (from WSDoT)