Truck traffic moving through Alberta’s North South Trade Corridor has more than doubled since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1993, prompting plans to improve the Canadian highway.

According to the Edmonton Sun, Rod Thompson the Executive Director of Transportation Policy and Economic Analysis for the Government of Alberta says the highest growth rates for Canada-U.S. truck traffic is between Alberta and the border with the United States.
In response, the provincial government is building a four-lane highway running much of the length of the province. The $1.4 billion dollar project has been under way since 1997.
The route is 730 miles long, and begins at the British Columbia border west of Grande Prairie and follows Highway 43 south.
The Anthony Henday extension and the construction of the southwest portion of Edmonton's ring road are part of the project. The corridor follows Highway 2 through Calgary, east on Highway 3 to Lethbridge, then south on Highway 4 to Coutts and the U.S. border, the paper reported.
The highway will serve as the Alberta portion of the Canamex transportation corridor, also called the NAFTA corridor. The route continues south of Alberta following Interstates 15 and 25 through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada to Mexico.
When everything is completed in 2007, truck and passenger traffic will be able to drive 730 miles through Alberta at a generally posted speed limit of 110 kmh (68 mph).
Hempsey told the paper that there would also be rest areas every 50 km along the route.