Edmonton and Calgary bypass???

Seems like a lot of confusion above.
Try this - take I 15 and cross at Sweetgrass/Coutts. At Canada 3 go west to Pimcher Creek, Plus 2 miles west - junction of 22. Take 22 north until it hits Trans Canada Highway - #1(near Cochrane).Continue thru Cochrane to #1A and turn west for a short distance to junction of 40. Go north on 40 through Hinto and Grande Cache to Grande Prairie and #43. West to Dawson Creek and mile0 of the Alaska Highway. Amd away you go!!
Enjoy my home province without the hassle of the cities!!
John

the Calgary bypass is awesome, personally i wouldn't tow on the Anthony Henday westbound in Edmonton, if you coming to Edmonton from the south then I recommend taking the devon bypass (next exit after the Edmonton international airport) the Anthony Henday westbound for some reason isn't flat (frost heaving?) and it is bouncy like crazy, to the point it is painful to drive in a 1 ton truck.

Steve

We did get caught by a construction slowdown on the #2 southbound but it was well north of Calgary. That was in early September. The city itself was a non-stop drive right on through to Lethbridge and then south from there to Sweet Grass.

We thought the same about the Cassiar, but lack of time blew that one off on our return route in 2016. We'll get around to it eventually. The construction delays in northern BC and the Yukon were far more aggravating than anything between Edmonton and Calgary. You could sit for 20 minutes and up, waiting for on coming traffic to clear, until your pilot car arrives. Some places were DIY pilot car for us. We had to figure out where the road was in a couple of spots. At dusk, no less.

Have a good trip.

OK, thanks for all the help.

Driving in heavy traffic doesn't really bother me much......now sitting in heavy traffic and not moving......well yea I would just as soon as avoid that. I live in a town of 250, but we have a son in St.Paul,MN and another in Portland,OR so I have driven in heavy traffic and have been in a few "traffic jams". I know delays for road construction are inevitable on a trip like this, so I will just have to be patient at those times.

If we can make it work time wise, on the way home we would like to return via the Cassiar Hwy and visit our son and his family in Portland, so we would like to save the Cassiar for the way home.

pirlbeck wrote:
My wife and I are leaving in a few days for Alaska from western Iowa. We did the Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise thing last year so the plan is to get to Alaska ASAP. I am self employed and only have a max of 5 weeks for this trip. Our plan is to head west and north to I90 and stay on I90 until Spearfish, SD and then take 212 to Billings, MT and then 12, 191 and 87 to Great Falls (Mapquest route) and then head north toward the Sweet Grass, MT border crossing on I15. Not real sure of our timing at this point, but my main concern is the traffic we could hit around Edmonton and especially Calgary. Any good short cuts or ways around these 2 cities?

Traveling in a pickup camper if it makes a difference.

Thanks!

Thinking about it again, and based on the 2 factors you mention, that you've already done the sightseeing thing along the AB/BC border, and you're time constrained and want to get to Alaska ASAP, I don't really think you'll have too much trouble with traffic in and around Calgary or Edmonton northbound, if you were to follow your suggested route. Depends on what you call "traffic". We've driven that route a few times and neither was really problematic for us heading north or south through them on #2.
However you choose to go, good luck with it. It's an interesting trip to the 49th state, and once you get there, too. Well worth the drive.

Again, thinking about our trip, you're more likely to get caught along 97 somewhere in BC or YT by the relentless construction/pilot car escorts, than by traffic in Alberta.
Here are 3 websites you might find useful for predicting construction zones.

http://www.drivebc.ca/

http://ykdemo.telenium.ca/en/map.html#x=-14994434&y=8996079&z=0&lb=1&rb=1&l=60

This one not as likely, but you never know.
http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/Highways/Highway-Conditions

At Lake Louise avoid the Husky station and go to the Petrocan. Prices are quite a bit lower at Petrocan. If traveling between Golden and Radium Hotsprings there is a gas station/convenience store that has the cheapest gas (and diesel) in the entire region.

Gas in BC may be up to $1.00 more per US gallon (in USd) than in Alberta, so fill to the gills at Lake Louise.

Best speed, but worst sightseeing, stay on Hwy 4/3/2 from Coutts/Sweetgrass. Calgary ring road is # 201, but it doesn't seem to be appreciably faster than staying on Deerfoot Trail. Edmonton, jump onto the Anthony Henday westbound. Its well signed, so follow instructions. The Henday will take you from the South side to the West end. Here you will jump on Hwy 16 west, then 43 North.

To go around Calgary, take 201 ( Stoney Trail ) to get to highway 2 towards Edmonton. About 20 miles before Edmonton is a big sign “Edmonton Bypass” which is highway 19. Take 19 west to highway 60 then north on 60 to highway 16 which is the route to Alaska. The 201 is a ring road around the east side of Calgary with no lights.

Roosville and Hwy 93 OR Hwy 22.

Gas will be less expensive on Hwy 22 (Alberta).

x2 for 93 and the Roosville crossing.

Take a quick dip in the pool at Radium and then stick on 93. It's a nice drive along 93 to Castle Junction. From there, follow 93 North to the junction with 16 in Jasper.

16 through Prince George towards Kitwanga and then the Cassiar Highway (37) North to the Alcan.