| Province: | BC |
| Type: | Hwy |
| Route: | 95 |
| Allocation: | (1) Yahk–Kingsgate Highway (2) Kootenay–Columbia Highway |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | Highway 95 highlighted in red. |
| Length Km: | 329 |
| Length Round: | 0 |
| Established: | 1953 |
| Direction A: | South |
| Terminus A: | at Canada–US border at Kingsgate |
| Junction: | in Yahk in Cranbrook near Fort Steele near Wasa in Radium Hot Springs |
| Direction B: | North |
| Terminus B: | in Golden |
| Previous Type: | Hwy |
| Previous Route: | 93 |
| Next Type: | Hwy |
| Next Route: | 95A |
Highway 95 is a north-south highway in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, opened in 1957. The highway connects with U.S. Route 95, from which the highway takes its number, at the Canada–U.S. border at Kingsgate, just north of Eastport, Idaho.[1] The section between the Canada-U.S. border and the Crowsnest Highway is known as the Yahk–Kingsgate Highway while the section between the Crowsnest Highway and Golden is known as the Kootenay–Columbia Highway.[2]
Highway 95, one of the most overlapped highways in the province, shares most of its route with other numbered highways.
The 329km (204miles) long Highway 95 begins at the international border in a small community called Kingsgate. It connects to U.S. Route 95 at the Eastport-Kingsgate Border Crossing. Heading north from there, it follows the Moyie River northeast for 11abbr=onNaNabbr=on to the town of Yahk, where it merges onto the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3). Highway 95 follows the Crowsnest Highway northeast for 72km (45miles) to the city of Cranbrook, where Highway 95A, designated in 1968 and following the original alignment of Highway 95 for 54km (34miles) through Kimberley and Ta Ta Creek, begins. From Cranbrook, it is another 7abbr=onNaNabbr=on east to the Fort Steele junction, where Highway 3 hands Highway 95 off to Highway 93.[1]
From the Fort Steele junction, Highway 95 follows Highway 93 north for 31km (19miles) through the community of Wasa, to where Highway 95A's east junction is located. From the Highway 95A junction, Highway 93/95 follows the Kootenay River upstream for 45km (28miles), through Skookumchuck to the town of Canal Flats, at the southern end of Columbia Lake. North of Canal Flats, Highway 93/95 travels for 58km (36miles) along the Columbia River, through the communities of Fairmont Hot Springs, Windermere and Invermere to the town of Radium Hot Springs, where Highway 93 diverges east. Highway 95 continues to follow the Columbia River north for 105km (65miles), through the locations of Edgewater, Brisco, Spillimacheen and Parson, to where it terminates at its junction with the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) at Golden.[1]
Prior to 1941, British Columbia used lettered routes as opposed to numbers, and the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as part of Route U, which continued south to U.S. Route 93 at Roosville along present-day Highway 93.[3] In 1941, British Columbia introduced numbered highways, with Highway 95 begin designated on 11abbr=onNaNabbr=on Yahk–Kingsgate Highway, the northern extension of U.S. Route 95, while the Kootenay–Columbia Highway between Cranbrook and Golden was designated as Highway 4.[4] In 1953, the Highway 4 was moved to its present location on Vancouver Island, with the Kootenay–Columbia Highway being renumbered to Highway 95. In 1968, Highway 95 was realigned to bypass Kimberley, with the former section becoming Highway 95A.
From south to north:[5]