Highway 19, known locally as the Island Highway, is the main north-south thoroughfare on Vancouver Island north of Nanaimo. A highway has existed on the Island since about 1912. Originally, gravel and rough, the highway was an essential link together with the E and N Railway. The paved highway first opened in 1953, replacing a stretch of Highway 1 between Nanaimo and Campbell River, finally being extended to the northern tip of the island in the ...
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Highway 19, known locally as the Island Highway, is the main north-south thoroughfare on Vancouver Island north of Nanaimo. A highway has existed on the Island since about 1912. Originally, gravel and rough, the highway was an essential link together with the E and N Railway. The paved highway first opened in 1953, replacing a stretch of Highway 1 between Nanaimo and Campbell River, finally being extended to the northern tip of the island in the late 1970s. The total length of the highway is 406 km (252 mi).
Highway 19's northern end is at an intersection with Market Street in the small community of Port Hardy. The highway then proceeds in a southwest arc through the town centre, then goes southeast through a junction with the B.C. Ferry terminal at Bear Cove, and a junction with Port McNeill. The highway then winds its way past Nimpkish Lake, then through a 163 km (101 mi) long stretch of dense forest terrain, through the community of Woss and a junction with Sayward, finally...
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