British Columbia Highway 31

Highway 31 is a minor north–south highway through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. The highway first gained its number in 1973, and it is one of the few numbered highways in the province that is not fully paved. Highway 31 has a total distance of 175 km (109 mi) — 37 km (23 mi) along Kootenay Lake between Balfour (a junction with Highway 3A) and Kaslo (a junction with Highway 31A), 106 km (66 mi) north along Kootenay Lake north of Kaslo, then the Duncan and Lardeau Rivers and the north shore of Trout Lake, and 32 km (20 mi) between the northwest end of Trout Lake and Galena Bay, where it ends at Highway 23.

Highway 31
Balfour-Kaslo-Galena Bay Highway
Route information
Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Existed	1973–present
Highway 31
Length	175 km[1] (109 mi)
South end	Highway 3A in Balfour
Major intersections	Highway 31A in Kaslo
North end	Highway 23 in Galena Bay
Highway 31A
Length	47 km[1] (29 mi)
West end	Highway 6 in New Denver
East end	Highway 31 in Kaslo
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways
← Highway 30 → Highway 33

The highway is a gravel road between Meadow Creek at the north end of Kootenay Lake and Trout Lake. Care should be taken when driving the route as it is narrow and has drop offs into Trout Lake north of Gerrard.

The section between Lardeau and Gerrard was possibly a part of a railway. The railway was converted into a highway in 1942 or early 1943 as part of a rail-to-road conversion project. The work took only two months to complete.^[2]

Major intersections

Regional District	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Central Kootenay	Balfour	0.00	0.00	Highway 3A – Nelson, Creston	Southern terminus
	Kaslo	35.79	22.24	Highway 31A west – New Denver
Columbia-Shuswap	Galena Bay	175.37	108.97	Highway 23 – Nakusp, Shelter Bay, Revelstoke	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Highway 31A

Highway 31's main spur, Highway 31A, which also opened in 1973, is 47 km (29 mi) long, connecting Highway 31 at Kaslo to Highway 6 at New Denver.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Central Kootenay Regional District.

Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
New Denver	0.00	0.00	Highway 6 – Nelson, Vernon, Nakusp	Western terminus; road continues as 6th Avenue
Kaslo	46.50	28.89	Highway 31 – Nelson, Meadow Creek, Trout Lake	Eastern terminus; road continues as Highway 31
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

• Official Numbered Routes in British Columbia by British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

References

1. Landmark Kilometre Inventory (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2016. pp. 357–363. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
2. British Columbia Ministry of Public Works (1944). Report of the Minister of Public Works for the Fiscal Year 1942/43 (Report). Victoria: Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 21 Feb 2022. |page=32