Alberta Highway 16X

In the 1970s, Highway 16 was a four-lane, divided highway that passed along the northern edge of Stony Plain, through Spruce Grove, and passed through Edmonton along Stony Plain Road, Mayfield Road, 111 Avenue, and 118 Avenue.^[5] The need for a free-flow bypass was identified, however interchanges within Spruce Grove were deemed impractical.^{[citation needed]} A bypass was built 3.2 km (2.0 mi) north of the existing highway. Construction began of a two-lane highway west out of Edmonton along 118 Avenue, with sections opening throughout the early 1980s until it reached Highway 16, approximately 4 km (2 mi) east of Highway 43.^[6] Highway 16 was redesignated to follow Stony Plain Road, 170 Street, and Yellowhead Trail through Edmonton.^[7] By 1988, Highway 16X was twinned and transitioned to being the preferred western entrance into Edmonton, while the Stony Plain Road section of Highway 16 was more focused on commuter traffic.^[8] In 1990, in conjunction with Highway 16 assuming the Trans-Canada Highway route shield, Highway 16X also assumed the shield, an exception to the general practice in Alberta where suffixed routes are signed only with a standard Alberta highway shield.^[9] For consistency, the main business and commuter route was renumbered to Highway 16A in 1997 and renamed as the Parkland Highway while the main tourist route became Highway 16.^[3]