Alberta Highway 873

Highway 873 is a two-lane undivided highway in the County of Newell that begins as an east-west route at the intersection of Range Road 162 and Township Road 164, 1.6 km (1.0 mi) west of Rainer. It travels east to the intersection of Highway 36 where it becomes a gravel highway and continues east along the south end of Lake Newell to Highway 535, where it turns north and continues towards Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, where at the park entrance it once again becomes a paved highway.[2] Highway 873 continues north where it enters Brooks along 7 Street E where it follows a series of city streets, a short concurrency with Highway 542, and leaves Brooks along 2 Street W, the city's main commercial strip. It crosses the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) at the city's northern boundary and continues north past Highway 544 to Duchess where it ends at the intersection of Highway 550. The roadway continues north as Range Road 144.[2]

The section of Highway 873 between Brooks and Duchess has had multiple designations in its history. Along with Highway 550, the route was originally designated as part of Highway 2, which at the time was an east-west inter-provincial highway that ran through Calgary and Medicine Hat (the present-day Highway 2 was designated as Highway 1).[4] In 1941, Highway 2 was renumbered to Highway 1 to allow for continual numbering through Western Canada along the future Trans-Canada Highway, which was commissioned in 1949.[5] In the mid-1950s, the Trans-Canada Highway was realigned between Brooks and Bassano, resulting in the Duchess-Bassano section being decommissioned and the Brooks-Duchess section becoming part of Highway 36.[6] In the 1970s, Highway 36 north was realigned to align with the Highway 1/36 (south) junction located west of Brooks, resulting in the Brooks-Duchess section becoming Highway 873.[7]

From south to north:

Rural/specialized municipality	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
County of Newell	​	0.0	0.0	Range Road 162 / Township Road 164	Hwy 873 begins and travels east 50.368306°N 112.112417°W / 50.368306; -112.112417 (873 km 00.0)
	Rainier	1.6	0.99	Range Road 161	50.368333°N 112.089333°W / 50.368333; -112.089333 (873 km 01.6)
	​	6.8	4.2	Hwy 36 – Brooks, Taber	50.366389°N 112.019000°W / 50.366389; -112.019000 (873 km 06.8)
	​	18.2	11.3	Hwy 535 west – Tilley	Hwy 873 turns north 50.398306°N 111.888139°W / 50.398306; -111.888139 (873 km 18.2)
	​	23.4	14.5	PAR 103 west – Kinbrook Island Provincial Park	50.444694°N 111.883361°W / 50.444694; -111.883361 (873 km 23.4)
	​	31.1	19.3	Township Road 182 – Lake Newell Resort	50.513889°N 111.883361°W / 50.513889; -111.883361 (873 km 31.1)
City of Brooks		37.0	23.0	Sutherland Drive 7 Street E	Hwy 873 branches east onto Sutherland Drive Shortcut route continues north on 7 Street E (trucks prohibited)[8] 50.566611°N 111.883444°W / 50.566611; -111.883444 (873 km 37.0)
		38.1	23.7	Cassils Road (Hwy 542 east) – To Hwy 1	Hwy 873 branches west; Hwy 542 concurrency begins 50.572167°N 111.874083°W / 50.572167; -111.874083 (873 km 38.1)
		38.8	24.1	7 Street E / Lakewood Road	Shortcut route along 7 Street E (trucks prohibited)[8] 50.572111°N 111.883417°W / 50.572111; -111.883417 (873 km 38.8)
		39.7	24.7	2 Street W – City Centre Cassils Road (Hwy 542 west) – Cassils	Hwy 873 branches north; Hwy 542 concurrency ends 50.572083°N 111.897083°W / 50.572083; -111.897083 (873 km 39.7)
		41.8	26.0	Hwy 1 (TCH) – Calgary, Medicine Hat	Interchange 50.590694°N 111.897056°W / 50.590694; -111.897056 (873 km 41.8)
County of Newell	​	52.7	32.7	Hwy 544 – Patricia, Dinosaur Provincial Park	50.688444°N 111.897444°W / 50.688444; -111.897444 (873 km 52.7)
	Duchess	57.4	35.7	Hwy 550 west – Rosemary, Bassano Range Road 144	Hwy 873 ends 50.730639°N 111.897389°W / 50.730639; -111.897389 (873 km 57.4)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus