Skip to main content

Mile Zero Monument of the Trans-Canada Highway - Victoria, British Columbia

Image
By

 


I recently had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Victoria, British Columbia. While being the location of provincial capital, Victoria has a number of gems waiting to be discovered. Whether it is the totem poles of the First Nations past in Vancouver Island, a well-preserved Chinatown, stunning gardens, a picturesque harbor and one of Canada's grandest hotels, Victoria has a lot going for it. But during my research of things to see and do within the few hours I had to devote to this charming city, I found that there is a Mile Zero monument for the Trans-Canada Highway.

The mainline of the Trans-Canada Highway stretches 4,860 miles (7,821 kilometers) from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and is one of the longest continuous roads in the world. As for the Mile Zero monument, it can be found at Victoria's Beacon Hill Park, at the corner of Douglas Street and Dallas Road. From here, the Trans-Canada Highway goes north on Douglas Street towards downtown Victoria and ultimately across Canada. While it is not known when the monument was put up, my guess is that the monument was put when the Trans-Canada Highway was opened in 1962. This would have been before the time when Canada went to the metric system. It is a relatively simple monument, but it tells you simply what it is, the beginning of the Trans-Canada Highway. There is another Mile Zero monument at the highway's eastern end in St. John's.

You can find other monuments nearby as well. There is a Terry Fox statue right behind the Mile Zero monument. Terry Fox was a young man stricken with bone cancer and as a result of the cancer, his right leg was amputated above the knee. In 1980, Fox began the Marathon of Hope, where he would run the length of the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria to raise money for cancer research. Unfortunately, he never achieved his goal of running all the way to the Mile Zero monument in Victoria, having to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario after 143 days on the road because cancer had spread to his lungs. If he had made it to Victoria, he would've been greeted by views of the scenic Strait of Juan de Fuca, which is across the street from the Mile Zero Monument.


The Mile Zero Monument is simple, yet beautiful. In the summertime, there's plenty of flowers surrounding the monument.

Only 4,860 miles to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Fundraising for causes have been noteworthy events along the Trans-Canada Highway and they all have a grand finale in Victoria.

Terry Fox statue.

The Mile Zero monument can be found at the southwest corner of Beacon Hill Park, where Douglas Street and Dallas Road intersect.

The Trans-Canada Highway ends or begins across the street from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There was an anchor honoring Victoria's maritime heritage that was installed across the street from the Mile Zero Monument.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Tourism Victoria - Mile 0
Atlas Obscura - Mile 0
Roadside America - Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway
Labels:
Location: 18 Douglas St, Victoria, BC V8V 2N6, Canada

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more