British Columbia provincial highway 7, known as the Lougheed Highway, is an alternative route to Highway 1 through the Lower Mainland. Whereas the four-lane Highway 1 follows the southern bank of the Fraser River, Highway 7, which is two lanes, follows the northern bank.

Highway 7 was first commissioned in 1941, and originally went from Vancouver to Harrison Hot Springs, following the Dewdney Trunk Road between Port Moody and Port Coquitlam. In 1953, Highway 7 was moved to its modern alignment between Vancouver and Coquitlam. Highway 7's eastern end was moved south from Harrison Hot Springs to Agassiz in 1956, and then moved east to Ruby Creek in 1968. Highway 7 has gone all the way to a junction with Highway 1 just past Hope since 1973.

Route Details

Highway 7's total length is 149 km. Beginning at Granville Street in Vancouver, Highway 7 travels east along Broadway for 9 km to Boundary Road, crossing into Burnaby. 10 km east of Boundary Road, Highway 7 crosses into Coquitlam, reaching its junction with Highway 1 at the Cape Horn Interchange another 5 km southeast. The highway then turns immediately northeast, and goes for 6 km before it reaches a junction with Highway 7A and turns southeast, crossing into Port Coquitlam at Westwood Street just ½ km later.

Just 5 km east of entering Port Coquitlam, Highway 7 crosses over the Pitt River bridge into Pitt Meadows. 6 km southeast of the Pitt River bridge, Highway 7 crosses into Maple Ridge at Maple Meadows Way, and the highway then crosses into Mission another 20 km east. 9 km of Highway 7's entry into Mission, it meets a junction with Highway 11. 8 km east of the Highway 11 junction, Highway 7 leaves Mission over the Hatzic Pump bridge.

27 km east of the Highway's eastern exit from Mission, Highway 7 enters the Municipality of Kent. 14 km east, Highway 7 reaches a junction with Highway 9 at Agassiz. 18 km northeast of the Highway 9 junction, Highway 7 leaves Kent. Another 12 km northeast, Highway 7 finally reaches its eastern terminus at a junction with Highway 1 at Haig, just across the Fraser River from Hope.