North Island Highway 19's northern end is located at the Bear Cove ferry terminal, across the bay from Port Hardy. The highway proceeds southwest from the ferry dock for to a junction with the main road to the centre of Port Hardy, then turns southeast, travelling for to Highway
30, and then further east for along the main road to
Port McNeill. The highway then follows the eastern shore of
Nimpkish Lake and the
Nimpkish River through a long stretch of dense forest terrain for southeast, until reaching a junction with the community of
Woss, then travelling another 65 km east (40 mi), through the boundary between the Regional Districts of
Mount Waddington and
Strathcona, to a junction with
Sayward, and finally entering the city of Campbell River another southeast, at a junction with Highways
28 and
19A, just past the river that the city is named for. The entire stretch of Highway 19 north of Campbell River is an undivided two-lane configuration. Once at the junction with Highways 28 and 19A, Highway 19 separates into an expressway configuration, built between 1996 and 2001. In Campbell River, the highway shares its northbound lanes with Tamarac Street, and its southbound lanes with Willow Street.
Inland Island Highway The portion of Highway 19 between Campbell River and the city of
Parksville is known as the "Inland Island Highway". The highway completely avoids any residential or urban areas and alternates between a divided four-lane expressway and freeway, with a nominal speed limit of and a speed limit near signal lights. South from Campbell River, Highway 19 is divided primarily by a concrete wall, and goes through a series of six spaced out at-grade signalized intersections, five of them possessing exit numbers. south of Campbell River, Highway 19 reaches its first interchange, with a four-lane, arterial highway that goes west to the village of
Cumberland and east to the communities of
Courtenay and
Comox. Past the Courtenay Interchange, Highway 19 is divided by a grass median. later, Highway 19 reaches another interchange, this time with a two-lane road that goes a short distance east to the
BC Ferries terminal at Buckley Bay. There are two small, at-grade, signalized intersections on Highway 19 in between the Buckley Bay Interchange and the interchange with
Highway 4, which goes north into
Qualicum Beach. later, Highway 19 goes through another interchange, this time with Highway 4A, which goes east into Parksville. The next interchange, at Craig's Crossing, is another 5 km south (3 mi) where Highway 19A (Island Highway) rejoins Highway 19, marking the end of the freeway and the Inland Island Highway.
Island Highway Past the Craig's Crossing Interchange, Highway 19 resumes its 1953 Island Highway alignment, which today is a 4-lane, divided arterial highway with a concrete median barrier mostly constructed during the 1970s. It heads mostly southeast through the communities of
Nanoose Bay and
Lantzville, passing 5 signal lights and many at grade intersections along the way before finally entering the north part of Nanaimo. The lower highway standards and signal lights require a lower speed limit of on this section of highway. In Nanoose Bay the presence of a particularly busy signal light, multiple residential properties on the highway, a dense cluster of several intersecting side roads, and the lack of a centre divider results in a speed limit.
Nanaimo Parkway At the Exit 29 signal lights, Highway 19A (Island Highway) once again diverges to follow the 1953 alignment. Highway 19 then veers south onto a long, four-lane expressway known as the "Nanaimo Parkway" which opened in 1997. The alignment has five signalized intersections along its length along with 2 overpasses and 4 underpasses for local roads that do not connect to the highway. The only interchange on the Nanaimo Parkway is at its south terminus where a set of ramps bring Highway 19 onto the Highway 1 alignment where both roads continue south. The parkway's speed limit is . During the planning for the Nanaimo Parkway the Ministry of Transportation opted to construct signal lights instead of interchanges at 5 location as a cost saving measure intending on constructing the interchanges later when needed . At the time of its opening the parkway was a major improvement by allowing long distance traffic to bypass Nanaimo, greatly reducing driving times and eliminating congestion in the city. However, by 2021, the parkway itself was beginning to have serious congestion issues at the signal lights as a result of the highway being flooded with commuter traffic from a growing Nanaimo. With further growth in traffic expected over the next 30 years, the Ministry of Transportation has begun to study the implementation of interchanges on the parkway in the near future.
Highway 1 Concurrency After the interchange with Highway 1 and Cedar Road, Highway 19 runs in a short
concurrency with Highway 1 (the
Trans-Canada Highway) for 2 km (1¼ mi) before exiting at a
trumpet interchange on to the Duke Point Highway. With 4 southbound lanes and 3 northbound lanes, this short section of freeway is the widest road on Vancouver Island.
Duke Point Highway Opened in 1997, the long Duke Point Highway begins as a 4 lane, undivided freeway. Highway 19 crosses over the Nanaimo River 2 km (1¼ mi) from Highway 1 and shortly afterwards passes through an interchange at Maughan Rd. The highway then turns northward and narrows to a undivided, 3 lane highway (2 lanes westbound and 1 lane eastbound) for the last , passing two at grade intersections, and finally terminates at the
Duke Point Ferry Terminal. There is heavy traffic on the highway for short intervals when ferries are unloading, but the rest of the time, the Nanaimo-bound lanes are virtually empty. ==History==