[2] It extends from Highway 22, approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) east of Drayton Valley, to Leduc where it ends at Highway 2.

Highway 39 is about 91 kilometres (57 mi) long.

[1][3] Highway 39 also connects with the communities of Breton, Warburg, Thorsby, and Calmar; while most of the small communities are now bypassed, Highway 39 still travels along Main Street in Calmar.

In 1955, a ferry across the North Saskatchewan River started operations southeast of Drayton Valley,[5] resulting in Highway 57 following present-day Highway 616 to Breton.

[8] In the 1960s, a 9 km (6 mi) section of Highway 39 between Breton and Alsike was renumbered to Highway 12, resulting in Highways 12, 39, and 57 once again terminating at a common point, this time in Alsike.