[2] The current Alberta highway 48 connects to Northwest Territories Highway 5 at the Northwest Territories border in Fort Smith NWT to Fort Fitzgerald and Hay Camp Road.

In 2020 the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo spent $4.1 million to begin upgrades of the highway.

The road runs from the Northwest Territories border at Northwest Territories Highway 5 (Fort Smith Highway) in Fort Smith, through the Smith Landing first nation, Pine Lake road which enters Wood Buffalo national Park and ends at Hay Camp Road and Fort Fitzgerald.

The road parallels the Trans Canada Trail and also provides access to the Fort Smith Winter Club.

Other than the small hamlet of Elkwater within Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Highway 48 did not pass through any communities.