In 1969, further alignment east into Yellowhead Pass was opened to traffic after being constructed up through 1968 and raised to all-weather standards in 1969.

Highway 16's alignment on Haida Gwaii was commissioned in 1983[2] and is connected to the mainland segment via BC Ferries route #11.

Winding its way along the boundary of Naikoon Provincial Park, Highway 16 goes south for 27 km (17 mi) before reaching the community of Tlell.

36 km (22 mi) south of Tlell, Highway 16 reaches Skidegate, where its Haida Gwaii section terminates.

BC Ferries then takes Highway 16 across the Hecate Strait for 172 km (107 mi) due northeast to its landing at Prince Rupert.

From Prince Rupert, Highway 16 begins its winding route east through the Coast Mountain Ranges.

120 km (75 mi) east of Prince George, Highway 16 reaches the community of Dome Creek, where it converges with the Fraser River and turns southeast.

[25] In 2016, the Canadian government launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women after communicating with victim families.

In September 2020 a totem pole honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women was raised on the highway just outside Terrace.