Reconstruction of Highway 3 to a modern standard with shoulders continued in the 1970s.

A 21.7-kilometre (13.5 mi) segment from Medicine Hat to west of Severn Persons was completed in 1973, with grading for another 21.7 km west of Seven Persons done in 1974.
 Several local Social Credit Party Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) expressed dissatisfaction with the rate at which the work was progressing and the reasoning given by Highways Minister Clarence Copithorne.
 He cited a labour shortage and the fact that provincial funds were being spread across multiple projects, and also the fact that drivers should not be subjected to overly lengthy construction zones.
 The MLAs disagreed, saying that Alberta's oil and gas revenue should be enough to expedite Highway 3 work, and that their constituents preferred for the work to be done sooner even if it meant longer stretches of the road would be under construction at a given time.

A group of southern Albertans called the Crowsnest Highway 3 Association met annually in the 1970s with the intent of promoting the highway and advocating to the provincial government for improvements.
 The group included local officials and residents who advertised Highway 3 as a rival to the Trans-Canada Highway and a more scenic route between the prairies and the west coast.
 Their efforts proved worthwhile; to attract travellers who might better identify with a route that has only one name, Alberta officially renamed Highway 3 as "Crowsnest Highway 3" in 1977 with British Columbia following suit for their portion through to Hope.
 Members of the Association collaborated with the government on new highway shields, a sign that denotes the designated number of the highway.
 They began to appear in both provinces by the end of the decade.
 British Columbia had its own shield and in Alberta two versions of the shield were initially erected; a white number 3 on a crow background within the shield, and a more standard Alberta highway shield with the usual black number on a white background, but with a crow perched on top peering down at the number.
 The first variant prevailed and remains unchanged through the 2010s.
Long-term planning for a Highway 3 expressway was on-going near the end of the decade, with minor changes to the two-lane route near the BC border in the late 1970s.

At their 1979 meeting in Lethbridge, the Association pushed for wider recognition and advertisement of the Crowsnest route in tourism offices across Canada, and also hoped for the Crowsnest moniker to be expanded to include the Trans-Canada Highway from Medicine Hat to the Saskatchewan border.
 They would later create a 16-page brochure that highlighted points of interest along the Crowsnest Highway en route to Expo 86, a world's fair held in Vancouver in October 1986, again presenting it as a better alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway.
 In 1979, a group similarly lobbied for a named highway across the southern prairies including Alberta Highway 501 and Saskatchewan Highway 13.
 The Crowsnest efforts were used as an example of the traffic that could be brought to a route when it has a cohesive name.
Reconstruction of Highway 3 to a modern standard with shoulders continued in the 1970s.
A 21.7-kilometre (13.5 mi) segment from Medicine Hat to west of Severn Persons was completed in 1973, with grading for another 21.7 km west of Seven Persons done in 1974.  Several local Social Credit Party Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) expressed dissatisfaction with the rate at which the work was progressing and the reasoning given by Highways Minister Clarence Copithorne.  He cited a labour shortage and the fact that provincial funds were being spread across multiple projects, and also the fact that drivers should not be subjected to overly lengthy construction zones.  The MLAs disagreed, saying that Alberta's oil and gas revenue should be enough to expedite Highway 3 work, and that their constituents preferred for the work to be done sooner even if it meant longer stretches of the road would be under construction at a given time.
A group of southern Albertans called the Crowsnest Highway 3 Association met annually in the 1970s with the intent of promoting the highway and advocating to the provincial government for improvements.  The group included local officials and residents who advertised Highway 3 as a rival to the Trans-Canada Highway and a more scenic route between the prairies and the west coast.  Their efforts proved worthwhile; to attract travellers who might better identify with a route that has only one name, Alberta officially renamed Highway 3 as "Crowsnest Highway 3" in 1977 with British Columbia following suit for their portion through to Hope.  Members of the Association collaborated with the government on new highway shields, a sign that denotes the designated number of the highway.  They began to appear in both provinces by the end of the decade.  British Columbia had its own shield and in Alberta two versions of the shield were initially erected; a white number 3 on a crow background within the shield, and a more standard Alberta highway shield with the usual black number on a white background, but with a crow perched on top peering down at the number.  The first variant prevailed and remains unchanged through the 2010s. Long-term planning for a Highway 3 expressway was on-going near the end of the decade, with minor changes to the two-lane route near the BC border in the late 1970s.
At their 1979 meeting in Lethbridge, the Association pushed for wider recognition and advertisement of the Crowsnest route in tourism offices across Canada, and also hoped for the Crowsnest moniker to be expanded to include the Trans-Canada Highway from Medicine Hat to the Saskatchewan border.  They would later create a 16-page brochure that highlighted points of interest along the Crowsnest Highway en route to Expo 86, a world's fair held in Vancouver in October 1986, again presenting it as a better alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway.  In 1979, a group similarly lobbied for a named highway across the southern prairies including Alberta Highway 501 and Saskatchewan Highway 13.  The Crowsnest efforts were used as an example of the traffic that could be brought to a route when it has a cohesive name.
Alberta Highway 3