Alternative routing schemes in high-speed networks ensure fault tolerance in the event of a link failure. An heuristic algorithm, based on maximal-flow algorithm, is first used to partition the network into parts: one part carries regular or primary traffic and another part is reserved to carry re-routed traffic in the event of a link failure. The result of applying the algorithm is used to find alternative routes for a given call at the time of call setup. The scheme can be modified to accommodate hop-court limitations and loop avoidance.