SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The new bypass road connecting the Kam Lake Industrial Park with Highway 3 is expected to be ready just in time for the winter season.

Dennis Kefalas, director of public works for the city, said work has been coming along well and they are on schedule to have the road ready for traffic late this year.

"We're looking to have some sort of rough road in by the time winter sets in," he said. "It should be ready to be used during the winter months."

Kefalas said 90 per cent of the blasting is completed and they are currently moving rock around to build a base for the road.

"They've cleared the whole road and are hauling rock to different parts of the road," Kefalas said. "Right now it's really hauling operations to build up the base of the road."

Rowe's Construction out of Hay River is the main contractor on the work while Breakaway Drilling of Yellowknife has been contracted to do the blasting. Kefalas said when they met with contractors at their last meeting, they were told things were going smoothly and no real challenges had come up.

"There is nothing (happening) they hadn't anticipated," he said.

The base road will be ready for winter use, but the project won't be fully completed until next year, when paving will be done. With the new bypass in by the time the ice road trucks are in full swing, Kefalas said other city streets will take less of a beating, hopefully giving them a longer life.

"We'll have less impact on the existing roads within the city and will prolong the life of the roads within the city," he said. "There will be less wear and tear."

Much of the funding for the $7 million bypass came from the federal government's Building Canada Fund - a seven-year, $245.8 million infrastructure fund. The federal government put up 75 per cent of the money for a list of territorial government infrastructure projects, while the GNWT put up the rest. The project had to be approved by both the GNWT and federal Transportation Minister John Baird, which was done in January of this year during a meeting with territorial leaders in Ottawa.

Kefalas said they weren't sure how much traffic would be diverted to the new bypass, but he figures most heavy trucking and equipment will be diverted from the regular road system within the city.