NWT - The NWT's welcoming site for visitors crossing the 60th Parallel is undergoing a major makeover.

This iconic sign will be replaced later this year at the NWT/Alberta border. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

A new visitor centre is nearing completion at the Sixtieth Parallel Territorial Park on Highway 1 at the NWT/Alberta border.

"This is a big project for us," said Tom Colosimo, the manager of tourism and parks in the South Slave region with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI).

Colosimo said the $750,000 building is expected to be ready to open on May 15.

"I think it's going to be something we can all be proud of as Northerners," he said.

Construction of the new visitor centre began last year, after the old one was torn down. During the end of last year's tourist season, the visitor centre operated out of a temporary trailer.

The work is being done by Arctic Canada Construction with the involvement of ITI and the Department of Public Works and Services. The new visitor centre will have a number of green features, including being run by solar power with the backup of a small generator.

Colosimo said the previous visitor centre was a converted picnic shelter.

"That's gone now," he said. "So we're developing that whole site."

The development will include upgraded grounds by June, a new pond and a new sign sometime this year.

Colosimo said a request for proposals to replace the 'Northwest Territories, 60th Parallel' sign will be issued this year.

"The sign is rotting and rusting," he said.

The existing sign has become an iconic image of the NWT and many tourists stop to have their pictures taken in front of it.

Some travellers even write their names on the sign.