Highway 7 to be improved
Nahendeh MLA happy to see millions for rough patches of road
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, November 20, 2014
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
The GNWT plans to spend $3 million on Highway 7 next year to improve the deteriorating road, according to an official with the Department of Transportation.
Kevin McLeod, the department's director of highways, said Tuesday there are 50 to 60 areas that need work along the highway which runs from Checkpoint to the B.C. border.
The highway, opened in 1984, is made of rough-packed gravel and sedimentary material. Its base in some places has seriously deteriorated, said Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche.
"The condition of the highway really impacts the tourism that comes to the region," he said.
The residents in communities along that highway use it for their livelihoods as well and Menicoche said it's important to get the work done.
Work was carried out between kilometre markers zero and 20 this year. McLeod said there will still be some work left to do on that section, including chip sealing, next year.
The department has already carried out a study of the highway, noting all the areas that are below standard.
"As the money is available, we'll address them," McLeod said. "We hope that the funding will continue for a number of years, but we can only go year-to-year."
Part of the money earmarked is for producing the raw gravel needed for the highway to address areas that become soft and slick when it rains.
That should make it a better road to drive on for residents and commercial truck drivers, said McLeod.
The work, expected to begin in May or June and carry through the summer, will involve digging up the clay base and replacing it with more solid material.
The department is always inspecting roads looking for problems that need to be addressed, McLeod added.
It's expected the road will see higher usage once the Prairie Creek mine is open, he said.
"We're trying to anticipate that and make changes to improve the road."
