LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
The federal and territorial governments are spending $20 million starting this year to build a 14-kilometre section of all-season highway leaving Norman Wells, a small section of the eventual Mackenzie Valley Highway.

The federal and territorial governments will pay $20 million to build a 14-kilometre section of all-season road leading southwest from Norman Wells along the route shown here, including a bridge crossing Canyon Creek. - map courtesy of GNWT

The gravel road will replace a winter route from the community southwest over Canyon Creek and also includes five kilometres of roadway in the area. Once the all-season road crosses the creek, it will again become a winter road.

The federal government announced Jan. 5 it is contributing $15 million through the New Building Canada Plan with the remainder coming from from the GNWT. Construction is expected to start in the next month or so and last about two years, Transportation Minister Wally Schumann said.

It received regulatory approval from the Sahtu Land and Water Board in February last year. Regulatory documents state the section of road will provide access to a new quarry that will be used for construction of the highway, provide access to a potential landfill site for the town and open the creek to potential recreation uses. The documents also notes there was significant support for the work expressed during consultation in the area.

"I'm quite excited to see it moving forward," Northwest Territories MP Michael McLeod said in an interview by phone from Norman Wells after making the announcement.

Construction of the small stretch of roadway is expected to help boost a regional economy hurt by slumping oil prices.

A news release states the work will offer training opportunities for approximately 12 trainees and 16 heavy equipment operators, and employment opportunities for 50 people during the construction and road improvements.

"In a region that's experiencing very little activity right now, I think it's a big deal to have this kind of money coming into town, into the region," Schumann said.

Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne, the chairperson of the legislative assembly's economic development committee, echoed that view.

"This is really going to help build what could be considered a mobile workforce. Some skills training provided here could eventually be used in other parts of the territory as we invest in infrastructure," Vanthuyne said.

It isn't clear who would carry out the construction work.

'Another step'

The spending was touted as "another step towards the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway," by the GNWT in a document about the project.

"This is obviously a project that shines a little bit of light, of hope, on the Mackenzie Valley Highway," Vanthuyne said.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway, when complete, will be an extension of Highway 1 from Wrigley north to Inuvik. The territory is planning the work in several phases, focusing now on the 333 kilometre section from Wrigley to Norman Wells, estimated to cost $700 million over seven years. It would replace the winter road available about three months per year which faces risks from climate change.

Tolls have been considered for commercial vehicles to offset the cost, a 2014 GNWT document states.

Cabinet ministers in November reiterated a request for federal funding for the highway, focusing on construction of a Bear River Bridge estimated to cost $70 million, engineering and environmental studies for remaining Wrigley to Norman Wells phases, and construction of the Tulita to Norman Wells segment, including environmental assessment.

McLeod said the application for the rest of the highway remains on hold pending a federal government review of the criteria for its infrastructure spending plan.

"Once that is announced, the application will move forward for review," he said.

In an interview in November, McLeod said he expects to hear early in the new year on whether the federal government will commit funding for an all-season road to Whati, a project pegged at about $150 million.

Those highways were among three major infrastructure projects McLeod said during the 2015 election campaign that he would champion if elected. The third was dredging the port in Hay River.