The territorial government is reviewing options to re-route the Ingraham Trail, including one that could see the highway blaze a trail right through Yellowknife's main campground.

Fred Henne Territorial Park, the Mining Heritage Centre and part of the Solid Waste Facility each lie in the path of three options for an Ingraham Trail relocation, intended to bypass the twists and turns around Giant Mine.

This map shows one of three possible paths for a new bypass for the Ingraham Trail. In this plan, the highway would cut directly through the middle of Fred Henne Park. Another option goes through the boat launch near Giant Mine and beside the Mining Heritage Centre, while a third grazes the dump. photo courtesy of GNWT department of transportation

According to documents from the Department of Transportation, Corridor 1 could go straight through the campgrounds at Fred Henne Park, while Corridor 3 grazes the Mining Heritage Centre and goes through the access to the boat launch near Giant Mine. Corridor 2, meanwhile, cuts through leased land and a portion of the dump.

The three options were presented to Yellowknife city council during a July 16 committee meeting, meant to draw councillors' opinions on the routes. However, councillors weren't sure how to proceed.

"I think it would be useful to hear from people who are directly affected," said Coun. Paul Falvo of the GNWT project.

"I'm not sure it's our responsibility to do that."

Coun., Dave McCann, meanwhile, wanted to know how much the project would cost, and how the decision-making process would proceed. City administrators had no answers.

As for residents, the situation was a little clearer.

"There's a lot of problems with (the plans)," said Walt Humphries, president of the NWT Mining Heritage Society.

He said he wasn't impressed with the Fred Henne or the Corridor 2 options, though the third corridor hits particularly close to home: It plows beside his organization's crown jewel, the Mining Heritage Centre.

He said he was unsure how Corridor 3 could proceed, when its path is essentially "the existing route with some modifications."

"Are they going to have cleanup, road construction and them freezing arsenic stopes going on at the same time?" he asked.

The now closed mine site is undergoing a massive cleanup that could take up to ten years to complete.

That said, Humphries was skeptical about the relocation project in general, one he said he's heard bounced around since the 1970s.

"Is this going to happen in our lifetime?"

The project moves forward

Kevin McLeod, director of highway and marine services said the highway relocation is prompted by the dangerous and deteriorating nature of the route around Giant Mine.

"If we just kept maintaining (the route), it could cost more than if we realigned it completely," he said.

Current prices to maintain the region vary, he said, but major permafrost damage can cost as much as $50,000 for a 50-meter stretch of highway.

While the project is in the preliminary stages, McLeod said the relocation could cost between $6 and $15 million and take three years to complete, scheduled to begin next summer -- depending on what route is chosen, and what the final engineering results come in at.

Based on early data, he said Corridor 3 near Giant Mine looks like the cheapest option due to its shorter length. Meanwhile, Corridor 2 -- the option with the least glaring downsides -- could prove to be the most expensive, due to steep grades and difficult terrain.

"With any highway project, you need to get from point A to point B," he said of the three options, and the difficult paths they follow.

He said his department had considered the drawbacks to some of the routes, and was willing to work with the public to minimize them.

"First of all, the mining heritage site or anything else accessible by Highway 4 (Ingraham Trail) we would preserve," he said.

Also, he added that impacts to Fred Henne could be minimized.

"Depending on where exactly we put the route, (Corridor 1) might not affect Fred Henne Park at all."

He added a lengthy review process would begin this fall, including public consultations, engineer's assessments and environmental reviews.

"We are in this together and we are asking the public for input," he said. "At the end of the day we want everyone to be proud of this project."