SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - As a string of idling cars line up along Highway 3 almost as far as the eye can see, Tara Bromley stood calmly in the middle of the road with a stop sign in her right hand and a walkie-talkie in her left.

Tara Bromley, a flagger with the Department of Transportation, directs a heavy stream of traffic near Fred Henne Park, Wednesday afternoon.- Katie May/NNSL photo

The 21-year-old college student has been working since May as a construction work flagger for the Department of Transportation.

"I have to stop all the traffic to make sure (the workers) don't get hurt and that there's no collisions," she said, switching the sign from "stop" to "slow."

"Safety first."

The sun beat down on dark pavement as NWT Construction crews worked on the stretch of road under Bromley's watch, while the clock ticks seconds away from their 5 p.m. deadline. Bromley has been here since 6:30 a.m., with breaks every two hours and a half hour for lunch.

"This is an abnormal day because it's so busy," she said, explaining that she usually works on a quieter stretch of highway closer to Rae. "Sometimes we go 10 minutes without a car going by."

Flaggers worked in pairs of two, each spread out at different sections of the road to direct traffic travelling both ways. They tell each other through the walkie-talkie which type of vehicle is last in line in an oncoming stream of traffic so they both know when to flip their signs.

Sometimes there's confusion, Bromley said, but not usually. She was not nervous about facing aggressive drivers.

"Cars are pretty good at abiding by the signs."

Drivers waved or honked and smiled as they passed Bromley and her sign. She said she often sees people she knows going by - sometimes five times a day.

"I see tons of people," she said. "It's funny how many people you see a day."

Even when she's on quiet patches of highway, Bromley said she can keep herself amused so she doesn't get bored. Some days, it's not too difficult to find entertainment, as was the case earlier this summer when a baby bison decided to hang out near the construction area for three days. Flaggers named him Steve.

Bromley said it's a fun job because she gets to work outside, though she doesn't enjoy collecting and carrying the orange construction warning signs at the end of the day.

"That's the worst part," she said. "They're heavy."