DEH CHO
Chipsealing and resurfacing portions of the highways in the Deh Cho are among the capital projects the Department of Transportation will be undertaking in the region this summer.
"People are going to see lots of work on the highway," said Kevin McLeod, the department's director of highways and marine services, referring to Highway 1.
The department is putting out to tender a number of projects on Highway 1 from kilometre marker 395, located just south of Checkpoint, to Fort Simpson. They include widening and rehabilitating the highway as well as cleaning culverts. All of the chipseal between kilometres 410 and 471 will also be overlaid to create a new driving surface, McLeod said.
The work is expected to take place between the beginning of June and August. The exact cost for the projects won't be known until the tenders have been awarded. McLeod said he expects the total cost will be between $8 and $9 million.
Further south in the Deh Cho, the department will be focusing on kilometres 104 to 111 on Highway 7. Based on an engineering review of the highway, sections of the road are being addressed in order of priority.
The budget for the work on that section of the highway is $1 million, which will include resurfacing and ditching.
In addition to capital projects, maintenance projects will also be carried out around the region.
On the Liard Highway a number of culverts that have failed will be replaced this summer, said Fred Lamb, the regional manager of highway operations for the Deh Cho.
The department will also be using ditching or possibly installing culverts to address three areas on Highway 1 where there is high water content in the soil. Moving that water away from the highway will help prevent frost heaves in the winter, Lamb said.
The department will also be turning its attention to Highway 1 as it makes its way north towards Wrigley.
Between Fort Simpson and the N'Dulee crossing there are a number of instances of the road being built up over culverts in creek bottoms with high sides. Some of these sections have narrowed or settled, meaning that motorists can't see oncoming traffic that may be coming out of the dips, said Lamb.
Work will be done on the worst cases, including widening the top of the highway and potentially cutting down the hills on either side to create better visibility, he said.
On the other side of the Mackenzie River, the department will be identifying sections of the highway that are in the most immediate need of repair and addressing them as funds become available, he said. A lot of industrial traffic has use the highway recently, which has contributed to worsening road conditions.
Lamb was unable to say how much money will be put towards the maintenance projects because he hasn't seen this year's budget yet.
