TUKTOYAKTUK
The community of Tuktoyaktuk is buzzing as work has begun on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway.
Heavy equipment and gravel trucks are at work April 3 as construction begins on the Tuktoyaktuk end of the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project. - Merven Gruben photo
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About 200 people are working on that side of the 140-kilometre all-weather road project now, after the $299-million highway was approved by GNWT cabinet on March 11.
"Everybody's working now. We got a smile on everybody's face," said Tuktoyaktuk Mayor Merven Gruben, who said the project has restored hope in the community. "Everybody's happy to be working and we know this is actually a reality now. It's going forward, and in a few years we'll be able to drive out any time we want."
The portion under construction now is the first 18.5-km stretch south from Tuk, where an existing access road along the same alignment of the Inuvik-Tuk project is being built to highway standards.
The highway, which can be completed as early as August 2016, will connect Tuk to the south by road year-round for the first time.
Transportation Minister David Ramsay said when work starts on new road construction, it's anticipated there will be 200 jobs in Tuk and 200 in Inuvik.
"So, 400 jobs total. Speaking to people up there, they're really excited about the opportunities," said Ramsay.
In addition to maintenance jobs, Ramsay said he believes the highway is going to create long-term economic opportunities, especially in the community of Tuk.
"You know, people wanting to drive the road and get to Tuktoyaktuk, dip their toes in the Arctic Ocean," Ramsay said. "So I think maybe a new hotel in Tuk, some restaurants, things like that. Some service-related industry. So I think that will increase the amount of jobs as well."
Gruben's Tuk-based company, E. Gruben's Transport, is the contractor on the portion under construction now.
Inuvialuit companies Kavik Stantec and Kiggiak EBA are doing the engineering and geotechnical work, respectively. Stantec and EBA have about eight people in the field now.
The federal government has committed to funding $200 million of the Inuvik-Tuk highway's building cost.
