Territory plans chipsealing on highways

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, April 17, 2014

DEH CHO
Chipseal resurfacing on two highways in the Deh Cho and new chipseal on Highway 7 are among the capital projects that the Department of Transportation has planned for the region this summer.

"We're really glad it's happening," said Angela Fiebelkorn, the president of the Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce, about the chipsealing on Highway 7.

The new chipseal is important as is the overlay to keep Highway 1 drivable, she said.

Starting at the B.C. border, 20 kilometres of the gravel highway will be leveled out, get an extra surface coat of gravel and then covered with chipseal, said Gary O'Sullivan, a senior planner with the department's highways and marine division.

Those 20 km will be the only new chipseal laid in the region this summer. The department is doing a chipseal overlay over existing chipseal from kilometres 188 to 206 on Highway 1, which is near its junction with Highway 3, and on four sections of Highway 3 ranging from 1.5 to 7.5 km in length.

Preparation work for the chipsealing will begin in May with the chipsealing expected to take place from June to July.

"There will be some traffic interruption, there shouldn't be any major shutdowns," O'Sullivan said, describing it as normal summer construction delays.

The department expects to spend approximately $5 million this year across the territory's highways on chipseal overlay.

On Highway 7, if enough funding is available, the department also plans to do surveys. Those surveys will inform the work the department wants to do over the next 10 years if funding for it is received from the federal government, O'Sullivan said.

Although it would like to see both Highways 1 and 7 completely chipsealed, the chamber is also realistic, said Fiebelkorn. The most important thing is to keep the highways in good shape, gravel or otherwise. Fiebelkorn drove Highway 1 to Hay River on April 13.

"It's in better condition right now than it's been in a long time," she said.

One transportation project that the region does really need is an all-weather road to Norman Wells, Fiebelkorn said.

Ferry landings across the territory are also slated to undergo changes. The landings were studied over the last two years and the department has decided to use an airbag system instead of permanent concrete landings to address environmental and maintenance concerns, said O'Sullivan.

"It's supposed to support the landing, protect the shore, make it a permanent site where they're able to bring them in and land them," he said.

The airbags are arriving this year, but it isn't clear when they will be installed at the Liard River and N'Dulee ferry landings.

Normal annual maintenance on the highway system will also be taking place throughout the summer. The work will include applying calcium chloride for dust suppression and small culvert repairs. The department also plans to build about five more sand and salt storage facilities over the course of a few years, including one at the junction of Highways 1 and 3.

The department is also holding a consultant and contractors meeting on April 22 that approximately 50 companies, including some from the Deh Cho, have been invited to. The meeting is to inform the companies about what the department's plans are for the next few years so they can plan their workloads and what they are interested in biding on, said O'Sullivan.