Communities look to capitalize on highway
Transportation strategy looks at next 25 years
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 7, 2014
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Northwest Territories' is updating its 25-year-old transportation strategy and wants public input to help guide the plan, says the Department of Transportation's director of planning, policy and communications.
Jim Stevens, the director of the Mackenzie Valley Highway for the GNWT, was one of the speakers during a public forum on the highway project on Sept. 17, 2013, at Ingamo Hall. - NNSL file photo |
A survey is available on the department's website.
Pietro de Bastiani said getting public input now will help policy makers draft a plan, which will be taken to regional centres this fall for review.
"We're going to update our transportation strategy with the idea of looking at the next 25 years," de Bastiani said. "What are our priorities? What do the public and stakeholders feel should be the priorities that relate to efficiency, safety, economic development?"
Mark Macneill, Wrigley's senior administrative officer, said Wrigley is looking at ways improvements could benefit the community.
He said while it could be a long way off, he believes expanding the barging system on the Mackenzie River would provide new ways to ship goods in the territory and beyond.
"With the river there, you've got a reasonably economic way of moving large quantities of resources," he said.
De Bastiani said looking at the potential of NWT's waterways, including the Mackenzie River, is all part of updating the strategy.
"We have a tremendous marine system in the North on the Mackenzie River, is this going to be a corridor for export or for import of goods?" he said.
Macneill said gravel is a hot commodity in Wrigley. The community already maintains the stretch of Mackenzie Highway between Wrigley and Fort Simpson and is in discussion with the Department of Transportation about potentially aiding in maintaining and constructing the road north, if the project to extend the road to the Dempster Highway is approved.
"It's probably pretty reasonable to assume that if we have the road into here and we have access to gravel, from our discussions, DOT has indicated that, yeah, there is a natural comparative advantage for Wrigley with respect to our location and resource base," Macneill said. "So we're working to capitalize on that."
Macneill said barges on the Mackenzie River could supply other communities with gravel from the Wrigley area, or even reach international markets via the Beaufort Sea.
"We could be supplying the roads in the region and beyond," Macneill said. "With the melting and the global warming, shipping in the Beaufort may become something in the future, which hadn't occurred in the past."
There are a variety of factors to consider when talking about shipping on the Mackenzie River, de Bastiani said.
"It's certainly a critical corridor for community re-supply, but the conditions on the Mackenzie are changing," he said. "Lower water levels, different types of ice breakup."
Macneill said when it comes to roadways, Wrigley is in an ideal position to provide towing assistance to commercial and residential drivers on the winter road.
He said if the Mackenzie Highway moved forward, Wrigley could potentially have a service station and a mechanic.
"We figure the more services we can link to the road, then the more of a go-to entity we will become," he said. "In business, they refer to it as comparative advantage. Geography and our resources give us that."
In an e-mail to News/North, Whati SAO Larry Baran stated in that community, discussions have been focusing on developing an all-season road from Whati to Highway 3.
He said a community survey was conducted in 2006 and again in 2011 and found that at least 80 per cent of residents were in favour of a road.
"Chief and council feel that true economic development will not happen in Whati without an all-season road," Baran stated in the e-mail. "Whether development of local business (which will benefit the residents of Whati) or development of a new mine (which will benefit all of the residents of the NWT), chief and council believes that an all-season road will be necessary for Whati."
Baran said if Fortune Minerals' NICO mine begins operations, an all-season road will be vital to the company.
"With the strong probability of the NICO mine proceeding north of Whati, Fortune Minerals will want an all-season road to be functioning so that they can ship their concentrate-product out regularly to Hay River," Baran stated.
De Bastiani said as of last week, more than 130 individuals had completed the online transportation survey. He said while initial themes included expanding roadways and driver safety, others provided suggestions on topics such as potentially expanding the railway system in the territory.
All comments are welcome, he said.
"There are no ideas that are foolish here," he said.
De Bastiani said the department plans to provide posters to communities, encouraging residents to provide input.
Macneill said in Wrigley's case, moving forward on projects will be a community decision.
"This all has to come from the community in the end, they have to want or allow or see a value in contributing to what's going on and if they can do it in a way that's not detrimental to themselves or their land," he said.
