NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Motorists across the NWT are in for a smoother ride after the territorial and federal governments jointly announced $81 million in funding for 13 road projects across the North.

NWT Transportation Minister Wally Schumann, left, and NWT MP Michael McLeod are all smiles after jointly announcing nearly $81 million in funding for transportation upgrades across the NWT. - John McFadden/NNSL photo

The money will be used for improvements to nine bridges and culverts, as well as upgrades on roads, winter roads and the construction of a road maintenance garage on the Dempster Highway. Seven of the projects are located in the Deh Cho, two are in the South Slave region, two are in the Beaufort Delta while the North Slave and Sahtu Regions will see one project each.

The funding announcement was made by NWT Transportation Minister Wally Schumann and Michael McLeod, the Liberal MP representing the NWT, during a news conference at the legislative assembly on July 7. The feds are picking up almost $61 million of the tab while the GNWT will fund the remainder - just over $20 million. The federal funding falls under its small communities fund - infrastructure money for communities with populations under 100,000 people.

The funding from the federal government came after the GNWT requested it, according to McLeod.

"These were projects that were identified by the territorial government as areas that needed investment," McLeod said. "We are working on further projects."

Those further projects include the territorial government's request for hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for completion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, construction of an all-weather road to Whati as well as a road to the Slave Geological Province - the diamond mining region. Exactly when the GNWT might get an answer back from the Canadian government on those requests is not clear.

Work on one of the just announced projects - the Buffalo River Bridge on Hwy 5 in the Deh Cho - has already begun.

Schumann pleaded with the public to drive safely through construction zones, noting work on bridges for instance requires the bridge to be reduced to one lane. He agreed that some road delays should be viewed as short-term pain for long-term gain.

"Public safety is the number one importance on all transportation modes no matter if it's air, marine or highways," said Schumann.

"The public has to be well aware what's going on out there. There is signage. There is flag people. The public has to be aware of the contractors and staff who are out there to try to fix up our infrastructure on their behalf. Please take your time and drive safely."

With the funding in place, the tender process can now begin on the projects as companies bid for the jobs. Work on some of them may begin this summer, according to Schumann. He expects that the work should be completed on all of them within the next two years.

NWT highway improvements

Behchoko: Frank Channel bridge - Hwy 3, km 244

Source: Department of Transportation

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