NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The territorial and federal governments are spending almost three-quarters of a million dollars to study the effects of climate change on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road and Highway 3.

The feds are chipping in $560,700 with the GNWT picking up the rest of the $747,600 total price tag for the two year project.

The funding was announced Aug. 18 by territorial Transportation Minister Wally Schumann, Michael McLeod, MP for the NWT, and Marc Garneau, the federal minister of transportation.

Among the initiatives is the installation of 24 thermistors or heat sensors along the Inuvik to Tuk Highway. The 120-kilometre long highway, which is costing about $230 million to build, is slated to open to public traffic in the fall of next year.

The monitoring work is being done by several individuals and groups, according to Ioana Spiridonica, spokesperson for the GNWT's Dept. of Transportation (DOT).

"The monitoring program includes ... researchers from post-secondary institutions, university graduate students, local communities, engineering consultants, and DOT staff," Spiridonica stated in an e-mail. "The work ... is scheduled to be completed by March, 2018."

In announcing the monitoring funding, the governments stated that a safe, secure and efficient transportation system is crucial to the viability of socio-economic welfare of northern communities and contributes to economic opportunities in the North.

This is the second phase of the NWT Transportation Monitoring Program and the extension of research along already established test sites. The project will look into the effects of climate change on permafrost and transportation infrastructure. The results will help ensure future road projects lead by the GNWT take into account the potential impacts of climate change in their road budget, design, construction and maintenance phases.

The first phase of the project included the establishment of two permafrost research and development sites on the Inuvik to Tuk Highway. It also included a geotextile-reinforced deep fill embankment section near kilometre 82 and an alternative polyethylene drainage culvert structure near kilometre 20.

The monitoring project is part of Transport Canada's Northern Transportation Adaption Initiative. It aims to help Canadians better understand the effects of climate change on northern transportation routes brings the climate change adaptation measures into transportation planning and operations.

McLeod stated in a news release climate change has had and continues to have a distinct impact on roads in the NWT.

"As the North warms and permafrost thaws, the effects of climate change are becoming more and more visible on highways in the NWT," McLeod stated. "These initiatives are important steps in understanding how we can best maintain our roadways in these warming conditions both over continuous permafrost and discontinuous or sporadic permafrost and will help us mitigate the impacts of a warming climate on Northern transportation routes moving forward."

In the same news release, Schumann stated that this latest funding will allow for critical research on climate change and its effects on our roads.

"Innovation, research and development are essential in finding better ways to deal with the ever increasing impacts of climate change on northern infrastructure," Schumann stated. "This project will give us the chance to collect data and monitor the use of new technologies in the upcoming years to better design and plan for the impact of a changing climate."

Garneau also stated that the Trudeau Liberals are committed to the development of Canada's northern transportation system.

"Climate change has an important impact on northern roads and airport runways built on permafrost and on the safety of Arctic marine vessels and operations," Garneau stated. The territorial government is still waiting for an answer from the Feds on its request for $700 million in funding to complete the Wrigley to Norman Wells section of the Mackenzie Valley Highway. The application was made about a year ago.