TUKTOYAKTUK
When Jim McDonald was 10 years old, his parents took him across the ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk for the first time.

A ceremony was held at Kitti Hall in Tuktoyaktuk April 13 to commemorate closing of the ice road. - photo courtesy of Weronika Murray/GNWT

It was the 1960s. In those days, the road wasn't as well-travelled or as well-kept as it is now, recalls McDonald.

Now the mayor of Inuvik, McDonald looks back with nostalgia on what he calls "the end of an era."

"I've been driving that road for probably 50 years," he said.

For the past four years, the Government of the Northwest Territories has been working to construct a highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk to replace the seasonal ice road.

The highway, which cost an estimated $299 million, is set to open Nov. 15.

To commemorate the closing of the last ice road, a ceremony was held at Kitti Hall in Tuktoyaktuk the evening of April 13. The celebration included a feast, Inuvialuit drum dancing, snow sculptures and polar dipping.

Vicky Gregoire-Tremblay, the economic development and tourism manager for the Town of Inuvik, said while the closure of the ice road will have impacts on the region's tourism, she expects the new highway will have a draw of its own.

"It's going to be a scenic route," she said.

"It is definitely the end of an era, but I think it's the beginning of something else. The all-weather road will be really interesting and I think it will bring a lot of opportunities or possibilities for economic development and for increased tourism visitation."

While tourists will no longer be able to drive on the Arctic ocean - a draw Gregoire-Tremblay describes as "iconic" - there will still be an ice road to Aklavik that they can drive.

As the new highway opens, McDonald hopes there will be opportunities to include some tourism draws. This winter, he said, Inuvik saw a "closing boom" from tourists wanting to take the last opportunity to travel the road.

"We've certainly seen a lot of people this season from all across the country, really, to drive the road, and to see the reindeer crossing this year," he said.

"Although they won't be able to do the ice road any more, there might be some opportunities for viewing (reindeer) on the all-weather road, because that's where their winter pasture is."

Looking back on a lifetime of driving the road, McDonald remembers a time when people had to be a lot more cautious driving the road than they are now.

Since his first years on the road, it has been widened and better maintained.

"It's quite a bit different now. I have some good memories, and some experiences as well," he said.

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