Roadwork planned across N.W.T. as feds announce $67M in funding

Work is planned for five roadsin the N.W.T. after the federal government announced $67 million in funding.

The costliest one on the listis $18 million worth of workfor a 20-kilometre stretch of the Dempster Highway.

The work will include reconstruction on the embankment, drainage improvement and gravel surfacing. It's in the procurement stage and a document on the timeline says it isn't expected to completed until 2027.

The announcement was made at a news conference byMichael McLeod, N.W.T. MP,andCaroline Wawzonek, N.W.T. Minister of Finance.

Roads across the N.W.T. have needed regular repairs, partiallydue to permafrost thaw causing slumping.

Wawzonek acknowledged how much of an impact this is having and the cost to keep up repairs.

"So, you know, will we be able to keep up? We have to keep up. That is really the fundamental role of government is to.We know we're in an infrastructure deficit and we really can't afford to fall further behind," she said.

Wawzonek said that in order to keep up with the work, more needs to be done to understand the impacts climate change is having on the roads.

"Between here and Behchok, there's a lot of studies being done about the impacts of permafrost, climate change, because as we understand those needs and changes better, better able to plan, better able to budget," she said.

A news release included a list of all five projects.

Other roads that will be worked on include the Ingraham Trail outside of Yellowknife, as well as reconstruction and chipseal work on a section of Highway 1, about 50 kilometres west of the junction with Highway 3.

The release says reconstruction, drainage improvement and chipseal work is also planned for "sections" of Highway 7, the road that connects the N.W.T. to B.C. This project is in the design phase and still needs to go to procurement before the construction can actually begin.

One project that has already started is theWhat Access Road, which will include the construction of a single span bridge.

Construction has already begun on the$15 million project and it's expected to be completed by October.

One road that was notably missing from the list was the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, a road that was completedin 2017 and has been experiencing repeated road closures.

Erwin Elias,Tuktoyaktuk's mayor,has previously told CBC News the road issues come from it not receiving much needed repairs.

At the news conference on Monday, Wawzonek said that the federal government has already committed money to the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway.

A$14 million investment was announced in 2023, andWawzonek says she is hopeful that work will get started on it this year.