The highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk reopened on Saturday morning, the Department of Infrastructure said, more than two weeks after record snowfall led to its closure.
The department announced the road’s reopening on Facebook, calling it “the news we’ve all been waiting for.”
Contractors had spent days clearing a path through multiple feet of snow blanketing the highway, then widening it to make the road passable.
The road, which closed on February 2, is open but “down to single-lane traffic in some areas,” the department stated.
“We understand the importance of roads that connect our small and remote communities, and we want to thank our contractors that worked around the clock to open the highway for safe travel,” Saturday’s statement added.
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Tuktoyaktuk’s mayor, Erwin Elias, had been critical of the GNWT earlier in the month, saying the response to so much snow arrived too late and left the community at risk of running out of vital supplies.
In recent days, the GNWT said goods vehicles had been escorted through the snow to Tuk.
