The NWT government says the first phase of construction on an all-season road south of Norman Wells is now complete.
The Department of Infrastructure said on Monday the first half of the Prohibition Creek access road, stretching 6.7 kilometres from Canyon Creek to Christina Creek, is open for public use.
The department said the new section of road, combined with previous work on the Canyon Creek access road, means 20.7 km of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road is now accessible year-round.
Caroline Wawzonek, the NWT’s infrastructure minister, said in a statement that the project supports the improvement of a key transportation corridor and will “help prepare businesses, workers and residents for greater involvement in future construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway.”
The department said during peak construction of the initial stretch of the Prohibition Creek access road in February 2023, the project employed 95 people including 71 NWT residents. Wawzonek added the project provided nearly 2,600 hours of training in the likes of truck driving, surveying, drilling and blasting.
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Construction on the first phase of the Prohibition Creek access road began in 2022. At the time, the territorial government said the price tag for the project had ballooned from $20 million for the total 13-km highway to $25.5 million for roughly half that distance.
Funding for construction of phase one was provided by the federal government.
An additional $2.5 million was provided between the federal and territorial governments to complete outstanding regulatory and design work for the second half of the road.
The department said the remaining 6.3 km of the highway will be constructed as part of the future Mackenzie Valley Highway project.
The Mackenzie Valley Highway, expected to cost well over $1 billion, remains a priority for the NWT government – especially given crises like this summer’s low water, which disrupted the resupply of communities that would benefit from the highway.
However, the project is essentially unfunded as it continues to progress through the regulatory process.
