The territorial government is holding four community engagement sessions in Beaufort Delta communities this week to discuss the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
The GNWT said the engagement sessions are meant to gather feedback and local knowledge from residents on the proposed corridor from Norman Wells to Inuvik.
Sessions will be held in Inuvik at the Ingamo Friendship Centre on July 7, in Tsiigehtchic at the Chief Paul Niditchie School gym on July 8 and in Fort McPherson at the community hall on July 9. A session was held in Aklavik on July 6.
Each session begins at 5pm and the GNWT said dinner will be provided.
In community consultation sessions held in late 2024, residents expressed concerns about the increase in drugs and crime an all-season road could bring to communities, but said the road was needed to decrease the cost of living.
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The route for the road, which is meant to create all-season access from Wrigley to Inuvik, has not been finalized.
Last month, the Sahtu Secretariat, Gwich’in Tribal Council and Pehdzéh Kı̨ First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
The NWT government says it expects a construction decision in 2028, but that depends on regulatory approval and funding.
