Dempster Highway will reopen on Saturday ‘subject to conditions’

The NWT government says Highway 8, the Dempster Highway, will reopen on Saturday, June 6, as long as conditions allow it.

Anyone using the highway to cross the Yukon border into the NWT will still need to be a resident with an approved isolation plan or an essential worker with an approved exemption.

Maintenance, supply, and emergency vehicles will also be allowed to cross into the territory.

The territorial government said the highway’s reopening was “subject to river and weather conditions.”

Tsiigehtchic’s MV Louis Cardinal ferry was scheduled to resume service this week, while Fort McPherson’s CF Abraham Francis ferry was scheduled to enter service on Saturday.

The highway had been closed since May 5, an annual event as the seasons change. However, this year, the NWT government said the closure was also “to support the overall response to Covid-19.”