New all-season road planned from Norman Wells to Canyon Creek

A new all-season road is being eyed for eventualconstruction in the N.W.T.'s Sahtu region alongpart of the alignment of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway.

The N.W.T.'s Department of Transportation recently received a land use permit to build a 14-kilometre road heading south from Norman Wells to the east side of Canyon Creek.

The project also calls for a spur road to a source of gravel to be used during construction of the highway, plus "development of a road to proposed camping and recreational areas at Canyon Creek," according to a description submitted to theSahtuLand and Water Board.

The Canyon Creek project isn't mentioned in either the department's transportation strategy for the next 25 years or the 2016-17 capital estimates.

But the department says the money for the project will likelycome from the federal government's Building Canada Fund, which has set aside a total of $192 million for N.W.T. infrastructure projects starting in 2016-2017.

In all, the project will create nearly 19 kilometres of new roads in a region with little in the way of all-season roads.

A joint venture between Norman Wells' HRN Contracting and the Tulita District Investment Corporation will build the road.

"DOT received an unsolicited proposal from the joint venture," said Ioana Spiridonica, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.

"We have a very solid working relationship with them, so we entered into a contribution agreement with them."

No timeline for construction has been set.

"That will be subject to obtaining funding for the project," said Spiridonica.