Cut to Highway 881 upgrade criticized by NDP

NDP transportation critic Deron Bilous doesn’t believe it makes sense for the government to cancel upgrades to Highway 881.

The $300 million designated to upgrade the secondary route to Fort McMurray and the Alberta oilsands was cut when the province revealed its budget on Thursday.

The route north to Fort McMurray and the Alberta oilsands is often used as a detour when Highway 63 is closed due to crashes or bad weather.

Bilous said it was ridiculous to have only one major artery transporting people and equipment to northern Alberta.

"I look at the number of accidents, the number of fatalities and they're going to continue to happen," he said.

"I mean when we only have two routes that are single lane highways for the most part, it's a recipe for future accidents."

The Highway 881 upgrades were part of a larger project to twin Highway 63, which is still going ahead.