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

A new all-season road is being eyed for eventual construction in the N.W.T.'s Sahtu region along part 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 the Sahtu Land 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 likely come 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.