How a Fort McMurray-to-Grande Prairie highway could be a game-changer for northern Alberta
Fort McMurray supports the highway for economic and community safety reasons
The Alberta government is planning the construction of a new major road in the province's north: the extension of Highway 686.
The project would link Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.
Currently, the shortest route between the two communities is through Athabasca. It is 750 kilometres long and would take most drivers seven to eight hours to complete. The new route would cut the distance by about 100 kilometres.
Improving Highway 686 was a part of Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen's mandate letter in 2023 — and it's no small project.
"Outside of the Calgary and Edmonton ring roads, Alberta has not built a new greenfield highway of a similar length as the Highway 686 extension for many decades," Dreeshen said in a statement to CBC.
Now, the province is embarking on a significant highway project that will cross hundreds of kilometres through remote areas and connect two major regions of the province's energy industry.
Economic benefits
Fort McMurray has been advocating for the highway for years — primarily due to the economic and safety benefits.
"Leaders and community members have long championed a secondary highway connecting Fort McMurray, " said Wood Buffalo Mayor Sandy Bowman in a statement to CBC. "It would have tremendous benefits and enhance community resilience, public safety and economic growth."
Watch | The progress made on Highway 686:
Bryce Kumka, former president of the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce, believes the road would "fundamentally change" the community.
He says the road would put the city as a midpoint between heavy oil production sites in Lloydminster and Grande Prairie and the Peace Country to the west, with its strong agriculture and natural gas industries.
"That interconnect is key to this region's potential diversification," Kumka said.
Emergency route
The idea of a highway linking Fort McMurray and the Peace Country has been discussed for years, but the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray renewed interest the idea. The road would offer another option for residents to evacuate the community in an emergency.
"I was here in 2016. I witnessed and I witnessed the fire, 'the Beast.' I was evacuated with my family," Wood Buffalo Coun. Funky Banjoko told the CBC in an interview.
"We need the secondary routes for safety of all residents, including ourselves."
Emergency services officials in Fort McMurray say the new road would improve community safety.
In a statement to CBC, Jody Butz, Wood Buffalo's regional fire chief, said that currently, "Highway 63 serves as the sole egress route for evacuations, which can result in significant delays due to the sudden surge in traffic during emergencies."
"From a public safety perspective, having another evacuation route would be a significant benefit for the safety and well-being of the region," Butz said.
Road less crucial for Grande Prairie
For Grande Prairie, the Highway 686 extension is less of a priority. It's focusing on advocating for a different road to be built.
"It's not something that as the City of Grande Prairie that we're leading the conversation," said Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton.
She said that for the city and the County of Grande Prairie, and Municipal District of Greenview, the Highway 40X connector is the priority.
"However, when asked, we will be happy to sit at the table and have conversations about Highway 686," Clayton said.
Dreeshen says the Highway 686 extension will connect northwest and northeast Alberta and will provide economic opportunities for several communities and Indigenous groups.
First Nations partnership 'in the driver's seat'
The Alberta government is working on the plans for the road in partnership with Peerless Trout First Nation, Loon River First Nation and Bigstone Cree Nation.
According to the partnership, the project is split up into two phases, with Phase 1 being the paving of an existing 68-kilometre stretch of Highway 686 between Red Earth Creek and Peerless Lake. The hope is to have about half of the stretch paved by the end of this summer.
For Phase 2, the partnership is also preparing a final report to the province with a proposed route. They hope to deliver it during the summer.
It is made up of a rights-based review, which looks at treaty rights, an environmental review, a historical review detailing any sacred sites, animal crossings or hunting grounds, and a technical review which will look at supplies needed for the construction.
"We want to do this with the province moving forward. We want to work with them," Chief Gilbert Okemow of Peerless Trout First Nation told CBC.
"We're on the driver seat and this is very unique," Okemow said.
He said other nations are also being consulted.
"With the nations that are going to be impacted, we are certainly letting them know. We've been sending out letters."
When the project was announced in April 2023, the province committed $2 million to First Nations for co-ordination, and up to $5 million for pre-engineering work.
The partnership says consultation and planning efforts do not replace the province's duty to consult with First Nations. They hope the report they will deliver helps that process along and will guide the province during the negotiations.
Timelines
The partnership hopes to begin the work on paving the first stretch of the expansion in summer 2026.
In his statement, Dreeshen said that most of this year will be taken up by preliminary engineering activities, including geotechnical work.
The entire project is expected to take five years to complete.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
