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List of Northwest Territories highways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of territorial highways in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
| Name | Number | From | To[1] | Length (km)[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mackenzie Highway | 1 | Towards Grimshaw, Alberta | Wrigley | 690.0 |
| Hay River Highway | 2 | Enterprise (Hwy 1) | Hay River | 48.6 |
| Yellowknife Highway | 3 | Near Fort Providence (Hwy 1) | Yellowknife (Hwy 4) | 338.8 |
| Ingraham Trail | 4 | Yellowknife (Hwy 3) | Tibbit Lake | 69.2 |
| Fort Smith Highway | 5 | Near Hay River (Hwy 2) | Fort Smith | 267.0 |
| Fort Resolution Highway | 6 | Near Hay River (Hwy 5) | Fort Resolution | 90.0 |
| Liard Highway | 7 | Towards Fort Nelson, British Columbia | Near Fort Simpson (Hwy 1) | 254.1 |
| Dempster Highway | 8 | Towards Dawson City, Yukon | Inuvik | 272.5 |
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Highway 1, known more commonly as the Mackenzie Highway, is the longest in the Northwest Territories. Beginning at the NWT/Alberta border, the highway continues northeast to Enterprise, then continues west to a junction 63 km east of Fort Simpson before continuing west then north to Wrigley.
The highway adjoins Highway 7, Highway 3, and Highway 2. There are side roads to Kakisa and Jean Marie River, and "suburban" Fort Simpson occupies most of the highway between the junction and the crossing of the Liard River 14.7 km east.
The entire length of the highway is 690 km, of which the first 180 km are paved as well as 60 km from the junction of the Liard Highway to Fort Simpson. The remainder of the route is gravel.
The roadway from the Alberta border to Hay River was completed in the early 1960s. The roadway west from Enterprise was completed circa 1967 as part of the highway to Yellowknife. The roadway west from the Highway 3 junction to Fort Simpson was completed in 1971. The roadway to Wrigley was opened to traffic in 1994.
Highway 2, known more commonly as the Hay River Highway, is NWT's shortest and connects Hay River to the junction of Highway 1 at Enterprise. Its total length is 38 km, all of which is paved. 6.1 km south of downtown Hay River, there is a junction with Highway 5.
The highway was originally a portion of the Mackenzie Highway; this status ended with extension of the highway northwest from Enterprise, first as a route around Great Slave Lake to Yellowknife, and then west to Fort Simpson.
The highway is one of the most "ruralized" highways in the N.W.T., with two subdivisions and one or two other clusters of homes.
Highway 3, known more commonly as the Yellowknife Highway, but also the Great Slave Highway, connects Yellowknife to Highway 1, just south of the Mackenzie River ferry crossing. Built in 1967, the highway is now completely paved and realigned after years of work concluded in 2006.
The highway also connects with Behchoko, formerly Rae-Edzo and Fort Providence.
Plans were approved early in 2005 for the construction of a bridge across the Mackenzie River to replace the present ferry service (May-October) and ice bridge (October to March). Transportation is interrupted in the spring when the ice bridge deteriorates but there is too much ice in the river for the ferry to operate safely.
Highway 4, known more commonly as the Ingraham Trail, extends from Yellowknife to Tibbitt Lake, approximately 70 km east of Yellowknife.
The highway serves primarily recreational activities and area residences in this lake-dotted country. For about a month in late winter, an ice road to Lac de Gras is opened to trucking of mining supplies, the junction being along the Ingraham Trail. The road has taken a beating from the heavy trucks. This is shown on the American reality television series, Ice Road Truckers, which airs on The History Channel.
Highway 5, known more commonly as the Fort Smith Highway, travels through Wood Buffalo National Park and connects Fort Smith to Hay River. Area roads past Fort Smith connect into Alberta with Smith Landing, Fort Fitzgerald and Peace Point, and form a circle route through Wood Buffalo National Park. Residents of Fort Chipewayan have petitioned the Alberta government for a 50 km road to connect with the area roads out of Fort Smith.
Highway 6, known more commonly as the Fort Resolution Highway, follows the shore of Great Slave Lake from the Buffalo River Junction (Highway 5) to Fort Resolution.
Just 21.3 km east of Buffalo River Junction is the site of Pine Point, a town that served the lead-zinc mine in the vicinity. The town was one of the largest in the N.W.T., such that residents had very little reason to drive to Hay River, so complete were the services and products available. The mine closed in 1987, and in 1988 the town was closed, dismantled and abandoned. Only a network of urban streets remains.
Highway 7, known more commonly as the Liard Highway, extends from just south of Fort Liard to Checkpoint, Northwest Territories, where it joins the Mackenzie Highway, Highway 1.
The highway was opened in 1984, and connects with British Columbia Highway 77. The British Columbia portion is now paved. The south end of Highway 77 is approximately 27 km west of Fort Nelson.
Highway 8, known more commonly as the Dempster Highway, extends from Dawson City to Inuvik, connecting Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, formerly known as Arctic Red River. In Yukon, the Dempster Highway is Highway 5.
This highway passes through two mountain ranges and has some of the most beautiful wilderness scenery in the world. The Dempster Highway crosses the Arctic Circle and the continental divide on its way to the Beaufort Sea. Adjacent to Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, the highway must cross the Peel River, Arctic Red River and Mackenzie River by means of ferries in summer (June to October) and ice bridges in the winter (November to April or early May).
The highway was open to through-traffic from the south when the last Yukon sections were completed in 1978, and the highway was dedicated on August 18, 1979 at the start of Yukon Highway 5. One of the invited guests, former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, died two days before the ceremony, and a seat was left vacant on the podium; Diefenbaker started the highway as part of his government's Roads to Resources Program.
Original plans to extend the highway to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean have not been carried through; however, in winter, it is possible to drive from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk and to Aklavik on winter roads across frozen tundra, lakes and rivers.
An enormous loop would be created if 1972 plans for the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 1) were carried out to extend the highway from Wrigley along the river through Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope to join just north of Tsiigehtchic. There are no known plans to proceed with building of this highway, and such plans are not even referred to in association with the building of a Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline. However, former Premier Joe Handley requested support for the highway in an August 2005 meeting among the provincial premiers, and on 30 November, the NWT government requested that the federal government provide three-quarters of the $700 million cost.
While not a numbered highway, this winter road is a 568 km link that stretches north from Yellowknife to Contwoyto Lake in Nunavut. As of 2007 this road is the only way to drive into Nunavut from the south. The road is the world's longest heavy haul ice road and services numerous mines along the way. It is only open from February to March each year. Northwestel is constructing a microwave line along the route to serve the diamond mines.
While not used for vehicular traffic since 1946, the Canol Road is now designated the Canol Heritage Trail. Adventurers have biked, hiked and motorbiked the route since 1980. Officially, the road has been closed to traffic, but from about 1972 to the late 1980s, it was possible to drive an automobile a limited portion of the route just across from the Yukon. The only establishment on the road today is Oldsquaw Lodge, a wilderness viewing centre, which provides an overland vehicle to shuttle guests from the nearest Yukon location.
The routing of the roadway is extreme. There are numerous switchbacks and steep grades, as well as wide, hazardous river crossings and river valley routings which have resulted in severe washouts just a few years after the road was completed. Satellite photos show that several sections have been obliterated and do not even show as a fine line that surviving sections reveal. In addition, any surviving bridges are unsafe, and travellers must provide their own crossings where fording is not possible. If there was a case for establishing a highway between Ross River, and the Sahtu Region, it would be more likely that the route would be bypassed entirely with a new roadway.
- NWT Highways Reports
- Road Signs of Northwest Territories by Mark O'Neil
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