'Not going to make those mistakes again': Dempster fibre link proponents hold community meetings

The companies working on a fibre optic telecommunications line between Yukon and N.W.T. say they've learned from mistakes made in building N.W.T.'s Mackenzie Valley fibre link.

Northwestel,LedcorTechnical Services and Tetra Tech EBA are in the preliminary stages of working on theDempsterHighway Fibre Link portion of the Canada North Fibre Loop, aimed at providing redundancy to Yukon and N.W.T. communities.

"The main benefit is what we would call the redundancy benefit," said PaulGillard, vice-president of business markets forNorthwestel.

"When you have a loop... when there's a fibre cut, the service that's increasingly core to all of us, our businesses and our personal lives, will stay up."

TheDempsterHighway Fibre Linkfrom Dawson City to Inuvik will connect to the N.W.T.'s Mackenzie Valley fibre link, which is nearing completion.

It's expected to be 775 km and cost between $50 million and $70 million.

Representatives of Northwestel and Ledcor held public information meetings Tuesday in Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson. About 20 people including community leaders attended the Fort McPherson meeting Tuesday night.

'We are not going to make those mistakes again'

Gillardresponded tothose with concerns aboutproblems that arose in buildingthe Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link, saying that the team has learned from their past mistakes.

• 2 more companies leave 'unprofessional' Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line project

"There were some issues with permafrost and slumping, and some issues on the business side with communication and communication to communities," he said.

"All of those lessons have definitely been learned. They have been documented, they are going to be part of the permits that we are submitting for the Canada North Fibre Loop. And they are absolutely going to be taken into account into the design decisions here. We are not going to make those mistakes again."

The plan is to use a shallow bury plow for theprimary method of construction.

"This is the methodology to replace what you would have seen on the previous project, where you are going through and opening up a wide trench. The plow is once again a narrow, shallow depth to stay out of the active layer and the permafrost," said Jordan Wood, Director of Business Operations for Ledcor Technical Services.

Wanda Pascal, chief of the Tetlit Gwich'in Council in Fort McPherson, raised a couple of concerns.

"I marked down all the flood areas where it's been washing out and I know there's washouts happening more and more due to the permafrost melting. There were places where the whole highway washed out.

"What's going to happen if it goes through these creeks and the creeks wash out?"

She said she hopes for more consultation, and wished there was more notice of the meeting that was held on Tuesday. She's concerned with the land, especially through James Creek.

"Hopefully it will benefit but my main concern is it going through the lands and if it will disturb the land one way or the other We get our berries, we get our water, we get our food from the land."

The project team's goal is to apply for permits in March, and start construction this winter.