Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway behind schedule as season nears end

Construction on the 137-kilometreInuvik to Tuktoyaktukhighway isn't moving as fast as planned, but theNorthwest Territories government is telling people not to worry.

This is the second construction season for the highway, which must be worked on in the winter monthsdue to permafrost. Last year, crews on both the Inuvikand Tuktoyaktuksides missed their 20-kilometre targets.Twelvekilometres of road were built on the Inuvik side, and 16 on the Tuktoyaktuk side.

Contractors pledged to catch up this year, and the Tuktoyaktuk side is moving quickly,with 30 kilometres of total road built. However, on the Inuvik side, things are slower, with 13 total kilometres built just one more than last year with approximately a month to go until the construction season ends in April.

"As far as the northern side, the Tuk side, it is actually progressing further in terms of distance," says MLA Robert Hawkins, who sits on a committee monitoring construction.

According to Hawkins, crews buildingthe Inuvik side of the highway have more challenges, including a lack of cold days, longer trips for gravel, and more difficult terrain.

"From Tuktoyaktuk, you're building as if you are on Saskatchewan," says Hawkins."The ground is flat smooth.

"Building fromInuvik on the south side is more like a billy goat. There are a lot of deep crevices climbing up and down."

Crews on the Tuktoyaktukside of the highway are facing terrain as high as sixmetres, while on the Inuvik side terrain heights can vary as much as 10 to 12 metres. It's estimated that, to this point, highway crews have moved 1.9 million cubic metres of dirt during construction.

Tom Beaulieu, the territory's minister of transportation, says that by some point at the end of the next construction season, "the two companies will meet in the middle" in time to put the finishing touches on the road during the 2017/2018 season.