Construction on Mackenzie Valley Highway to start this summer, Carney says

Construction on the Mackenzie Valley Highway will begin this summer, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Yellowknife Thursday.

The highway is now one of three major projects in the Northwest Territories officially referred to Ottawa's Major Projects Office, along with a redefined Arctic economic and security corridor and the Taltson Hydro expansion, Carney said.

Carney recalled hearing about the highway project back when he lived in Fort Smith as a child, he told reporters.

"For decades, there have been a series of false starts and endless assessments," he said. "That record ends today."

Carney was in the Northwest Territories to announce $35 billion in investment  into northern defence and infrastructure.

He did not make any specific funding commitments for the three major projects or clarify how their costs will be shared.

Premier R.J. Simpson said, "The announcements today are truly nation-building, and they honour the efforts of northerners for decades now."

The territorial government has previously said the projects depend on Ottawa's financial backing, at least in part because the territory has a small taxpayer base, and project price tags are in the billions of dollars.

Carney said the first phase of construction will involve building an all-season highway from Wrigley to Norman Wells, while the second phase will eventually extend the road all the way to Inuvik.

He said construction this summer will start with the Oscar Creek Bridge relocation, the Christina Creek realignment and Highway 1 targeted resurfacing. 

The full highway's length is now estimated at 800 kilometres.

At recent meetings between communities and the territorial government, an extension to Inuvik was still characterized as a potential and increasingly necessary component of the project to secure federal funding. It was said at the time that it would add an additional $2 billion to the estimated $1.65-billion cost. 

During Thursday's announcement, Carney spoke of the second phase of the project as a definite component, saying the highway would reduce the time needed to drive between Yellowknife and Inuvik by nearly in half.

The project is still undergoing environmental assessment.