The Mackenzie Valley Highway: Should it be Completed? If so, How Should it be Funded?
The GDP of the Northwest Territories (NWT) has grown by more than 50 % since 2000. Contributing most to this growth are resource-based industries, such as diamond mining and oil and natural gas extraction. High resource prices are making it profitable for large companies to start up or expand their...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.138.3390 http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/ipe/pdfs/transportpaper-windhorst.pdf |
| Summary: | The GDP of the Northwest Territories (NWT) has grown by more than 50 % since 2000. Contributing most to this growth are resource-based industries, such as diamond mining and oil and natural gas extraction. High resource prices are making it profitable for large companies to start up or expand their production in the NWT. Improvement of the territory’s transportation infrastructure is vital to supporting this anticipated growth. Improvements would also benefit many small, often desolate communities, by providing them with ready access to basic needs and helping to raise their living standards. Presently winter roads are the only surface transportation available to these communities, and the season for winter roads is shrinking as average temperatures rise in the North. The Government of the NWT has a short-term plan to improve strategic permanent and winter roads. Of greater interest is the Territories ’ longer-term proposal to complete an all-weather highway through the Mackenzie Valley that will connect with the Arctic Coast. An attempt to construct an all-weather highway of this sort began in the 1970s, but construction stopped after a small portion of the planned road was completed. Amongst the various reasons |
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