Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions with respect to Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 7. Typically in our government I think the priority is called the Deh Cho Trail. My long-term vision is to see the whole thing chipsealed. That way we can increase businesses and business opportunities with that. I’d like to know what the strategy is for the Department of Transportation, the long-range goal for this particular Deh Cho Trail.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We want that section of the highway to be a glorious piece of highway to drive. We have been working hard to accomplish that, given the age of the highway and the amount of work that’s going to be required to reconstruct that whole section of highway on both Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 7. I think we’ve been working quite well with the Member in his riding.
Highway No. 7 has seen the investment, or will see it by the end of this summer, of about $12 million that has been dedicated to that section of road. However, that’s far short of what it needs to be reconstructed. We’re probably a little over $100 million to do that whole section.
This road was not designed for high traffic volumes. It was not designed to handle the industry resource development that’s going to be coming forward in the next while. We have to always keep that in mind. As we construct portions of roads, we’re seeing failures in others, as water is a huge issue. Drainage is a problem. We have done a design and review of Highway No. 7. We’ve identified the weak spots on Highway No. 1 from Providence junction towards Simpson. There are six sections that need attention and we’ll continue to work towards that.
It was disappointing for myself, and I think everybody that travels that road, to hear that some of the chipseal that was done this past year and the year before failed. We have to address the causes. We don’t want to chipseal it until we are completely satisfied that the road base is solid and strengthened and we deal with the drainage issues.
There is a lot of work to be done. We continue to move forward. We think there is enough investment for this coming year and it’s going to require the next government to continue moving that forward.
Several times in this House the government has said that there’s a bleak economic future in terms of finance and fiscal restraint throughout the country. I still believe that we can develop a nice strategy for the Deh Cho Trail. I think we’re already using it for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, where we’re adding a few bridges every year. That’s the kind of investment that my constituents are looking for. They often tell me, as I travel to the communities, that they use the highways for living and for their life. I’d like to urge this government to continue developing a strategy specifically for the Deh Cho Trail. I’ll ask the Minister again: is there a specific strategy to develop the Deh Cho Trail up to the National Transportation Standards?
We are working on the very request that the Member has raised. We are conducting a full engineering assessment. We’re preparing a functional design on Highway No. 7. This will help us to develop the rehabilitation plan that’s needed. This will also determine the next steps for meeting the current and future traffic needs of that area.
I believe we’re all on the same page on this issue. There is still a lot of work, as I’ve stated before, that needs to be done before we have a final, complete design and plan with all the investment requirements in place.
That’s exactly what I was looking for. As long as the strategy is in place and we can find resources for it.
If I get down to a more local level, constituents have also been raising the issue of maintenance. I know that our government this year we’re practicing passive restraint. Is that something that’s affecting the department? Constituents are saying there’s lower maintenance this year, or else maintenance continues to be deferred and it’s really affecting the road to the travellers right up until today.
I’ll have to check, but I believe our maintenance cycles are the same. We’re being challenged by the age of the road. We’re being challenged by the effect that water and rain storms are having on our road. Also the huge challenge is the drainage, especially on Highway No. 7 is not done and is not up to par. We are having a lot of pooling of water in our ditches and it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. So that’s all being reviewed and those things need to be addressed.
But I will commit to the Member that I will discuss this with my officials to see if there have been any reductions. As far as I know, I don’t believe there are any reductions to the maintenance cycles.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased that the Minister will check into it. That’s just observation from the constituents.
As well, the concern is also coming out of Wrigley that they feel that perhaps there’s a reduced maintenance schedule. If the Minister will commit also to look at Highway No. 1 that goes up Fort Simpson to Wrigley.
We are also trying to deal with the issues that are occurring on the Wrigley highway. We are, of course, being challenged this year with additional traffic due to the oil spill that happened along the pipeline route. We are discussing with the pipeline company to work with us, to partner up with us to address some of the issues that the road is receiving in terms of traffic volumes and heavy trucks on it. They have agreed, and I think we have an agreement. If we have not signed one, we will be signing one where we will try to jointly address some of the issues that are challenging that stretch between Simpson and Wrigley and in light of the additional traffic because of the oil spill.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
