Debates of October 18, 2005 (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke today on the condition of the Dempster Highway, and I have a few questions for the Minister of Transportation. With all this traffic that’s going to be going on the highway when the pipeline goes through, is there a master plan to upgrade the highway, widen it, just so it’s a lot safer for the trucks and the people who are travelling on it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 150-15(4): Upgrade Of Highway No. 8

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we recognize the need for more work to be done on Highway No. 8. Highway No. 8 is roughly 262 kilometres long, and the majority of it is requiring reconstruction to handle the traffic volumes, but also because of the age of the highway. We’ve had a very tough summer. We’ve had a lot of moisture and a lot of rain. It’s created havoc on a lot of our roads, not only on Highway No. 8. Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 7 are also experiencing the same conditions. We have done the preliminary engineering on the Highway No. 8 system. We have looked at the cost. We estimate it to be around $60 million. We’ve committed, through our capital planning, to spend an average of $5 million a year. We’ve also included it in our needs.

Having said that, Mr. Speaker, we haven’t been able to find all the money as yet. We have been able to earmark roughly $30 million through our strategic infrastructure funding. We are still short a significant amount, roughly half of what it’s going to take to complete the project. We are looking at packaging it up as part of our submissions to the federal government to meet some of our short-term needs on the highway infrastructure system. We are also including it as part of the longer-term vision from our department that will go forward to the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 150-15(4): Upgrade Of Highway No. 8

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for the update. Earlier this summer, I invited the Minister to go on a tour of the highway with me so he could see the condition of the highway first hand. We will get that tour done, hopefully, next summer. Will the Minister and his department look at chipsealing part of the highway as part of the master plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 150-15(4): Upgrade Of Highway No. 8

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now our focus is to do a lot of the work that is required along the highway: the drainage, the road widening, the realignment. Those things are all required on this road. We also have to replace most of the culverts that are along the Highway No. 8 system. This year, I think we replaced 60 culverts and reconstructed roughly 93 kilometres of that whole road system. We have not included a chipsealing program for that highway as yet. Maybe that’s something we will look at as part of the legacy program, or some of the socioeconomic impacts of the Mackenzie gas project. It is not in our budget currently, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 150-15(4): Upgrade Of Highway No. 8

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. If the chipsealing is going to be a problem, we will settle for dust control. This was a terrible summer on the highway. All the way, there was absolutely no dust control, maybe 12 kilometres. So will the Minister commit to having his department do dust control on the whole 262 kilometres next summer? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 150-15(4): Upgrade Of Highway No. 8

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we did increase our budget. I will certainly commit to keeping it at the level where we have invested. We have a budget authority of roughly $70,000 a year. We’ve now raised that up to roughly $250,000, and we will continue to stay at that level. As we apply dust control over the next couple of years, I think we will see improvements in those areas. Thank you.