Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister for Infrastructure with regard to safety on Highway No. 4, also known as the Ingraham Trail. Mr. Speaker, in late winter and again in the spring the Minister told the House about ongoing work on the Ingraham Trail. There was some widening that was going to be going on, some chipsealing, potentially installing some new guard rails. I asked specifically about guard rails on the corner where the fatality took place this summer. As we wrap up the construction season here, can the Minister please provide me and residents of the Ingraham Trail with what improvements have been made on the trail this summer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to do extensive safety and structural improvements on Highway No. 4. As most Members of this House know, we have invested roughly $2 million per year on ongoing reconstruction of this section of road.
To update Members, this year we have completed road widening, structural strengthening, drainage improvements, resurfacing. Application of chipseal and guard rail installation were needed on kilometre 46 to 49. We have also, like I said, done impressive amounts of chipseal, of overlay, this year from kilometre 7 to 22, along with our ongoing patching of potholes and slumping that occurs. Through our ongoing safety enhancements, the Department of Infrastructure has replaced guard rails on Highway No. 4 at kilometre 33.8, kilometre 37.6, and kilometre 45.5. Planning, including survey design work, is currently under way for installation of guard rails at kilometre 17 and 13.5 for the 2018-2019 season.
Thank you to the Minister for the detailed reply. It's almost as though somebody gave him a head's up.
Didn't work for me.
It works for some. Mr. Speaker, in March, following a number of incidents involving haul trucks with regard to the resupply season to the mines, the Minister mentioned that his department had met or was going to meet with the joint venture operators of the ice road. I just want to know: did the meeting take place? What has come of that? What have we learned about those incidents that took place last year and will we be prepared for safety on the road during the ice road haul this year?
Again, we met with the joint venture group and their insurance providers to complete a discussion around the incidents that happened last year. There were a couple of trucks that went off the road. There were a number of fires that took place. The department does not have an accident investigator, as many of us know in this House, but we do have our guys that go out there and do the dangerous goods checks, secure of cargo on the loads, check the log books, those sorts of things.
I can update the House that we followed up with the joint venture operators who investigated the accidents last season, and we understand this year they will be further improving on a northern driving training improvement safety program. The orientation training is going to be northern-specific and we understand that it will include enhanced video situations.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. It's good to hear that there will be a number of recommendations coming forward, and hopefully that improves the safety of the ice road winter season dramatically. Much appreciated.
Also, Mr. Speaker, last March the Minister committed to gathering some key stakeholders together along with members of his department to develop a public safety communications plan. Can the Minister advise the Assembly on the progress of this plan and did that gathering of key stakeholders come together?
We are always committed to improving our communications, as I said in this House on a number of occasions, to update residents and tourists in particular on this section of road in the wintertime, which is, as I've mentioned in the House, how the numbers are increasing in the use of this road, winter operators and general public who also use this highway. We will continue to work on our communications plan.
We have our digital signage that's out at the entrance of Highway No. 4; that will be placed there again once the season gets going. We have Twitter. We use radio. We use our website to give the most up-to-the-minute reports on the condition of the road, and we will continue to do that to improve communications with the general public and users of the winter road.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for his reply. I hope that sometime we can get an actual tangible completed communications plan that we can get into our hands.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, in May I asked about the potential for highway patrol and the RCMP and even the municipal enforcement division from Yellowknife. I asked the Minister if there is a way to improve and enhance patrols and possibly including things like check stops and other ways to enhance public safety. This road is now being used 24 hours a day. It is arguably busier from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 in the morning than it is during the daytime hours.
Can the Minister report on any progress with regard to this area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Highway patrol meets and regularly trains with other enforcement agencies. The department participated in a blitz together on a regular basis with these other agencies. In particular, recently we just did a bison awareness check stop both with ENR and the RCMP to check both commercial and public traffic on the highway, and we will continue to look at opportunities to collaborate with all enforcement agencies in the future.
As I said, we will continue to do our inspections on the winter road this coming season around the heavy truck traffic in particular to make sure people are well aware of the conditions of the highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
