Mr. Speaker, it’s an honour to report on the third successful winter of construction on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway project. I will start by referring back to Thursday, April 7, 2016, an historic afternoon when rock trucks driven by Beaufort-Delta residents met at kilometre 45.3 and linked the north and south construction spreads. An exciting and proud achievement was reached in northern history that afternoon when crews placed approximately 48 cubic metres of gravel toward the final four kilometres of embankment on Canada’s first public highway to the Arctic coast. The contractor focused on hauling approximately 26,000 cubic metres of material per day to place approximately 97 per cent of the granular material required for the highway’s embankment. When construction wrapped up at the end of April 2016, approximately 116 kilometres of new embankment were fully constructed and the first lift was placed on the remaining 3.5 kilometres. Crews were also able to finish six of the eight required bridges and install pilings for the final two bridges. The Department of Transportation and the contractor are enthusiastic and prepared to make a final push to complete the project. I’m pleased to report that the project employed over 500 people at the peak of this winter’s construction season. Approximately 74 per cent of the workforce came from the Beaufort-Delta region and other NWT communities, once again fulfilling the goal of substantially contributing to northern employment opportunities and delivering jobs where they’re needed most.
At the same time, the project continues to contribute to developing a skilled northern workforce by delivering meaningful training opportunities and employability. These valuable opportunities enable apprentices in a wide variety of trades to earn work experience hours toward certification and improving their economic mobility. Mr. Speaker, the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway construction project is also contributing to circumpolar research aimed at improving construction techniques in permafrost conditions. In April, the Department of Transportation held a Permafrost Summit where world experts in cold region civil engineering and northern construction had the opportunity to observe the unique construction methods used to build the highway and visit two research and development test sites sponsored by Transport Canada. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again confirm that the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway construction project remains on schedule and within the approved budget of $299 million dollars. As we approach the end of the construction phase of the project, the Department of Transportation is beginning to plan an appropriate celebration to mark the opening of the highway in the fall of 2017 as anticipated. I look forward to celebrating this achievement in northern construction history with the opening of the northern-most segment of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, bringing us closer to achieving our goal of finally linking Canada from coast to coast to coast. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
