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Driving in NWT (Liard Highway)

Started by Alps, March 18, 2013, 07:04:37 PM

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oscar

#25
Quote from: kphoger on March 23, 2013, 11:11:48 AM
That's what I was thinking.  Even as someone who's never been to the great white north, I still have it in my mind that truckers do basically own the Dalton.  How many passenger cars drive it other than people who just want to clinch the road?

A fair amount, including people who:

-- want to say they've crossed the Arctic Circle (there are van tours with that specific objective)

-- want to experience 24-hour daylight in the summer

-- want to take a dip in the Arctic Ocean (I did that twice, it's not as cold as you might think)

-- have favorite bow hunting spots up there (hunting with guns is generally prohibited, to avoid accidental damage to the pipeline)

-- are among the few crazy enough to venture into one of the most remote and dangerous national parks in the U.S., Gates of the Arctic (not me!)

-- are natives who live near the road

-- are serious or professional photographers, trying to capture the breathtaking scenery along some stretches

I think most of those categories outnumber by far the roadgeeks out to clinch AK 11.

Something like that applies to the NT highway network, too.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html


oscar

Quote from: Steve on March 23, 2013, 05:35:30 PM
Well, I've booked. I upgraded my car size, and I'll talk to the guys at the rental counter before plunking down my money, but I'm fairly confident that I won't have a tremendous issue on this road, after reading other people's accounts. The truth will come out when I hit Alberta!

When will that be?  Part of why I ask is that some NT highways, particularly NT 7, have soft sub-surface conditions part of the year, when they are more vulnerable to damage by heavy trucks.  The NT government website will have current info on how that issue affects particular highways or parts thereof.

Flipping through the 2013 Milepost I just received, it reports frost heave damage on parts of NT 7 (based on prior-year road reports), where you might want to dial back your speed estimates, depending on how beefy a suspension you're getting on your rental. 
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

aridawn

Quote from: oscar on March 24, 2013, 01:53:59 AM
Quote from: Steve on March 23, 2013, 05:35:30 PM
Well, I've booked. I upgraded my car size, and I'll talk to the guys at the rental counter before plunking down my money, but I'm fairly confident that I won't have a tremendous issue on this road, after reading other people's accounts. The truth will come out when I hit Alberta!

When will that be?  Part of why I ask is that some NT highways, particularly NT 7, have soft sub-surface conditions part of the year, when they are more vulnerable to damage by heavy trucks.  The NT government website will have current info on how that issue affects particular highways or parts thereof.

Flipping through the 2013 Milepost I just received, it reports frost heave damage on parts of NT 7 (based on prior-year road reports), where you might want to dial back your speed estimates, depending on how beefy a suspension you're getting on your rental. 

This may sound a bit too geeky, but just to be on the safe side, I would recommend taking along a hand held CB.  There has been a lot of industrial development up there IE oil/gas and mining, but there still isn't much Mobile coverage up there. Unless in a major centre, a CB will give up to date road conditions and if a problem happens, give up a back up communication device for help and or assistance. And to know where the trucks are.

oscar

Quote from: aridawn on April 19, 2013, 10:25:36 AM
This may sound a bit too geeky, but just to be on the safe side, I would recommend taking along a hand held CB.  There has been a lot of industrial development up there IE oil/gas and mining, but there still isn't much Mobile coverage up there. Unless in a major centre, a CB will give up to date road conditions and if a problem happens, give up a back up communication device for help and or assistance. And to know where the trucks are.

Good advice, though I don't know how chatty are the truckers in northwestern Canada, or what CB channel they use (or the RCMP monitors).

I tucked away a handheld CB radio/weather receiver in my truck when I traveled in NWT, but never used it.  I also brought a rental satellite phone (only had to use it once, to call for help when an RV slid down an embankment north of Chicken AK), but that really is overkill for Steve's itinerary.   
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Kniwt

Quote from: oscar on March 20, 2013, 07:50:56 PM
-- a new all-season road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk is far along the planning process, and may be under construction (the NT highways official site has the plans, but AFAIK not construction updates), and apparently will be counted as part of NT 8.

Work officially begins tomorrow (Jan. 8) on this new road with an appearance by the Prime Minister, although earlier work was in progress:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephen-harper-to-kick-off-highway-construction-in-inuvik-1.2487543

QuotePrime Minister Stephen Harper will be in Inuvik, N.W.T., on Wednesday to formally mark the start of construction on a 140-kilometre highway between the town and Tuktoyaktuk.

The long-promised highway is expected to take four years to build, with construction happening only during the winter months when the ground is firm. Initial construction started early last year.

texaskdog

Quote from: Steve on March 23, 2013, 05:35:30 PM
Well, I've booked. I upgraded my car size, and I'll talk to the guys at the rental counter before plunking down my money, but I'm fairly confident that I won't have a tremendous issue on this road, after reading other people's accounts. The truth will come out when I hit Alberta!

With any rental company, get it in writing

oscar

#31
Kniwt, thanks for the post on the NT 8 extension to Tuktoyaktuk -- I was wondering where that project stood (the NWT transportation website wasn't providing progress reports).

A gripe in the linked article, about the NT 1 extension north of Wrigley getting lower priority than the NT 8 extension, as well as the NWT Premier's remarks at the groundbreaking in Inuvik, indirectly confirm that not much is happening on the NT 1 extension.  At least there is a winter road between Wrigley and Norman Wells, which follows an overland route and is a bit more reliable than the existing ice road on the Mackenzie River between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk (to be replaced by the new overland road to Tuktoyaktuk).
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Henry

After reading the article, I think it's great that there will be a highway connection to the more remote parts of the territory, and best of all, it'll be open year round!
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Kniwt

More about the road to Tuk -- including a detailed map and big infographic -- in a new, lengthy report from The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-north/building-a-road-to-arctic-prosperity/article16396177/?page=all

Photo of the road under construction:

oscar

In other news, a 7-km realigned segment of the Ingraham Trail (NT 4) opened to traffic on Friday.  The new segment is at the highway's western end near Yellowknife, starting at NT 3 between the old NT 4 intersection and Old Airport Rd., and tying into the old Ingraham Trail west of the Yellowknife River.

The GNWT Department of Transportation website has information on the new segment, including an announcement of the segment opening on the website's home page, a project report, and a map of the new alignment.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Kniwt

Construction has resumed for the winter on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Press release from GNWT:
http://news.exec.gov.nt.ca/inuvik-to-tuktoyaktuk-highway-enters-its-second-construction-season/

QuoteINUVIK (November 5, 2014) -- The second construction season of the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk Highway is now underway. By the end of this winter, significant progress is expected on approximately 95 km of the highly anticipated 137-km all-season highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Up to 600 people will be employed over the winter construction season with 70 per cent of workers expected to be northern residents.

This project is generating numerous socio-economic opportunities for the region. The new highway is the most northern section of the envisioned Mackenzie Valley Highway, which will connect Canada's road network from coast to coast to coast. It will decrease the cost of living in Tuktoyaktuk by enabling goods to be shipped by road year-round, increase opportunities for business development, reduce the cost of job-creating onshore oil and gas exploration, and strengthen Canada's sovereignty in the North.

Alps

Quote from: Kniwt on November 20, 2014, 12:56:20 AM
Construction has resumed for the winter on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Press release from GNWT:
http://news.exec.gov.nt.ca/inuvik-to-tuktoyaktuk-highway-enters-its-second-construction-season/

QuoteINUVIK (November 5, 2014) -- The second construction season of the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk Highway is now underway. By the end of this winter, significant progress is expected on approximately 95 km of the highly anticipated 137-km all-season highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Up to 600 people will be employed over the winter construction season with 70 per cent of workers expected to be northern residents.

This project is generating numerous socio-economic opportunities for the region. The new highway is the most northern section of the envisioned Mackenzie Valley Highway, which will connect Canada's road network from coast to coast to coast. It will decrease the cost of living in Tuktoyaktuk by enabling goods to be shipped by road year-round, increase opportunities for business development, reduce the cost of job-creating onshore oil and gas exploration, and strengthen Canada's sovereignty in the North.
Why are they constructing it during the winter?

oscar

So the ground will be solid enough to support heavy construction equipment.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Alps

Quote from: oscar on November 20, 2014, 11:55:51 PM
So the ground will be solid enough to support heavy construction equipment.
I looked at the terrain in satellite view. No further questions.

Kniwt

Quote from: Kniwt on November 20, 2014, 12:56:20 AM
Construction has resumed for the winter on the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway.

The CBC is reporting that this construction season did not go particularly well, with only 1km of the road on the Inuvik side built this winter. GNWT says not to worry, though.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuvik-to-tuktoyaktuk-highway-behind-schedule-as-season-nears-end-1.2999893
QuoteCrews building the Inuvik side of the highway have more challenges, including a lack of cold days, longer trips for gravel, and more difficult terrain.

... Tom Beaulieu, the territory's minister of transportation, says that by some point at the end of the next construction season, "the two companies will meet in the middle" – in time to put the finishing touches on the road during the 2017/2018 season.



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