November 2007 Government of the Territories of the Northwest Government of the Department Transportation Status, Challenges and Current Initiatives Status, Challenges and Current Initiatives

Inside the Hard Drive

Department ofTransportation, representative ofthedocum The meaninganddefinitionsbeh

Bibliography and Contact Information The Future Department-Wide Initiatives Private Infrastructure: Marine and Rail Ferries and Marine Airports Road Licensing &Safety Highways Current Challenges Introduction • • • progress, momentum programs, technology internal

operations

TABLE OFCONTENTS and ent’s purpose:toprovide and including theDepartment’s and

direction; ind thedocument’stitle, efforts drive tomeetitsmandate.

to surmount challenges data Insidethe HardDrive, and

information ; and

Page 16 18 12 10 19 17 15 aboutthe 6 4 2

is

Inside the Hard Drive Drive Hard the Inside

Introduction

allows forthe flowoflabour. communities within a region provides jobs, fosters social development andtrade, and increased access toessential goods and services and tonatural resources. Linking Transportation infrastructure allows an economy tobegin,grow and prosper through the mobilityofNortherners. an all-weather road. Airand marine transportation thus playavery importantrole in Only one-thirdarea oftheland area is apopulation of41,800 livingin34 communities. million square kilometres—over 10percent ofCanada’s landmass. Within thisvast The Northwest Territories is aland rich in people and resources covering almost 1.2 INTRODUCTION and political needs andaspirations of transportation systeminthe Northwest Terr Created in1989, theDepartment ofTrans To succeed in thedelivery ofservices a are thepreeminent challenges. of transportation infrastructure. Now, • • the important considerations in the season, sensitivity oftheenviron geographic distances between communities an effectivetransportation system.Over The NorthwestTerritories facesmany • • • ernment and the privatesector. These partners include: ment ofTransportation pr -2- Safe, secure, affordable,reliableand accessible personal mobility; marine navigation aids, and regulation of marine and airsafety; The federalgovernment providinginfras territory’s renewable and non-renewable naturalresources. Sustained economic growth andprosperity throughbetter access to the the moreefficientandlower cost movement of freight;and A higherstandard ofliving forthete people and cargo; Marine, air,rail,and highway service

of theNorthwestTerritories is within 100kilometres of omotes partnerships betw Northern residents ment and developing economy havebeen construction, operation and maintenance climate change and aging infrastructure portation aims toprovide anintegrated itories that meetsthe social, economic unique challenges tothe operation of nd infrastructure to thepastdecades theharsh climate, providers (carriers) transporting both rritory anditscommunities through andmarkets,limitedconstruction tructure funding, services such as by providing: een various levelsofgov- users, the Depart-users, the • • • • • • • • documents including: The Department, insupport ofitsmi business plans prepared annually forreview bytheLegislative Assembly. tegic documents such as the GNWT St The Department ofTransportation’s mi • -3- needs and aspirationsofthepeople theNWT. needs and and goodstoservethesocial,economic and political secure, accessibleandreliablemovement ofpeople missionis The Department’s Provincial and Territorial counterparts. Industry partnerships toexpand Communities providing contract servicesformaintenance activities; ing services; Canadian AirTransport Security Authority providing security and screen- NAV providingair nav infrastructure; Business and contractors providing construction and maintenance of Future Corridors forCanada: AnInvestment inCanada’s Economic Strategy fortheNorthwest Territories Investing in Roads partnership. partnership. Mackenzie Valley Highway theArcticCoast through to aGNWT/federal submitted tothe federal government in2006 toconstruct anall-weather Connecting Canada: Coast toCoast toCoast, industry; proposals Canada submitted Strategic tothe Infrastructure Fund and and Corridors for Canada II:BuildingonOur Success

for PeopleandtheEconomy, AHighway igation aids and services; operations and services; and ssion, has produced strategic planning ssion is guided byoverarchingstra- rategic Plan, A Northern Vision,and toprovideforthe safe, ;

a fundingproposal

, Introduction Introduction

Current Challenges

Regulatory Environment: Geometric andsurface deficiencies onthehighway network Cost Escalation: Human Resource Pressures: Abooming economy means greater demand and competit Responding tothe Pressures of Resource Development: Non- CURRENT CHALLENGES supports theminingindustry hasincreased eight-fold sinc rial highways and1.1%on our collectors. Dramatically, commerc issues associated withresource development: vehicle traffic.DOThas identified anumber ofmajor transportation and notuptotherequired standards tosupport thecommercial all modes will occur on atransportation systemthatis incomplete transportation system.Increased activities will continue tohaveasignificant impact ontheNWT Gas Project, anddiamond miningand othermineralexploration and development, theanticipated construction ofthe Mackenzie renewable resource development including oil and gas exploration NWT wereconstructed inthe1960s and 70s. The averageannual incr Existing highway infrastructure is under extreme pressure from re ment ofthetransportation industry, inparticular due to rity andenvironmental regulations. Modified ally dealwith these pressures whilemaintaining service and ited window ofoperationforwinterroads andreducing theseasonal restrictions onferry/icebri tinue toexperience more difficulties attracting and retaining st affects operation and maintenance activities, particularly for fe the booming construction sector inAlberta; attracting contract cium chloride, alongwithalabourshortage, impact bothmaintenance and capital projects. The Department willcontinue tofeel • • • Safety of the travelling public;Safety ofthe due toincreased traffic volume. Potential forincreased operation and maintenance costs upgrades; and Limited capacity, system reliability andtheneed for The Department continues toface anumberofchallenges thatincrease the costs ofprogram deliv The Department’s operations and construction activities aresu resource development trafficin

or new regulations are beingbrought forw the agingworkforce asthe babyboomers approach retirement. e theearly1980s,from 1,600to12,000 trucks per season. are exacerbated bytheincreased traffic. Otherissues include proactively planning to accommodate furthereconomic developments. ors tobidonnorthern projects will remain challenging. aff withtheskills required tokeep pace with therapid techn rries and highways. The rising cost ofother materials, such a -4- ial traffic ontheprivately-constructed Tibbett toContwoyto Wi cent industrial expansion, particularly asthemajority highwaysinthe of the ease in highway traffic from 1998to2006is3.0%,with4.2% ease inhighwaytraffic Tibbett toContwoytoWinterRoadTraffic ard on an ever-increasing basis. Examples bject toanarray offederal transportation safety, secu- ion for qualifiedpersonnel.ion TheDepartmentwill con- dge crossings. The Department mustcontinu- Source: NWT Highway Traffic 2006 ery. Therising costoffuel expanding thelim- ological develop- s steel and cal- nter Road that the effects of theeffects are the

onarte- requirement forsaltmanagement plans and related infr Mackenzie Gas Project: Mackenzie Gas Climate Change: Evidencefromaround theword, ensure compliance withenhanced national security r ing, infrastructurechange andoperationIn response activity. was especially trueduring the winterof2005/06. Climate change has also acceler- the operating window ofthe winter road syst the openingice bridgeslayed dates of on transportation systems.The trendtowa than expected. Climatechange willseriousl levels, indicate thatclimatechange is happening now and atamuchfaster rate record temperatures and precipitation levels, thawing permafrost and rising sea ing aTransportation Sub-Agreement under the Socio Economic to identifyways andmeans tomitigatethe negativeimpacts andc Department hasworked with theproponents and to infrastructure andservicesmodes.Impactsfe across all be will Opening Date 10-Dec 20-Dec 30-Dec 31-Oct 10-Nov 20-Nov 30-Nov 19-Jan 29-Jan 9-Jan Fort Providence Ice Crossing Opening

1 96 2 196 7 1972 Dates 1962to 2006

19 The potential constructionofthispipeline willhave a very large but relatively 7 7 19 8 2 Year 198 7 199 2 rmer thannormal temperatures has de-

199 theall-weather highways and reduced em, as shown inthe chartbelow. This 7 y effect northern regions, including

200 including extremeweather events, 2 equirements fordriver’s licences and airtravel. astructure for highway operations, increasing reporting requirement totheincidents of September sons. lize winter road sea- to extendand stabi- permanent bridges roads andbuilding winterrealigning conditions, surface by improving poor mitigate theeffects creased pressure to There will be in- nance activities. increased mainte- and salt,alongwith sumption of sand in increased con- precipitation results faces. Increased and runway sur- road deteriorates degradation, which permafrostated lt on airport operations, highway infrastructure, andmarine transportation. The Agreement tomitigatetransportation system impacts. -5- apitalize onopportunities to expand.The Department iscurren

determine thetransportation requirements associated with the 11,2001measures havebeenimplem short duration impactontransportation Permafrost Upheaval s, in-field monitor- tly negotiat-

pipeline ented to Current Challenges Challenges Current

Highways

the highways. surface conditions. Surface improvemen grades. The Ingraham Trail requires re their regions. TheDempster Highway needs widening and surface up- Mackenzie Highways require upgrading tosupport oiland gas activity in a dust-free surface. There ismuch work remaining. The Liardand 40 percentofthehighway Improvements tohighwaysurface conditi resource development. winter roadoperations tofacilitatein other 10 are served bywi Within theterritory16communities are served byallweather roads andan- way . ating season, 32of40bridges havebeenconstructed with5moreunder- ing theMackenzie ValleyWinter Road. Inaneffort toachievealonger oper- Major progress has been made toimprove mote Routes category. were added totheNational Highway Systemunder theNorthern and Re- paved in2006. Alsoin 2006,847kilometres ofNWThighways (1,4and8) winter road into theSlaveGeologic Province. opment and mine resupply including the 570-kilometre Tibbett toContwoyto tem arenumerous privately constructed winterroads foroilandgas devel- and wellover 3,000small culverts. In winter road. Itincludes over 75majorbridges, 300largediameter culverts kilometres of all-weather roadand 1,42 The Northwest Territories’ highway system consists of approximately 2,200- INFRASTRUCTURE: HIGHWAYS GNWT TRANSPORTATION nter roads. The Departme system ispaved, with ter-community travel,re-supply, and addition, feeding into thepublic sys- 5-kilometres of publicly constructed constructionsafety and to improve ts arealso requiredonthe restof ons arealso apriority.Atpresent which was reconstructed and and reconstructed was which Hay River and Yellowknife, tends fromthe Albertaborder to tional Highway Systemthatex- tem, mostnotablyontheNa- been made tothehighway sys- Significant improvements have the bridgeinfrastructure support- another42percent having nt strives to maximize -6- Canada Strategic Infrastructure Funding: The$2billion CSIF Program was Deh ChoBridge Maximizing our Productivity andResources: Meeting theChallenge:CurrentHighwaysInitiatives Federal Investment inHighways New InfrastructureNew Encouraging Partnerships: of existingresources and/or provi infrastructure funding. The Department willcontinue to Deh Cho Bridge Corporation andforwinter road improvem cludes initiatives suchas lobbying efforts with the NWT resources, the Department worksin partnership with the fallof2010. December 31,parties arehoping 2007.Both tobegin construction ofthebridgeinearly2008, withopening in sion Agreement was signed onSeptember 28, 2007. All provide revenues tothe DCBC from tion (DCBC). The DCBC willdesign, construct, finance and operate thebridge. Inreturnthe Department will near Fort Providence under apublic-private-partnership tors, internal pressures for budget redu and improve levelsofservice and safety, givenhigher priority fortheDepartment’s existinghighway resources. The Department iscontinually challenged tomaintain funding ends inFiscal Year 2008/09. GNWT). The $130million isbeing investedintoHighways existing programs.Thefederal government’s totalcommi Budget, as a response to theneed tofund large-scale in NWT infrastructure priorities and Corridors for Canada IIproposals. such as theBuildingCanada Fund, announced inBudget2007 will beableto addressin part anumber of system toimprove land access. further mineral exploration activities.The Department iscontinually looking toexpandthe existinghighway nities alsoexistforimproved roadaccess intothe development ofaMackenzie Valleyall-weather road as partment willcontinue topursue opportunities toexpand : TheGovernment isproceeding with theconstruction ofthebridgeacross theMackenzie River : Inresponse toresource development dema In anefforttomaximizethe useofexisting resources, andtohelp attractadditional : TheDepartment anticipates that newfederal infrastructure funding programs, de improved transportation services. -7- ferry/icebridge savings and a tolloncommercial vehicles. The Conces- ctions, and our aging infrastructure. Maintaining and upgrading the highwaynetworkisthehighest Slave GeologicSlave Provinceforexistingdiamond mines and for other governments, agencies and businesses. This in- developthese and other partnerships to maximizeuse Business Coalition, public-private partnerships with the operating costs forown-force operations and contrac- frastructure projects beyond the scope and capacity of outlined intheproposal Connecting Canada. Opportu- (P3) arrangement with the Deh Cho Bridge Corpora- the existinghighwaynetwork tment totheGNWTis$65million(matched bythe outstanding issues are expe ents, and partnering with the federal government on 1, 3,4,7and8 Mackenzie Valley bridges. This nds and tobetter connect communities, theDe- announced int . Opportunities exist for cted toberesolved by

he 2001 Federal Highways Highways

Highways

Tlicho Corridor Improvements: The commu- Extending Winter Road Operations: Winter portunities forpartnership. portunities continue to studyoptionsanddiscuss op- of Tlicho Government, GNWT,and industry Committee and Working Group consisting ronmental scoping studies. ASteering and is undertaking engineering and envi- study ondifferent options forrealignment partment completed aninitial preliminary be usedfor an all-weather road. The De- Wha Titoan overland alignment thatcould the winterroad between Behchoko and 2001 Wha Ti requested that DOT realign mac Mine, projected toend in2009. In as partofitsreclamation workattheColo- built byIndianandNorthern AffairsCanada Wekweeti has been extended from a road year. Additionally,thewinter road to access for only twowinter months of each nities ofWhaTiandGametihaveroad Department. mutually beneficial toindustry and the winter road systemare undertaken when with industry toexpand services on the winter road. Opportunitiespartnershipfor Department hasimproved grades on this Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, the Valley winterroad.Withfunding under the permanentbridges on theMackenzie Department soonwillhave constructed 37 ships withthe federal government the roads are unavailable. Through partner- ments andcommunities when all-weather resupply and access for resource develop- roads provide acost-effective means of

Million Vehicle Kilometres Days inOperation 1983-2005 Winter Road Mackenzie Valley

1998 10 20 30 40 50 60 0

Hwy 1 20 02 Estimated Vehicle Kilometres Travelled on Northwest Territories Highways Territories Travelled Northwest on Kilometres Vehicle Estimated Arterial Collector -8- 2001 Hwy 2

20 0 6 2

w w Hy4 w Hy6 w Hwy 8 Hwy 7 Hwy 6 Hwy 5 Hwy 4 Hwy 1 Hwy 3 0 00

20 0 5 1 9 99

20 0 3

1 Climate Warms 9 98 1994/95 2002

2001 2000/01 Start ofBridgeProgram

20 06

2000

20 0 5 1 9 99 Contracts Improved 2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 20 2004/05 0 3 1 9 98

20 0 2 istrative actions against impaired drivers, aswell establis weigh scales located atEnterprise onthe Mackenzie Highway, Meeting theChallenge:CurrentRL&SInitiatives the StrategytoReduce Impaired Driving. Over thepast fewyears,RL&Shas rolled out anumber ofroad safety initiatives, The Department operates a mobileweigh scaleand inspection The Road Licensing andSafetyProgram workstoprotect public sa ROAD LICENSING &SAFETY Enhanced Drivers LicenceSecurity Regional offices throughout theTerritorylicencevehicles anddr Act which delegates authority tomunicipalities and motorvehicles—including commercial motorcarriers—throughout t vehicles that use the Territorial transportation network. We eration ofmotor vehicles in the Northwest Territories. The Depa Hemisphere TravelInitiative. Hemisphere security frameworks and protocols, such astheWestern stay current withnational and issuing offices.Changeswill be staff areworkingtoexpand servicetocommunities without was introduced inJuly2006. Drivers Licence and General Department ofTransportation Identification Cardprogram international identification considered inthefutureto : AnewsecureNWT : Under STRID, amendments were made tothe enact bylawsrelated toall-terrain vehicles. hing thelegislative authoritytoimplementanignition interloc establish and enforce the Acts, Regulations and SafetyCodes that unit, andenforcement officers patrol throughout theterritory. near FortLiardon theLiardHi rtment isresponsible forthe ivers. Commercial vehicleenforcement isundertaken through th fety, highwayinfrastructure, and -9- Collisions InvolvingAlcohol Collisions per 100Population Collisions per 100Registered Vehicles Total ReportedCollisions Property Damage OnlyCollisions Number ofPersons Injured Fatal Collisions Personal Injury Collisions Collisions inCommunities Number ofPersonsKilled Colli NWT HighwaySystemCollisions Rural Collisions Licenced Drivers Registered Vehicles he Territory.TheDepartment alsoadministers theAll-Terrai n Vehicles sions per 100 Licenced Drivers including the Graduated Drivers Licence Progr

Motor Vehicles Act

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTSUMMARY testing, registration and inspect (2006 compared to2005)

ghway, andnearInuvikontheDemps

the environment bysupporting

toallow theRegistrar totake admin- 2005 34,669 29,166 1.83 2.27 2.69 786 656 188 128 596 183 51 2 2 7

k system inthe NWT.

2006 35,938 28,974

ion ofall drivers and 1.56 1.82 2.26 654 564 112 507 142 43 88 2 2 5

apply to drivers apply todrivers

am and STRID, ree permanent

thesafeop- ter Highway. % Change -14.6 -15.7 -19.7 -16.2 -16.8 -31.3 -14.0 -28.6 -40.4 -14.9 -22.4 -0.7 0.0 0.0 3.7

Road Licensing & Safety Safety & Licensing Road

Road Licensing & Safety

Commercial andEnforcement: VehiclePermitting Road Safety Initiative: Other safety initiatives undertaken initiatives safety Other Amendment of the considered tomaximizeresources and respond tochanging trucking patterns. adapting astreamlined phone and/or internetbased system.Aswell, more responsive winteroperations. highways such as guardrails, improved lighti Bison awareness campaign, introduction oftheStrategyto Reduce Impaired Driving safety issues. issues. safety is inplace forpublic safety andthattherearenogaps in t easily classified under thecurrent Act. lead tomajor changes toincorporate better safetyprovisions and safety program isathorough reviewoft our own enforcement agencies toensurealldrivers andvehicles are It isbeing created toeducate andinform thepublic, engineer our highways tothe highest safety standards; and assist lawenforcement and proposal identifiesMVA thatneedtobeaddres 23keyissues inthe MotorVehicles Act (MVA) The Road Safety Initiativeisbeingdeveloped insupport ofCanada’s nationalroad safetyplan,

# Collisions to bythe Department date include variable-messaging signs warni 1000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 T 0 he review will involvemeetingwiththevarious st 9919 9119 9319 9519 9719 9920 0120 0320 052006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 he existingActsandRegulations toensurethat : ng, corner markers, and rest RL&S hassubmitted aLegislative ProposalDepartment tothe oftheExecutivefor review. The The Department isinvestigating changes toitsissuing processes, withaview towards

he legislation asaresult ofthelack communitybylaws. Trends in Licensed Drivers, Registered Vehicles and Collisions Vehicles Registered Drivers, Licensed in Trends Total Collisions -10- to accountfora varietyofnewproducts available onthe mar sed. RL&Salsointends toreviewtheAllTerrainVehicles Ac enforcement activitiesarebeing reworked andvirtual weigh as safe aspossible. Animportant component indeveloping a areas, anew web site forroad reports (www.dot.gov.nt Registered Vehicles Registered (STRID) initiatives, additional safety featuresonthe there isasolidframework inplaceto akeholders toensurethattheregulatory framework ng drivers of conditi Licensed Drivers Licensed Figure 1.1 1.1 Figure

Road Safety Vision 2010. Vision Road Safety ons and events, a ket thatarenot address road t, which may t, which scales are .ca/) and 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 road

# Vehicles & Drivers

The Department provides airport fa AIRPORTS private contractor at17territorial airports. airport radio stations or CARS stations aremanaged through a (CATSA) manages security airport. attheYellowknife Community Territories. TheCanadian Air Transport Security Authority tion systems and flightweather ity andaircarrier operations. N Transport Canada is responsible fortheregulation ofairport facil- munities. The remaining 24 airports arecommunity-based. services are provided from theseairports tothesurrounding com- and are classified as regional hubs since air Yellowknife, which isclassified asagateway hub.Theairports in The mainaccess point tootherprovinces/territories isthrough Air carrier services follow a typical“hub andspoke” operation. and Canadian are based throughout theterritory. Sunwest. operators such as GreatSlave Helicopters and BuffaloAir;andby ers including AirTindi,Northwestern AirLease,North WrightAir, North, andAir Canada); byseveral smaller regional carri- Air servicesareprovidedmajorcarriers (Canadian bythree structed. cases, new or expanded airterminal buildings have been con- maintaining and rehabilitating existing infrastructure. Insome developed. Department resources are focused on operating, The airinfrastructure in theNorthwest Territories iswell- Northwest Territories. upgrading of 27 community based airports located throughout the responsible forthemaintenance, operation, rehabilitation and of safe,cost-effective and reliable airservices. TheDepartment is AV CANADAprovides airnaviga- charter operatorssuch as Arctic cilities andservic information intheNorthwest

es insupport

-11- Airports Airports

Airports

Aviation CareerDevelopment Program: Exploring Opportunities Airport: fortheYellowknife Obtaining Federal Funding forAirport Improvements Enhanced Security Measures: Maximizing our Productivity andResources: Meeting theChallenge:CurrentAirportsInitiatives Runway and Lengths IssuesProject: year. Thefund issponsored bytheDepartment, C a career inaviation, theprogram awards a $5,000 and anupdate ofthe1998 Runway Issues Study Lengths andIssues Project report, acomprehensive ex are more flexibilityinmanaging,marketing andaccessing revenue forfuturedevelopment. thority fortheoperation,management and maintenanc management oftheYellowknifeAirport, withconsid consultation withstakeholders, theDepartment has important intermediate and emergency stop,or as a de the . TheYellowk Cargo and Tourism Opportunities Study toidentifynew commercial development opportunities for ment ofIndustry, Tourism andInvestment arecurr age existing resources. initiatives such asrunway stabilization and mobile erating costs forbothown-forceoperations and c must bediligent toensurethis continues, that especially givenbudgetrestraints andincreasing op- light ofouraginginfrastructure. While therehas beensuccess related tosafety,theDepartment safe andefficientairport facilities and operations wi runway andtaxiways. Since1999, $16.7 millionhas Most recently thesefundshavebeenusedtorepairtheHayRiverrunway andNorman Wells apron, eral Airport CapitalAssistance Program (ACAP)to screening by security. room has been expanded andwashrooms added toencourage earlierpassenger arrivals and ing facilities, funded by theCanadian Air Transpor ment has modified theYellowknifeAirTerminal Bu been implemented toensure compliance withenhanc -12- In response totheincidents of nife Airportisstrategicallylocatedandcould bemarketed asan The Departmentwill soon releas Established in 2001 toassistNWT students who are pursuing Established The Department iscontinually challenged to provide identifying infrastructurepriorities. ontractors. TheDepartment equipment rationalization tocost-effectively man- ilding toaccommodate enhanced security screen- anadian North, Adlair Aviationand Discovery Air. eration beinggiven toestablishing anairport au- been invested in NWTairports through ACAP. t Security Authority(CATSA).Thesecurity hold ently undertaking an International AirTravel/Air th thelimitedresources available, particularly in bursary to up to12successful applicants each also studied alternatives totheownershipand fund major capital infrastructure rehabilitation. ed national security requirements. The Depart- The DepartmentofTransportation andDepart- : The Department continues to rely on thefed- e oftheairport.Thebenefitsthis approach of amination of ourcurrent airport infrastructure stination initselfforinternational traffic. In September 11,2001measures have e its Airport Runways Optimalits AirportRunways e willcontinuetopursue

Regulatory Changes: The Department willcontinueto Commercial Development: The GNWT’s threebusiest airports (Yellowknife, Norman airport landavailable forcommercialdevelopment over thenextfiveyears. Department isdeveloping an investment propo Wells andInuvik) areunable tomeetdemandsforcommercial development lots.The mitigated as appropriate. agencies and carriers toensure theimpact ofregulations are known and 2004 2005 2006 0004,0 0008,0 0,0 2,0 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 -13- * Includes available statistics for NWT’s six largest airports Total Flights* Total Flights* sal tomakeapproximately 120acres of work withthefederalregulatory 93,003 99,058

122,048 Airports Airports

Ferries and Marine

Federal Remote Resupply Program: MV LouisCardinalFuel Efficiency Initiative: Training Program: Infrastructure Strategy: Meeting theChallenge:Current territorial all-weather highways trav The Department ofTransportation provides safe and reliabl MARINE FERRIES AND As eachferryoperationissubject to tion andupgrading ofvessels and support facilities. The ferryoperations atN’Dulee,PeelRiver termination ofbothservice contracts. through service contracts. In2005,unionization fe ofthe There has recently been a shiftinferry operations.to Prior 2005 all ferries were operated by private contractors and Operations. regulation and policyactivities.Therearethreeareas Connected with theFerries Program,theDepartment maintains a close watchoverfederal marine legislation, investment. maximize the window ofoperation foreach ferry,consider Understandinghas(MOU) been signedt with Resupply Program, with whichtheDepartment mainta that willreducefuelconsumption by15-25%aspa to viewferryoperations asanappealing career tends tobehard toattract. TheDepartment isther many marine personnel prefer more stable, fulltime This work is often seasonal innature and withthe shor engineers, deckhands, mates and captains) as itisaspecializeddemandhigh acrossCanada. occupationin The Department has experienced difficulties in The Department isinitiating afleetandinfrastructure renewal strategy. erse waterways. TheDepartment is At the sametime, Atemployees atbothcrossings became GNWT employees. theannual freeze-up and break-up of The Coast Guard provides upto$500,000 peryear through itsRemote Ferries andMarine Initiatives and Tsiigehtchic will continue tobe contracted. The ferry’sengines willbeupgraded this fall to improve efficiency he federalgovernment forthisfunding.

efore launchinga trainingprog rt oftheGNWT’s energy of programsupport: Management, Maintenance and Refits rry workers atFortProvidenceand LiardRiver ledtothe work. Itisalso anaging, southern-based workforce that ing available budget, public safetyandprotection ofthe t ferry season, particularly particularly season, t ferry e seasonal ferryservicesat fiverivercrossings where ins andupgradesMemorandum resupply sites. A of -14- recruiting various marine personnel (marine responsible forthe maintenance, opera- the river,Department seeks to conservation efforts. ram toentice NWT residents at theLiardRiver crossing,

Abraham Francis Johnny Berens Louis Cardinal Merv Hardie Lafferty

Bathurst InletPortandRoad: Over-the-Top MarineRoute: Theoil sands ries. maximum benefits tothe Northwest Territo- tinue tomonitorthisdevelopment toensure and road modes. The Department will con- isting resupply patternsinboththemarine This project, if itproceeds, could alter ex- Province toservemineral development. all-weather roadintothe SlaveGeologic deep-water port onBathurst Inletand an study isunderway onthe construction of a cussions with industry. ment isinvolved inongoing feasibility dis- nomic benefits forNWT,andtheDepart- Alberta rivers. Thereare potential eco- River, Great Slave Lake, Slave River,and via theNorthwest Passage,Mackenzie other commodities tothe Alberta oil sands ering theshipment ofheavy equipmentand and marine shipping industries are consid- ANunavut -15-

Proposed Over-the-TopMarineRoute Ferries and Marine Marine and Ferries

Private Infrastructure

CN is investing intotheline; Canadian National (CN)in January, 2006. petroleum products) coming intotheterritory traversethisline,whichwasreacquired by 121 kilometers oftrack in theNWT.Overhalfof all bulkcommodities (principally Hay River, is an important link tothe NWTtr the NorthwestTerritories, The onlyraillinein RAIL MARINE AND PRIVATELY OWNEDINFRASTRUCTURE: ytm o te otws Triois Te eatet il rmt multi-modal promote will Department The Territories. activities. Northwest the partnerships andfacilitieslevels ofserviceand reduce toimprove costs forresupply for system The integrated railandmarine resupply syst policies and regulatory development. and emergency response, communications, vessel include theplacement ofnavigation aids, dredging, iceescort, searchand rescue, spill Federal marine activitiesinsupport ofresupply from investing innewequipment. significant barriers keeping new carriers fr Marine and rail resupply ischaracterized byrela weather/winter road access. Bothbulkfuel anddeck cargo services areprovided. Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok). Eleven co that depend exclusively onmarineresupply of nities andresourcedevelopment. There arefour Rail and marine resupply are integral totheresupply of bulkcommodities forboth commu- E. Gruben’s Transport and, mostrecently, Horizons North. (NTCL), and severalsmaller operators including Coopers Barging, Bob’sWelding, dian Coast Guard). Barge operatorsincludeNorthern Transportation Company Limited publicly owned bythefederal government (D iseither privatelyowned activities bybargeoperators forresupply orMarine infrastructure and staging area), butisnot considering line expansion atthecurrent time. acres of land southofHay Riverforexpansion ofitsoperational base(trans-load yard current improvementeffortswillonlyaddress line’s weightlimitof220,000lbsisunder it isexpectedthat$59million the national standard of 256,000lbs,butCN’s om entering themarket andexisting carriers mmunities are served by bothmarine andall- ansportation system, despite there being only ems are animportant multi-modal resupply epartment ofFisheries and Oceans, Cana- critical areas. CN critical areas. from Smith,AlbertauptoEnterpriseand communities inthe Northwest Territories bulk commodities (Lutsel’ke, Paulatuk, activities in the Northwest Territories Northwest inthe activities tively limitedcompetition. Thereare and crewcertification, marine of upgrading is required.The recently purchased156 -16- Source: PROLOG 2002 NWT Freight Flow Analysis year: year: transported intotheNWTeach inbound surfacefreightis On average,454,000tonnesof • • • • (16,500 tonnes). Yukon and pointssouth the Dempster Highway from 4 percentarrivesby truck up nes), and ish Columbia(40,600 ton- Brit- the LiardHighwayfrom 9 percentarrivesby truck up nes) from Alberta (156,000 ton- up theMackenzie Highway arrives by34 percent truck (241,000 tonnes) 53 percentarrivesby ra il Community Marine Program: Energy Conservation To Program: reduce its energy consumption the Department has undertaken a num- CommunityAccess Roads Program: Intelligent Transporta DEPARTMENT-WIDE INITIATIVES: Apprentice Program: Climate Change: The Department is managing the Climate Change Action Project, a tem tobetter track vehicle fuel consumption andimplement preventive maintenance actions. The Department is seeking toidentif campaign on energy efficient drivingfor both GNWT employees and thepublic, andthe partment vehicles, undertaking energy auditsatfacilities, t ber ofinitiatives.These theuse includeapilotproject todemonstrate ofenergyefficientv energy conservation andalternate energy opportunities atselect way system. Aweighin motion scaleis alsobeing installed onHighway 3. ways 1,2, and 3.Two additional permanent variab le message signs will bedeployed soon on thehigh- to YellowknifeAirportflight arrivalsand departur es, and deployed fourvariable message signs on High- Information Display System (FIDS/BIDS)attheYe The purpose of the program istoprovide facilitiesin su struct, rehabilitate, orreplace localcommunity marine facilit Territories for the construction andmaintenance of breakwaters, do prentices for a total of10,funded through periodic program va Adaptation Conference tobeheldinBritish Columbia inearly2008. GHG Strategy, theNWT Climate Change Adaptation Planand other effo The Department isalso participating in a number of interdepar implications for futureDepartment operations and recommend adapt contracted toproduce areporttodocument climate change impacts experienced todate,model future physical impacts, forecast tion infrastructureintheNWT withNatural Resources Canada, fit. However,funding islimitedand must beapportioned inaccordance withprogram priorities. approach. These programs arewellreceived in comm are driven by requests from interested communities whodetermine thescope of work and construction archaeological sites,local resources and accesstofishing, hunting andtourism opportunities. Programs seasonal access, connecting communities tonearby public locations such as recreational sites, camps, community access roads. Community accessroads incl tax based communities within the Northwest Territories forthe construction and maintenance of local tion Systems (ITS): The Department hasreceived $320,000 in funding for7newa The Department ofTransportation provides funding andtechnical assistance to communities within the Northwest The Department provides funding and technical assistance tonon- The Department has installed a Flight installed Information and has Baggage Department The llowknife Airport, developed a newwebsite withalink unities because ofthe approachanddirect bene- pport ofsafe localharvesting, recreation, andtourism. ude public roadsortrails offeringall-weather or ies, eitherthrough contributio he implementation of energysavinginitiatives, undertaking a publ cancies and theexistingbudget. Thepositions arebeing filled. tmental andintergovernmental activitieson climate change includ TransportCanada andEnvironment Ca -17- remote facilitiesandhas retained theexpertise oftheArctic cks and wharves insupport oflocalboating. This fundingisused tocon- ive measures and determine best practices.Thefinal report is rts such as a proposed Counci pprenticeship positions in2007/08. DOTwillmaintain 3ap- joint studyofthe effects of n fundingorthrough direct manag implementation of anequipment management ehicles,heaters inlarge De- installation ofauxiliary nada. DillionConsulting Limit l oftheFederation Climate Cha

climate change ontransporta- New DOTWebsite ement ofprojects. EnergyAlliance.

ic awareness ing the NWT y additional pending. the cost ed was

sys- nge Department-Wide Initiatives Initiatives Department-Wide

The Future

Transportation, throughthe activitiesand init them isthe provision of a safeand reliable transportation system. TheDepartment of of resources. Tofullyrealizeaprosperous seemingly limitless opportunities related expansion of thediamond-mining sector, se oil andgas exploration and development, theproposed Mackenzie Valleygas pipeline, The economic futureofthe Northwest Territories has never looked better, with ongoing THE FUTURE utmost tocontribute toabright fu ture for the Northwest Territories. to hydrodevelopment, tourism anddevelopment future there aremanychallenges, and among iatives described in this report, willdoits ttlement ofland claims, and many other -18- Infrastructure Fund. Airports……………………………………..873-7725 (YK Centre 4) Highways…………………………………..920-8771 (Highways Building) Road Licensing andSafety………………873-7406 (Highways Building) Airports……………………………………..873-7725 (YKCentre4) Public Affairs and Communications……. 873-7712 (Lahm Ridge Towe Nort Planning, Policy andEnvironment:…….. 873-7666 (Lahm Ridge Towe Corporate Services………………………. 920-3459 (Lahm Ridge Tower) Directorate………………………………… 920-3460 (Lahm Ridge Tower) Headquarters– Yellowknife Department ofTrans For further information please contact: CONTACT INFORMATION prepared byDOT. Connecting Canada Coast to Coast toCoast: A Proposalto Complete the Mackenzie Valley Highway tothe Arctic Coast, Corridors for Canada: An Investment inCanada’s EconomicFuture Investing in Roads forPeople andthe Economy,November 2000, prepared by DOT. A Northern Vision:AStronger North and a Better Canada, For more detailed information, please consultthefollowing documents: BIBLIOGRAPHY 2007/2008 Business Plan 2007/2008 Business Corridors for Canada II:BuildingonOurSuccess

portation Website:

Regional Offices http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/ , September 2005, prepared byDOTand submitt the VisionStatement oft -19-

) Inuvik……………………..1-867-777- …………….1-867-695-3427 (Nahendeh Building) r) r) , May2002,prepared byDOT and submitted unde South Slave– HayRiver..1-867-874-5000 (CapitalSuites) h Slave– Yellowknife………920-3099 (Highways Building) he 15thLegislative Assembly.

ed under theStrategicInfrastructure Fund. 7343 (MackTravelBuilding) r the Strategic r theStrategic November 2005

,

Bibliography & Contacts Contacts & Bibliography