List of Northwest Territories highways

The following is a list of territorial highways in the Northwest Territories of Canada. They are divided amongst Arterial Class Highways, of which there are six; Collector Class Highways, of which there are 23; and closed highways, of which there are two. Only some places in the Northwest Territories can be reached by means of highways.

Arterial Class Highways

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Number Length (km)[1] Length (mi) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Local names Formed Removed Notes
Highway 1 690.0 428.7 Highway 35 at Alberta border north of Indian Cabins Wrigley Mackenzie Highway 01949-01-011949 current Longest highway in the territory
Highway 2 48.6 30.2 Highway 1 in Enterprise Northwest corner of Vale Island in Hay River Hay River Highway 01949-01-011949 current Shortest highway in the territory
Highway 3 338.8 210.5 Highway 1 near Fort Providence Highway 4 in Yellowknife Yellowknife Highway 01960-01-011960 current Also known as the Great Slave Highway
Highway 5 267.0 165.9 Highway 2 near Hay River Highway 48 at Alberta border in Fort Smith Fort Smith Highway 01966-01-011966 current Passes through Wood Buffalo National Park
Highway 7 254.1 157.9 Highway 77 at British Columbia border south of Fort Liard Highway 1 near Fort Simpson Liard Highway 01984-01-011984 current Packed dirt and gravel road
Highway 8 272.5 169.3 Hwy 5 at Yukon border Highway 10 in Inuvik Dempster Highway 01979-01-011979 current Canada's only all-weather road to cross the Arctic Circle; studies are being done to include a possible link to the Mackenzie Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Collector Class Highways

Collector Class Highways
Number Length (km)[2] Length (mi) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Local names Formed Removed Notes
Highway Aklavik Ice Road 116 72 Aklavik Highway 8 in Inuvik Aklavik Ice Road — — Seasonal
Highway Colville Lake Winter Road 165 103 Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road Colville Lake Colville Lake Winter Road 02008-01-01c. 2008 current Seasonal
Highway Délîne Winter Road 105.3 65.4 Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road Délîne Délîne Winter Road — — Seasonal
Highway Dettah Ice Road 6.3 3.9 Dettah School Draw Avenue in Yellowknife Dettah Ice Road — — Seasonal
Highway Dettah Road 11.3 7.0 Dettah Highway 4 Dettah Road — —


Highway Fort Liard Access Road 5.3 3.3 Fort Liard Highway 7 Fort Liard Access Road — —


Highway Fort McPherson Access Road 1.1 0.68 Highway 8 Fort McPherson Fort McPherson Access Road — —


Highway Fort Providence Access Road 5.4 3.4 Highway 3 Fort Providence Fort Providence Access Road — —


Highway 6 90.0 55.9 Highway 5 near Hay River Fort Resolution Fort Resolution Highway — — Also provides access to the former community of Pine Point.
Highway Fort Simpson Access Road 3.4 2.1 Highway 1 Fort Simpson Fort Simpson Access Road — —


Highway Gamètì Winter Road 128.0 79.5 Whatì Winter Road Gamètì Gamètì Winter Road — — Seasonal; previously Rae Lakes Ice Road
Highway 4 69.2 43.0 Highway 3 in Yellowknife Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Ingraham Trail 01965-01-01c. 1965 current Provides access to Dettah (27 km (17 mi)) when the ice road (6.5 km (4.0 mi)) is closed.
Highway Inuvik Access Road 0.6 0.37 Highway 8 Inuvik Inuvik Access Road — —


Highway 10 133.6 83.0 Highway 8 near Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway 02017-01-012017 current Replaced the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Ice Road; construction began 2013, completed 2017 and opened in November.
Highway Nahanni Butte Winter Road 22.3 13.9 Nahanni Butte Highway 7 Nahanni Butte Winter Road — — Seasonal
Highway Sambaa K’e Winter Road 126.0 78.3 Sambaa K’e Highway 1 Sambaa K’e Winter Road — — Seasonal
Highway Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road 568 353 Tibbitt Lake Contwoyto Lake, Nunavut Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road 01982-01-011982 current Private road first built in 1982 to service mines and exploration activities
Highway 9 97.0 60.3 Highway 3 near Behchokǫ̀ Whatì Winter Road near Whatì Tłı̨chǫ Highway 02021-01-012021 current Opened in November 2021.
Highway Rae Access Road 10.5 6.5 Highway 3 Rae borough in Behchokö Rae Access Road — —


Highway Wekweètì Winter Road 235.0 146.0 Whatì Winter Road Wekweètì Wekweètì Winter Road 02019-01-01c. 2019 current Seasonal
Highway Whatì Winter Road 100 62 Highway 3 Whatì Whatì Winter Road — — Seasonal; previously Lac La Martre Winter Road
Highway Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road 486.4 302.2 Highway 1 Fort Good Hope Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road — — Connects to Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, with 106 km branch route to Deline and 165 km branch route to Colville Lake. Thirty-four permanent bridges completed along route which can be used as part of an all-weather route.
Highway Yellowknife Access Road 3.6 2.2 49th Avenue, Yellowknife Giant Mine Boat Launch Access Road Yellowknife Access Road — — Turns into 48th Street at 49th Avenue.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Closed Highways

Highway Name Length (km)[3] From[4] To Notes
Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road (closed) 187 km (116 mi) Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Former ice road; closed permanently in April 2017 with the completion of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway
Canol Road (closed) 357 km (222 mi) Norman Wells Macmillan Pass, Yukon/Northwest Territories border Second World War road completed early 1943, abandoned mid-1945, now the Canol Heritage Trail, connecting to the active Yukon Highway 6, the Canol Road

Access by community

The communities reached by the all-weather highway network are:

Communities that can only be reached by ice-road are:

Communities with no access by surface vehicle:

See also

References

  1. ^ Northwest Territories Department of Transportation, Highway Traffic, 2006 Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Northwest Territories Department of Transportation, Highway Traffic, 2006 Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Northwest Territories Department of Transportation, Highway Traffic, 2006 Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Highway Designation and Classification Regulations, N.W.T. Reg. 047-92
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