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List of Northwest Territories highways

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[edit]

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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 Hwy 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 Hwy 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 Hwy 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]