2016 Fort McMurray Fire revealed the need for more routes outside the isolated communities in northern Alberta And now the province puts money to get there.
Currently, highways 63 and 881 are the only roads leading south of Fort McMurray But the province has explored other options for several years.
The addition of another McMurray path is something that has also been considered the NPD government of Rachel Notley.
In the 2025 budget, the Alberta government led $ 311 million over three years to increase the capacity of Fort McMurray’s emergency route to the Peace Region, which will also benefit several First Nations in the middle of the North of Alberta.
The budget includes funds to carry out detailed design work to extend highway 686 between Peerless Lake and Fort McMurray, Danielle Smith’s Prime Minister Danielle Smith said the province had studied.
The province said that it would add a new East-West outing route and provide a new capacity for the circulation of energy products, heavy equipment and delivery of goods and services.
The region’s deputy said that the construction of a new highway west of Fort McMurray changes the game for the whole region.
“This project will improve the safety of our residents by improving access to emergencies and unlocking new economic opportunities,” said Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo deputy Tany Yao.
Currently, Highway 686 is a dirt road which branches out from Highway 88 to Red Earth Creek and links the Lac without Painting Lake and Lake Trout.
Get news from weekly money
Get expert information, questions and answers in markets, housing, inflation and personal finances provided to you every Saturday.
Forest fires in recent years threatened the unique route in and outside the communities About 500 km north of Edmonton, in an area remote east of Peace River and north of Slave Lake.
The alignment of the new highway 686 will extend the road by around 218 km east through a thick muskeg and a boreal forest in Fort McMurray, but a construction date is still probably years later.
A The overall cost to do it has not yet been determined.
An analysis in the months that followed the 2016 forest fire which forced more than 88,000 people to flee Fort McMurray revealed that a new East-West highway cost at least 1.5 billion dollars.
“The Highway 686 project is evolving in the right direction because it is shaped by First Nations, not only around us, but with us,” said Bigstone Cree Nation Andy Alook chief.
“The province has shown a desire to work with our nations in a way that favors our involvement and our ability to benefit directly from future work.
“This approach must continue, because when our employees are full of participants in infrastructure projects like this, we do not only see the roads under construction. We see opportunities created for future generations. »»
In the meantime, the 2025 budget offers three-year financing for engineering work for the rank, the base and the paving of approximately 61.7 km from the North-South segment of the 686 motorway near the Red Earth stream and the lake without peers in the trout without peer First Nation, with additional funding over three years to pave more than 27 km between Lake Pair and Lake Peer.
“For years, our nation has fought for better access on the road, knowing how critical it is for our security, our mobility and our economic future,” said Peerless Trout First Nation, Gilbert Okemow.
“The improved financing of the province for the corridor of the highway 686 – in particular for having paved the route from Red Earth Creek to Trout Lake – is a direct and positive response to our plea and the needs of our country.”
Money is also set up for several other current road projects or in the planning phase in northeast Alberta, the province announced on Tuesday.
Who understands $ 101 million for Twinning Highway 63, north of Fort McMurrayBetween Mildred Lake and the Peter Lougheed bridge.
The province also puts 141 million dollars over three years in terms of safety at highway 881From the south of Fort McMurray to Lac La Biche. This winding highway with a single track is the only other North-South route to Fort McMurray and has many petroleum and gas camps, as well as rural communities, outside.
Motorway improvements 881 include 40 km of 14 new crossings, an oversized load stadification area, a rest area and several intersection upgrades. Construction should take three to four years and be completed in the fall of 2028.
The province said that $ 7 million over three years would also be planning An extension of the Loche 956 motorway in the northwest of Saskatchewan in Fort McMurrayOffering an additional route to and from the Buffalo wooden region.
Planning will start in 2025 and is expected to be completed during the year 2026-2027, the province said, adding that the design should take about three years.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
(Tagstotranslate) Budget of Alberta (T) Fort McMurray (T) Fort McMurray Wildfire (T) Highway 686 (T) Fire (T) Money (T) Politics (T) Traffic
