The new Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) extends the Dempster Highway that ends in Inuvik, NT, now allowing visitors to drive to the Arctic Ocean year round. For the first time a traveller can drive coast to coast to coast in Canada.
This Arctic highway project has been a priority since the 1960’s, but finally became a reality in 2017, the year Canada celebrated its 150th Birthday.
Long accessible for most travellers only by airplane in summer, the ocean-front hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk lies at the end of the 140 km all-weather highway, and is best known for its many unusual pingos, or Arctic earthcovered hills with icy cores.
The road stretches its way through 71 km of lands owned by the Inuvialuit. It is a stark but breathtaking landscape, seen by few.
In order to prevent the permafrost from melting, the roadbed is a minimum 1.8m above the ground, with road crews assigned to help stabilize it over time.
To help protect the environment, there are eight bridges along the route, and a total of 68 areas where the highway has been engineered to pass over waterways.
This mammoth project created more than 1,860 person years of employment and 49 long-term jobs, and is projected to significantly increase tourism and commerce in the area.
For more information on the road and highway conditions, visit: www.inf.gov.nt.ca/services/highways-and-ferries