List of Northwest Territories highways

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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]

Highway Name Length (km)[1] From To[2] Notes
Mackenzie Highway 690.0 km (428.7 mi) Hwy 35 at Alberta border north of Indian Cabins Wrigley Construction began 1938, paused during Second World War, resumed and completed to Hay River in 1949; extended to Highway 3 junction in 1960 and to Fort Simpson in 1971; latest extension to Wrigley completed 1994; Longest highway in the territory
Hay River Highway 48.6 km (30.2 mi) Highway 1 in Enterprise Northwest corner of Vale Island in Hay River Also connects with Highway 5; Shortest highway in the territory
Yellowknife Highway 338.8 km (210.5 mi) Highway 1 near Fort Providence Highway 4 in Yellowknife Also known as the Great Slave Highway, completed in 1960
Fort Smith Highway 267.0 km (165.9 mi) Highway 2 near Hay River Hwy 48 at Alberta border in Fort Smith Completed in 1966, passes through Wood Buffalo National Park
Liard Highway 254.1 km (157.9 mi) Hwy 77 at British Columbia border south of Fort Liard Highway 1 near Fort Simpson Packed dirt and gravel road
Dempster Highway 272.5 km (169.3 mi) Hwy 5 at Yukon border Highway 10 in Inuvik Canada's only all-weather road to cross the Arctic Circle, completed as a through road from the Yukon in 1979; studies are being done to include a possible link to the Mackenzie Highway

Collector Class Highways[edit]

Highway Name Length (km)[3] From[4] To Notes
Aklavik Ice Road 116 km (72 mi) Highway 8 in Inuvik Aklavik Seasonal.
Colville Lake Winter Road 165 km (103 mi) Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road Colville Lake Seasonal.
Délîne Winter Road 105.3 km (65.4 mi) Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road Délîne Seasonal.
Dettah Ice Road 6.3 km (3.9 mi) School Draw Avenue in Yellowknife Dettah Seasonal.
Dettah Road 11.3 km (7.0 mi) Highway 4 Dettah
Fort Liard Access Road 5.3 km (3.3 mi) Highway 7 Fort Liard
Fort McPherson Access Road 1.1 km (0.68 mi) Highway 8 Fort McPherson
Fort Providence Access Road 5.4 km (3.4 mi) Highway 3 Fort Providence
Fort Resolution Highway 90.0 km (55.9 mi) Highway 5 near Hay River Fort Resolution Also provides access to the former community of Pine Point.
Fort Simpson Access Road 3.4 km (2.1 mi) Highway 1 Fort Simpson
Gamètì Winter Road 128.0 km (79.5 mi) Whatì Winter Road Gamètì Seasonal.
Ingraham Trail 69.2 km (43.0 mi) Highway 3 in Yellowknife Tibbitt Lake Provides access to Dettah (27 km (17 mi)) when the ice road (6.5 km (4.0 mi)) is closed.
Inuvik Access Road 0.6 km (0.37 mi) Highway 8 Inuvik
Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway 138 km (86 mi) Highway 8 near Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Replaced the Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road; construction began 2013, completed 2017 and opened in November. Designated as Highway 10.
Nahanni Butte Winter Road 22.3 km (13.9 mi) Highway 7 Nahanni Butte Seasonal.
Sambaa K’e Winter Road 126.0 km (78.3 mi) Highway 1 Sambaa K’e Seasonal.
Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road 568 km (353 mi) Tibbitt Lake Contwoyto Lake, Nunavut Private road first built in 1982 to service mines and exploration activities
Tłı̨chǫ Highway 97 km (60 mi) Highway 3 near Behchokǫ̀ Whatì Winter Road Opened in November 2021.
Rae Access Road 10.5 km (6.5 mi) Highway 3 Rae borough of Behchokö
Wekweètì Winter Road 235.0 km (146.0 mi) Whatì Winter Road Wekweètì Seasonal.
Whatì Winter Road 100 km (62 mi) Highway 3 Whatì Seasonal.
Wrigley-Fort Good Hope Winter Road 486.4 km (302.2 mi) Highway 1 Fort Good Hope 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. 34 permanent bridges completed along route which can be used as part of an all-weather route.
Yellowknife Access Road 3.6 km (2.2 mi) 49th Avenue, Yellowknife Giant Mine Boat Launch Access Road Turns into 48th Street at 49th Avenue.

Closed Highways[edit]

Highway Name Length (km)[5] From[6] 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]