Working on economic corridors is something that Alberta is doing to improve trade with the other provinces and territories.
Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says there’s some infrastructure in the Mackenzie region they want to improve to boost trade with the Northwest Territories.
“Obviously working with CN to see if there’s anything that we can do to help have the rail line connecting to the Northwest Territories improved and then obviously our road network to see how we can make the existing Highway 35 going up to the Northwest Territories better and the possibility of passing lanes to keep areas safe. It’s making sure that the existing corridor that we have now is safe and efficient.”
Dreeshen believes that projects like these could be the start of some “nation building projects” in Canada.
Meanwhile one other project that the province is making progress on is the extension of Highway 686.
“It’s a 215 km new stretch of road that would connect Fort McMurray to Peerless/Trout Lake and essentially having a way quicker bypass getting from Fort McMurray to Grande Prairie. There’s three First Nations across that 215 km route so we’ve been engaging with them to make sure that we can find the best line on the map to build this new road.”
In addition to the economic benefits, Dreeshen says the extended highway could provide an alternative route for potential wildfire evacuees in the North.
You can listen to the full interview with the Minister below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
