Shovels in the Ground
Behchoko, NT – Following an official groundbreaking ceremony in Whatì this past August, work is now underway on the Tłı˛cho˛ All-Season Road (TASR) – a new 97-km all-season road to Whatì from Hwy 3 west of Behchoko˛. The road will facilitate construction of Fortune Minerals proposed polymetallic NICO mine, which now has an agreement with the Tłı˛cho˛ Government related to the access road required to connect the site to the new route.
The TASR project is being pursued as a public-private partnership (P3) with a total contract value of $411.8 million over 28 years. Earning that amount will be North Star Infrastructure (NSI) for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of the road. NSI is a consortium made up of Kiewit Canada Development Corp., and the Tłı˛cho˛ Government, as well as Peter Kiewit Sons ULC, Hatch Corp. and Thurber Engineering Ltd. The road is expected to officially open to traffic in 2022.
