The federal and territorial governments have announced additional funding for the Transportation Monitoring Program – a project that looks at the effects of climate change on permafrost and transportation infrastructure.
The research will look at the potential impacts of climate change on department budgets, infrastructure design, construction and maintenance.
A total of $747,600 is being contributed over the next two years from the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories.
“We are committed to the development of Canada’s northern transportation system and I am pleased to
contribute to this research project in the North,” said Marc Garneau, Canada’s minister of transport.
This is the second round of funding for the research project, after $669,000 was provided for the first phase by the federal government.
The first installment of funding went toward researching permafrost along the Inuvik-Tuktoyatuk Highway (ITH), with the latest amount going toward four key initiatives:
- Monitoring of structural stability of highway embankments on two test sections along the
ITH - The installation and monitoring of 24 thermistors along the ITH
- The monitoring of alternative culverts and water crossing structures at various locations along the
ITH and the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road - And the testing and monitoring of new rehabilitation techniques for roads constructed on
discontinuous or sporadic permafrost at four different sections along Highway 3
