Yellowknife Highway

Highway 3 in the Northwest Territories, Canada
Yellowknife Highway
Basic data
Operator:	Northwest Territories Department of Transportation
Start of the street:	Yellowknife ( 62 ° 28 ′  N , 114 ° 23 ′  W )
End of street:	Fort Providence ( 61 ° 4 ′  N , 117 ° 30 ′  W )
Overall length:	340 km
Region :
Bridge over the Frank Channel near Behchokò
Course of the road O to Tibbitt Lake Yellowknife Frank Channel Behchokò (airfield) Fort Providence (airfield) Deh Cho Bridge over the Mackenzie River NW to Wrigley , SE to Alberta  Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap map

The Highway 3 , better known by the name of Yellowknife Highway or Great Slave Highway , connecting the capital of the Northwest Territories , Yellowknife , with the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 1) . The highway ends 188 km north of the Alberta border . The road was built in 1960 and has been paved throughout since 2006 .

Deh Cho Bridge over the Mackenzie River

Bison along the Yellowknife Highway

The highway also connects Behchokò and Fort Providence to civilization. From Yellowknife, the Ingraham Trail (Highway 4) leads around 70 km north to connect the ice roads used in winter to the road system.

The Mackenzie River (south of Fort Providence) was crossed from 1960 to November 2012 by means of a ferry service (May – January) and an ice bridge (December – March). The road had to be closed for around five weeks each spring due to the breaking ice.

On November 30, 2012, the Deh-Cho Bridge over the river was ceremoniously opened to replace the ferry service and the ice bridge. Trucks traveling northwards have to pay a fee to use the bridge. It is possible to register your truck in advance, for which the fee will be charged. Private vehicles can cross the bridge for free.

Web links

Commons : Yellowknife Highway  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files