Province announces funding for highway projects in Northern Alberta

The Alberta government is investing $311 million in highway projects in northern Alberta during the next three years, with most of that funding going towards projects connecting the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region.

The largest commitment is towards Highway 686, which links Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie with a 218-kilometre paved highway between Fort McMurray and Peerless Lake.

Budget 2025 includes design work for linking Fort McMurray to northwestern Alberta, and road construction from Peerless Lake to Red Earth Creek and Trout Lake.

Peerless Trout Chief Gilbert Okemow said the investments have the potential to transform lives.

Another $141 million for the next three years will go towards upgrades on Highway 881 between Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche. This includes 14 new passing lanes, an oversize load staging area and upgrades to intersections. Construction will be completed by fall 2028.

The province will also spend $7 million during the same period on Highway 956, an all-weather road connecting the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region to La Loche, Sask. The project was announced in 2005 and Saskatchewan has finished work on their side. Alberta will build 65 kilometres of road south of Fort McMurray near Anzac to the Saskatchewan border.

Twinning nearly 12 kilometres of Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray between Syncrude’s Mildred Lake operation and the Peter Lougheed Bridge will cost $101 million during the next three years.

Chief Raymond Powder of Fort McKay First Nation said this will provide new and better options to escape dangerous situations, like wildfires, that require people to evacuate from their homes.

Finally, $7 million over three years would be provided to plan an extension to Highway 956 from La Loche in Saskatchewan to Fort McMurray, providing an additional route to and from the Wood Buffalo region. Planning will commence in 2025 and is anticipated to be complete in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Design is expected to take about three years to complete.