The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is more than a year into private consultations around a pre-feasibility study looking at possible construction of a new highway running from central Labrador to communities along the North coast. It’s a potentially life-changing project: these communities aren’t connected by road to other parts of Labrador. A northern highway could improve service delivery, supply chains and travel.

That’s if it is pursued, engineered and ultimately, built.

The project is one of a number of potential long-term construction megaprojects in Newfoundland and Labrador. There’s a lot of interest in its completion from individuals and businesses—especially construction companies and their suppliers.

So far, the pre-feasibility study has been quietly circulated. It “was shared with Indigenous governments and organizations and the consultation process is nearing conclusion,” according to a recent response to questions from staff with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

“The report will be made public following the conclusion of the consultation process,” they stated. No more exact timeline was given.

As Atlantic Business Magazine reported last year, the contract for the pre-feasibility study was awarded to Allnorth Consultants Ltd. in early 2023. The province received  a draft report from the contractor before spring 2024.

The pre-feasibility study was expected, among other things, to look at possible routes for the road plus estimated costs. It also was to address Indigenous land use. Generally speaking, the concept was a road to run from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to the area of Rigolet, and north toward Makkovik, Postville, Hopedale, Natuashish (home of the Mushuau Innu First Nation) and as far north as Nain. These are majority Indigenous communities, with the project running through the self-governed Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut.

The road has been a topic of discussion for years, particularly as it relates to topics like food security and economic development. Community interest has grown as existing modes of transportation—plane, boat, skidoo—face new challenges from climate change.

To put the timelines and costs in perspective, consider the milestone completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH), a more than 1,100-kilometre paved highway running from the Labrador Straits in the south, up to central Labrador and out to Labrador west. That construction project preoccupied multiple, successive provincial governments, both Liberal and Progressive Conservative alike, with more than $1 billion in related public spending from 1997 to 2023.

A northern Labrador highway will be neither cheap, fast nor easy.

The contract for the pre-feasibility study for the highway north was announced at just under $270,000. The scope of the work was later expanded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Last year, the budget for the pre-feasibility study stood at $400,000, with no further updates since.

“The knowledge gained from the research funded by this investment is expected to help inform decision making moving forward,” a department rep said.

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