EDMONTON, Alta. — Improving the quality of life for Northern residents is the foundation for building an $840 million highway, noted Northwest Territories Premier Joe Handley.

Handley was speaking at the Meet The North Conference being hosted in Edmonton this week when he announced that the highway, which stretches down the Mackenzie Valley linking Hay River and the Arctic Ocean, is a top priority for the territory.

As well as aiding communities’ dependant on air and barge for key supplies, the 1,800-km stretch of road is expected to open up the resource rich valley. A portion of the project will include a bridge crossing at Fort Providence on the southwest corner of Great Slave Lake.

The scope of the project is to be funded through a new resource royalty deal with the federal government, which is expected to be signed within the next few months.

— with files from the Canadian Press