A worker shovels asphalt next to remaining patches on the Trans-Labrador Highway at the Cartwright Interchange on Tuesday. (Heidi Ater/CBC)
After decades of construction, the Trans-Labrador Highway—a giant infrastructure project that allows vehicles to travel from western Labrador to Belle Isle Strait—has been paved.
Work on the 1,149 km road began in the early 1980s, with segments of the highway completed in stages.
On Tuesday at the Cartwright intersection, workers used shovels to smooth the asphalt, finally joining two separate sections of the highway.
South Coast communities began connecting to the highway while it was a grid road in the 1990s and early 2000s. Lisa Dempster, the minister responsible for Labrador issues, remembers the day her coastal hometown of Charlottetown was connected.
“We contacted the outside world on December 10, 2001 in my community. And it was an important, monumental day for us as well,” Dempster said.
“It was a change in the way we lived.”
Dempster said the highway’s completion was the result of a number of people advocating for the pavement for decades. She said locals’ patience has been wearing thin in recent years, but the pandemic and ferry delays due to strong winds have played a role in the delay.
Less than 100 meters from where the pavement was sealed on Tuesday is the gravel Cartwright Access Road.
GALLERY | See what the freeway has looked like over the years through public photos:
This is one of the many access roads along the south coast that remain unpaved.
Dempster said the province has competing priorities, but she will focus on another transportation strategy for Labrador.
Next: Feasibility of the Northern Coastal Road
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Elvis Loveless said it was a proud moment to see the sections of pavement joined. He said a larger celebration is planned for the fall.
Although the highway is now paved, Labrador will continue to be a priority for the department, Loveless said.
New pavement meets previously laid asphalt at the Cartwright Interchange on the Trans-Labrador Highway. The asphalting of this section of the road was completed on Tuesday. (Heidi Ater/CBC)
“Believe me, I can say with great confidence that Labrador is not on the back burner now, before and it’s moving forward,” he said.
The province is completing a preliminary study on the possibility of a road to the north coast. Loveless said they are finalizing consultations and scoping it and hope to launch it later this summer.
The sidewalk was a welcome sight for Lynn and Tom Agnew, two hikers from Pine Valley, Ontario. Driving into Labrador through northern Quebec, they said the dirt road on the Quebec highway was more difficult for their camper and took longer than the paved Labrador highway.
Flagger Thelma Sampson (from left), MHA Lisa Dempster, Lynn Agnew, Tom Agnew, Transport Minister Elvis Loveless. The two ministers presented a Labrador flag to the first couple to cross the highway. (Heidi Ater/CBC)
“The roads were just amazing,” said Tom Agnew.
“Everyone is so nice,” Lynn Agnew said.
“We were even offered to come and do laundry at someone’s house in Labrador City and offered to take a shower. Just. The people are so great, so it’s great,” she said. “Wonderful.”
Highway workers, officials and Cartwright residents gathered Tuesday to celebrate the end of the construction project. (Heidi Ater/CBC)
The pair received a Labrador flag from the provincial government for being the first to drive over the new pavement. Lynn Agnew said while it was her first time in the Big Land, she hoped other tourists would drive by.
“Don’t miss it. It’s worth the drive,” she said.
“We’re just now being discovered,” Dempster said. “We have hundreds of kilometers of vast, unspoiled territory. We have what the rest of the world wants to see. And we’re just now setting up our infrastructure and opening for business.”
WATCH | From our archives, see stories about the early stages of work on the Trans-Labrador Highway:
The long and winding road
The Trans-Labrador Highway has been 40 years in the making and now it’s finally ready. Check out these archive stories from the start of road work.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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