Trans-Labrador Highway
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The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is a Canadian highway located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primary, and one of the very few, public roads in the Labrador mainland part of the province.
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[edit] Route 500
The original TLH is designated as Route 500 and measures 549 kilometres (341 miles) divided as follows:
- Quebec - Newfoundland and Labrador boundary to Labrador City/Wabush, (23 km, asphalt surface)
- Labrador City/Wabush to Churchill Falls, (238 km, gravel surface)
- Churchill Falls to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, (288 km, gravel surface)
For almost its entire length, the TLH runs through dense wilderness with absolutely no roadside services except at Labrador City, Churchill Falls, or Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Inexperienced travellers should not attempt to drive the TLH in winter months as weather and road conditions are extremely unpredictable.
Route 500, the TLH, connects with Quebec Route 389 which runs 570 kilometres (354 miles) through wilderness north from Baie-Comeau to the Quebec - Newfoundland and Labrador boundary.
[edit] Phase I, Upgrading Labrador West to Happy Valley-Goose Bay
The original TLH from Labrador West (Labrador City/Wabush) to Happy Valley-Goose Bay was officially completed in 1992, however some sections were poorly-built or in need of upgrades from increased traffic use, particularly the section between Churchill Falls and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. In summer 1999, $60 million (CAD) was allocated to upgrade the highway as part of the Labrador Transportation Initiative.
[edit] Route 510
In 1997 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador committed to building an extension of the TLH, connecting Happy Valley-Goose Bay with an existing isolated road network serving coastal communities on the Strait of Belle Isle. The impetus for this project was the federal government's desire to cut costs and remove itself from subsidizing coastal ferry service to Labrador outports which was being provided by the federal Crown corporation Marine Atlantic.
These federal cuts were completed in 1997, under the moniker Labrador Transportation Initiative, when an agreement was signed which saw the federal government transfer ownership and operation of two ferry vessels, along with $340 million (CAD) for extending Labrador's road network. A key component to this plan was $150 million (CAD) to upgrade coastal Labrador marine services, including a newer high-capacity ferry for the St. Barbe-Blanc Sablon service across the Strait of Belle Isle.
[edit] Phase II, Red Bay to Cartwright
Phase II of new construction, costing $130 million (CAD), began in 1999 and saw Route 510 extended 323 km over 4 years from its terminus in Red Bay northeast to the port of Cartwright. When this southern portion of the TLH was completed in 2002, the Labrador coastal ferry services were transferred in a controversial move from Lewisporte on the island of Newfoundland to Cartwright.
The southern TLH runs 409 kilometres (254 miles), divided as follows:
- Quebec - Labrador boundary (Blanc Sablon) to Red Bay, (86 km, asphalt surface)
- Red Bay to Lodge Bay, (74 km, gravel surface)
- Lodge Bay to Mary's Harbour, (12 km, gravel surface)
- Mary's Harbour to Port Hope Simpson, (58 km, gravel surface)
- Port Hope Simpson to Cartwright, (179 km, gravel surface)
The current Phase II section of the southern portion of the TLH between Red Bay and Mary's Harbour is also the location of extreme winter driving conditions where infamous pictures of heavy snow-removal equipment battling snow drifts dozens of metres deep have become famous around the world. The poor winter driving conditions often result in this section of the TLH being impassable for weeks on end. Local residents feel the road should have been built through woodlands; the route in use required rock cuts, and the rock cuts tend to fill up with snow.
[edit] Phase III, Cartwright Junction to Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Phase III is a 250 km section currently under construction for $100 million (CAD) south of Lake Melville/Hamilton Inlet to connect Cartwright Junction (87 km south of Cartwright) with Happy Valley-Goose Bay. A ferry service currently connects Cartwright with Happy Valley-Goose Bay, which will be removed when the highway is completed, planned for 2009.
