View source for Dempster Highway

{{short description|Highway in Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories, Canada}}
{{Infobox road
|marker_image = [[File:Yukon Highway 5.svg|75px]] [[File:NWT-8.svg|x75px]]
|province = YT
|name = Dempster Highway
|type = YT
|route = 5
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=330|frame-lat=66|frame-long=-134|stroke-width=3|zoom=4|type=line|id=Q1186634}}
|map_custom=yes
|alternate_name = Yukon Highway 5<br />Northwest Territories Highway 8
|length_km = 737.5
|length_notes = YT-5: {{cvt|465|km}}<br />NWT-8: {{cvt|271|km}}
|length_ref =
|established =
|direction_a = South
|terminus_a = {{jct|state=YT|YT|2|name1=[[Klondike Highway]]}} near [[Dawson City, Yukon|Dawson City, YT]]
|beltway_city =
|junction =
|direction_b = North
|terminus_b = {{jct|state=NT|NT|10|name1=[[Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway]]}}, [[Inuvik, Northwest Territories|Inuvik, NT]]
|previous_type = YT
|previous_route = 4
|browse_route = [[File:Yukon Highway 5.svg|20px]]
|next_type = YT
|next_route = 6
|system1 = {{infobox road/browselinks/CAN|province=NT}}
|browse = {{NT browse|previous_type=NT|previous_route=7|route=[[File:NWT-8.svg|20px]]|next_type=NT|next_route=9}}
}}

The '''Dempster Highway''', also referred to as '''Yukon Highway 5''' and '''Northwest Territories Highway 8''', is a [[highway]] in Canada that connects the [[Klondike Highway]] in Yukon to [[Inuvik]], Northwest Territories on the [[Mackenzie River]] delta. The highway crosses the [[Peel River (Canada)|Peel]] and the Mackenzie rivers using a combination of seasonal [[ferry]] services and [[ice bridge]]s. Year-round road access from Inuvik to [[Tuktoyaktuk]] opened in November 2017, with the completion of the [[Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/first-ever-road-canadas-arctic-coast-open-week/|title=GCR - News - First ever road to Canada’s Arctic coast to open this week|website=www.globalconstructionreview.com|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref> creating the first all-weather road route connecting the Canadian road network with the [[Arctic Ocean]].

The highway is named for [[North-West Mounted Police]] (NWMP) officer [[William Dempster]], who earned renown for discovering the fate of a lost NWMP patrol in 1911.

==Route description==
The highway begins {{cvt|40|km}} east of [[Dawson City]], Yukon on the [[Klondike Highway]]. There are no highway or major road intersections along the highway's route. It extends {{cvt|736|km}} in a north-northeasterly direction to [[Inuvik]], Northwest Territories, passing through [[Tombstone Territorial Park]] and crossing the [[Ogilvie Mountains|Ogilvie]] and [[Richardson Mountains|Richardson]] mountain ranges.

==History==
[[File:Dempsterhighway.jpg|thumb|left|Dempster Highway near the [[Richardson Mountains]]]]

The Dempster Highway roughly follows the old dog sled route from Dawson City to [[Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories|Fort McPherson]] and is named for Corporal (later Inspector) [[William Dempster]] of the [[North-West Mounted Police]].<ref name="Morrison1">{{cite journal |last1= Morrison |first1= William R. |date= January 1986 |title= W.J.D. Dempster |url= http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/view/2073/2050 |journal= Arctic |volume= 39 |issue= 2 |pages= 190–191 |access-date= 24 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151006105523/http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/view/2073/2050 |archive-date= 6 October 2015 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

During the late 19th century, and in response to the [[Klondike Gold Rush]], the [[North-West Mounted Police in the Canadian north|North-West Mounted Police established a presence in the Yukon and Northwest Territories]]. Their activities included winter [[dog sled]] patrols between outposts and communities. One such patrol followed a route from Dawson City to the NWMP outpost at Fort McPherson, established in 1903.

In December 1910, NWMP Inspector [[Francis Joseph Fitzgerald]] led three men on the annual winter patrol from Fort McPherson to Dawson City. They became lost on the trail, and subsequently died of exposure and starvation. When they failed to arrive in Dawson City as expected, Corporal Dempster and two constables were sent out on a rescue patrol in March 1911. Dempster and his men found the bodies of Fitzgerald's patrol on March 22, 1911.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Lost Patrol: The Mounties' Yukon Tragedy |first=Dick |last=North |url={{google books|7wnWgmMM8pMC|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Globe Pequot |date=2004 |isbn=1-59228-573-2}}</ref>

==Construction==
[[File:Dempster Expedition 1911.jpg|thumb|left|Expedition by Cpl. William Dempster in search of the Lost Patrol, Dawson City, Yukon Territory, 1911.]]

In 1958, as oil and gas exploration were expanding in the [[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie Delta]], the Canadian government decided to build a road from Dawson City in Yukon to [[Aklavik]] in the Northwest Territories. The road was intended as an overland, year-round supply link to southern Canada.<ref name="YI1">{{cite web|url=http://www.yukoninfo.com/region/dempster-highway-history/|title=Dempster Highway History|website=Yukon Info|publisher=PR Services Ltd.|access-date=26 November 2017}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Survey work began in 1958.<ref name="YN">{{cite web|url=http://www.yukon-news.com/life/building-the-dempster-highway-an-engineering-challenge/|title=Building the Dempster Highway: an engineering challenge|last=Gates|first=Michael|date=4 March 2015|website=Yukon News|publisher=Yukon News and Black Press Group Ltd.|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref>

With the August, 1959, discovery of oil in the Eagle Plains area, the government granted concessions to the oil industry to stimulate more exploration in the area. This provided more motivation for a road to transport equipment, infrastructure, and revenue to and from the sites.<ref name="YI1"/> Construction of the road, then known as Yukon Territorial Road No. 11, began at Dawson City in January 1959.<ref name="YI2">{{cite web|url=http://www.yukoninfo.com/region/dempster-highway/|title=Dempster Highway|website=Yukon Info|publisher=PR Services Ltd.|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref> The northern terminus of the road was changed to the new town of Inuvik. Due to high costs and ongoing funding disagreements between the federal and Yukon governments, progress was slow until 1961. Once the Eagle Plains oil discovery was found to have no commercial potential, construction stopped in 1962 after {{cvt|115|km}} of roadbed had been built.<ref name="YI1"/>

Seasonal maintenance of the existing road continued but no further work was done. In 1964, the road was renamed the Dempster Highway, after petitions by Vancouver Yukoners Association and the Yukon Order of Pioneers.<ref name="YN"/> Construction resumed in 1970 as the Canadian government sought to assert sovereignty over their Arctic territories after the American discovery of oil and gas deposits at [[Prudhoe Bay, Alaska]] in 1968. Work was further motivated by speculation that an oil pipeline might be built in the Mackenzie Valley.

At the time of its construction, the highway was the most northerly major road project to date. Weather and [[Polar night|daylight]] conditions presented challenges. In 1979, a work crew was trapped in a [[blizzard]] in the [[Richardson Mountains]] and was almost lost.<ref name="YN"/> Construction had to account for the [[permafrost]]; heat transfer from the highway to the ground had to be prevented so the permafrost would not melt. To address this, the road was built on top of a gravel berm, ranging from {{cvt|1.2|to|2.4|m}}, to insulate the permafrost from the road above.<ref name="YI1"/> Some construction was completed by the [[Canadian Forces]]; [[1 Combat Engineer Regiment|3 Field Squadron, RCE]] from [[CFB Chilliwack]] built bridges over the Ogilvie River in 1971<ref name="EV">{{cite web|url=http://everitas.rmcclub.ca/an-engineering-memoir-a-bridge-in-the-yukon-1971/
 |title=An Engineering Memoir: A Bridge in the Yukon 1971|last= Gray|first=Don|date=5 January 2014|website=e-Veritas|publisher=Royal Military College Club of Canada|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref> and the Eagle River in 1977.<ref name="CMEA">{{cite web |url=https://cmea-agmc.ca/colonel-commandant-bgen-sm-irwin-cd-retd|title=Colonel Commandant, BGen S.M. Irwin, CD (Ret'd)|website=The Canadian Military Engineers Association|publisher=Canadian Military Engineers Association|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref>

The final section of road was completed in 1978, at a cost of $132 million.<ref name="YN"/> The highway was officially opened on August 18, 1979, at Flat Creek, Yukon.<ref name="YI2"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" perrow="4" widths="175">
Image:dempster 2769.jpg|Dempster Highway south of Inuvik
Image:Raven Inuvik McPhaerson.jpg |Sign on Dempster Highway
Image:Permafrost bush very green.jpg|Arctic spruce
Image:NWT mud road.jpg|Dempster Highway
Image:Tombstone_Territorial_Park_2023-06-12.jpg|Mt. Tombstone in Tombstone Territorial Park
File:EaglePlainsHotel.jpg|The Eagle Plains Hotel, the only lodging establishment along the Dempster Highway, in July 2022
Image:High winds and snow.jpg|Sign in Eagle Plains: "High winds and blowing snow"
File:Midnight sun over the Dempster Highway.jpg|[[Midnight sun]] over the Dempster near Inuvik
File:2022-07-30-MacKenzie-Tsiigehtchic-05283.jpg|The Dempster Highway approaching the MacKenzie River ferry crossing, from the south, with buildings of Tsiigehtchic visible to the right
File:2022-08-01-ArcticCircle 0416.jpg|Pavilion marking where the Dempster Highway crosses the Arctic Circle
</gallery>

==Major intersections==
{{Jcttop|state_col=Territory|county_col=[[List of regions of the Northwest Territories|Region]]|unit=km|length_ref=<ref name="Route">{{cite web |url=https://www.dempsterhighway.com/copy-of-driving-tips|title=The Route|website=The Dempster Highway|publisher=Spectacular Northwest Territories|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Jctint
|state=YT
|sspan=5
|county_special=''[[Unorganized Yukon|unorganized]]''
|cspan=5
|location=none
|lspan=2
|km=0
|road={{jct|state=YT|Hwy|2|name1=[[Klondike Highway]]|city1=Dawson City|city2=Whitehorse}}
|notes=
}}
{{Jctint
|km=82
|road=[[North Fork Pass (Yukon)|North Fork Pass]] – {{cvt|1289|m|ft}}
|notes=Highest point on the Dempster Highway
}}
{{Jctint
|location_special=[[Eagle Plains, Yukon|Eagle Plains]]
|km=369
|road=
|notes=First available services
}}
{{Jctint
|location=none
|lspan=2
|km=391
|road={{jct|state=YT|extra=airport}} [[Wiley Aerodrome]]
|notes=Uses a portion of the highway as its runway.
}}
{{Jctplace
|km=405
|place=[[Arctic Circle]]
}}
{{Jctplace
|river=Yukon – Northwest Territories border
|river_wide=yes
|type=trans
|km=465
|place={{jct|state=YT|Hwy|5|dir1=northern terminus}} • {{jct|state=NT|Hwy|8|dir1=southern terminus|nolink1=yes}}<hr />One hour time change (summer only)
}}
{{Jctplace
|state=NT
|sspan=4
|county_special=[[Inuvik Region|Inuvik]]
|cspan=4
|location=none
|km=539
|place=Crosses the [[Peel River (Canada)|Peel River]]<br />{{jct|state=NT|extra=ferry}} MV ''Abraham Francis'' (June to October) • [[Ice bridge]] (late November to April)<ref name="ferry">{{cite web |title=Ferries |url=https://www.inf.gov.nt.ca/en/ferries |website=Government of Northwest Territories |access-date=October 31, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
{{Jctint
|location_special=[[Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories|Fort McPherson]]
|km=550
|road=
|notes=Second and last available services
}}
{{Jctplace
|state=NT
|location=Tsiigehtchic
|km=608
|place=Crosses the [[Mackenzie River]]<br />{{jct|state=NT|extra=ferry}} [[MV Louis Cardinal|MV ''Louis Cardinal'']] (June to October) • [[Ice bridge]] (late November to April)<ref name="ferry"/>
}}
{{Jctint
|location_special=[[Inuvik]]
|km=736
|road={{jct|state=NT|Hwy|10|name1=[[Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway]]|dir1=north|city1=Tuktoyaktuk}}
|notes=
}}
{{Jctbtm|col=7|keys=trans}}

==See also==
* [[List of Yukon territorial highways]]
* [[Dalton Highway]] – the only other all-season highway to cross the Arctic Circle in North America

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Dempster Highway}}
{{wikivoyage}}
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/federal_politics/clips/13552/# Opening of the Dempster Highway]
* [http://www.yukoninfo.com/maps/dempster.htm Map of the highway] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423171925/http://www.yukoninfo.com/maps/dempster.htm |date=2012-04-23 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130625225344/http://inuvik.ca/wp-content/uploads/Dempster-Highway-Passport.pdf Dempster Highway at Inuvik Town website]
* [https://www.travelyukon.com/en/things-to-do/article/touring-dempster-highway Dempster Highway at Travel Yukon]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090121151309/http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/road-again Dempster Highway road trip article on the Economist's More Intelligent Life website]
* [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/DN-dempster_0409tra.State.Edition1.1049708e.html Detailed Dempster Highway article by Dallas Morning News travel writer Dave Levinthal]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3fKeVt9b_c Video of winter crossing at Tsiigehtchic]

{{NT Roads}}
{{YTRoads}}
{{Permafrost}}

{{Portal bar|Roads|Canada}}

[[Category:Roads in Yukon]]
[[Category:Northwest Territories territorial highways]]
[[Category:Inuvialuit]]
[[Category:Roads within the Arctic Circle]]
[[Category:Transport in Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories]]
[[Category:Transport in Inuvik]]
[[Category:Transport in Tsiigehtchic]]