Announced today that the NL government has alotted 85 million dollars to pave 200 kms of phase three of the Trans Labrador highway from Red Bay north towards Goose Bay. The road from Labrador City to Goose Bay is expected to be paved by 2014. If you want to do it dirty you better make your plans soon folks.
The Que. government has screwed over NFLD. hard over the new power project. The old power project is the worst economic disaster in the history of Canada I think. They even tried to buy New Brunswick Power to stop NFLD. This is so sad. Can't blame NFLD. for paving the only way they want to go to get out of their territory. It is the long way round times 10 but when you got to go you got to go. Labrador is the new Fort McMurray as far as I have heard. When they are in paving mode the ride is way worse so go before the paving starts if your smart.
As much a political move as anything. For 100+ years Newfoundland governments have been hauling big profits from Labrador resources in fishery, mining, power generation etc with minimal repayment in services or infrastrucure. There has in past been a Labrador separation party because of this. As for the economy....depends who you are. Oil and gas industry types are doing fine but the Govt is running a 800+million dollar deficit. They are freezing wages and are figuratively beating civil servants into submission while coming on the TV telling everyone about the hottest economy in Canada is here. Just signed an 8 Billion dollar deal on Muskrat Falls power development but are reducing nursing positions as a cost saving measure. Go figure????
I have no idea who you are or what you have for an agenda. The power deal that Joey Smallwood signed with Que. is has been a disaster for NFLD and a great moneymaker for Que. Frankly Que should not qualify for transfer payments based on that deal alone but that hasn't stopped them from getting $8 billion a year for years. What they have done is sell power at way less than the going rate to qualify for welfare for ever. If you have no pride than you like welfare. My local union has most of our workers working in NFLD right now. I have turned down work there a few times. There is work there and there are no workers there to do the work. And there is going to be a lot more this spring. Maybe someone should tell the national media that there is news out in the great big country, Canada, besides GTA!
No agenda... just posting Government provided information. I agree with your statements on the Churchill Falls power agreement. Good to hear your local is finding employment in our province as there is a scarcity of skilled trades.
Paved? Brrrr....! Good that I will be over there this summer in June. Hopefully they don't sent out the asphalt workers already!
Not much worry about getting more pavement this time of year. I believe there is presently 100+kms west of Goose bay and 100+ kms east of Lab City completed right now to be completely paved by 2014. From Red Bay to Goose is 560+km of dirt with the last fuel up in Port Hope Simpson,430km from Goose Bay.
Well there goes the last frontier in Canada to explore.....glad we did it two years ago. Glad to hear it's getting paved, now I have no reason to go back unless it's to screw the ferry system out of my extortionate fee and shitty service to get across to NFLD!!! I would ride the paved Trans-Lab before buying a ticket across the ferry if I could! Yes I have a huge chip on my shoulders about the ferry system....sorry.... I also have zero use for the province of Quebec, government that is, the majority of the people are good hard working folks at least from what I have seen in the past few years. Yes I usually only see the rural folks not the city sepratists......there's another issue altogether! man I have issues....lol. It is a real shame there is soon not going to be many real adventure destinations for us who like solitude and peace and quiet accompanied by the sound of gravel under our tires. Think about it.......where else other than the Dempster is there to ride to that you can get this feeling???? OK, one other that comes to mind is the Trans-Targia, sorry for the spelling. Any more???
People need to remember the Que. portion is at least half unpaved. It a remarkable bad road in sections of it. This is still ADV Bike road for some time to come. You won't be following a motor home anytime soon! Even if the road was mostly paved than you would have time to throw a line in one of the many rivers you cross.
Looking forward to riding a Goldwing all the way around Labrador in a few years when the paving is all done. Might as well look at the bright side since lamenting the loss of that gravel road adventure isn't going to stop it from happening.
Greg 1/3 of the trip is through Que. It is not a road, for a portion of it. It is a mining trail cut out of the muskeg. It crosses a RRtrack about 15 times in 50Km. The way I would describe it is they got a moose drunk and set it loose, they followed the moose and made the road where ever he/she went. The road is that crazy. Now if you think Que. Inc is going to do NFLD. a favor and pave that road to nowhere but NFLD give your head a shake. Never going to happen. Que hates NFLD for no good reason.
The road south to Manic 5 can be nasty in the rain. The PQ will never pave it unless they have something financial to gain but with 2 railroads to haul iron ore south it is very unlikely to happen IMO. If you want a nice detour heading south turn east just after Relais Gabriel and take the nice back roads to Port Cartier. 260 kms of great scenery . . . and all dirt. No mud, 18 wheelers or crazy truckers swinging wide. See www.graveltravel.ca for the gps files.
Pretty sure that when the contract between NFLD and Quebec comes due NFLD will turn out the lights. No amount of candy or flowers will undo the shortsightedness of the Quebec gov't to stick it to NFLD in the short term. NFLDers will happily spend a little extra to develop work arounds to the power dist so that it need not run through Quebec. Quebec gov't has stiffly refused to renegotiate while laughing all the way to the bank. NFLDers have taken the high road honoured the contract and are biding their time. That was a pretty clear message when I brought the subject up on my trip around the TLab.
The Quebecois hate everything that is not Quebecois. I've been living and working in Quebec since 2004. I have worked and/or traveled in the rest of Canada and the US since 1987 and have found scroundrels and angels alike wherever I go. The majority of people in North America fall somewhere in between, and that's just fine with me. We're not a bad bunch, and that includes most people in Quebec who are decent and moderate Canadians. I have witnessed no greater disdain and bigotry, however, than those who call themselves Quebecois; they are a people who embrace the bitterness of the Xenophobe.
Tenders were called today for 80 KMs of pavement and widening/upgrades for phase three of the Trans Lab heading south from Goose bay towards Cartwright junction.
The old ghost town of Gagnon is FRESHLY paved all the way to fire lake before the twisties to Fermont where the moose got loose.
Today the Trans Lab is paved from end to end in Labrador. As we says here…..”She’s gone bye’s, she’s gone!”.
Looking forward to doing it on my sport bike. They just need to finish extending highway 138 to blanc-sablon so we can do a big loop.
According to this article, they will conduct a study on the feasibility of a road going to the north coast: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/trans-labrador-highway-1.6511681
I think there will be some people out there (not ADVers) that will misunderstand this. The road is all paved IN LABRADOR. Not so in QC. I'm sure there will be some surprised people around Fermont.
