Trans-Labrador Highway
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The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is a
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
located in the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Canada. It is the primary public road in
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
. Its total length is . The complete paving of the highway was completed in July 2022. The original western/central portion of the TLH is designated as Route 500 and measures divided as follows: *
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
-
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
boundary to
Labrador City Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-Go ...
/
Wabush Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a population ...
(, asphalt surface) *
Labrador City Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-Go ...
/
Wabush Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a population ...
to
Churchill Falls Churchill Falls is a high waterfall on the Churchill River in Labrador, Canada. Formerly counted among the most impressive natural features of Canada, the diversion of the river for the Churchill Falls Generating Station has cut off almost ...
(, asphalt surface) *
Churchill Falls Churchill Falls is a high waterfall on the Churchill River in Labrador, Canada. Formerly counted among the most impressive natural features of Canada, the diversion of the river for the Churchill Falls Generating Station has cut off almost ...
to
Happy Valley-Goose Bay Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
(, asphalt surface) Heading southeast is Route 510, the north portion of the TLH that has been designated Labrador Coastal Drive and measures divided as follows: *
Happy Valley-Goose Bay Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
to Cartwright Junction ( asphalt, gravel, the remainder was paved in 2022 * Cartwright Junction to
Port Hope Simpson Port Hope Simpson is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, from the Quebec/Southern Labrador border in Canada. It was founded in 1934 as a company town. With the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway that crosses the region, th ...
(, asphalt surface) *
Port Hope Simpson Port Hope Simpson is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, from the Quebec/Southern Labrador border in Canada. It was founded in 1934 as a company town. With the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway that crosses the region, th ...
to
Mary's Harbour Mary's Harbour is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 312 in the Canada 2021 Census, down from 341 in the Canada 2016 Census. It is serviced by Mary's Harbour Airport. Mary's Harbour surrou ...
(, asphalt surface) *
Mary's Harbour Mary's Harbour is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 312 in the Canada 2021 Census, down from 341 in the Canada 2016 Census. It is serviced by Mary's Harbour Airport. Mary's Harbour surrou ...
to
Lodge Bay Lodge Bay is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the southeast coast of Labrador. Encompassing a population of less than one hundred residents, the community has uniquely ...
(, asphalt surface) *
Lodge Bay Lodge Bay is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the southeast coast of Labrador. Encompassing a population of less than one hundred residents, the community has uniquely ...
to Red Bay (, asphalt surface) * Red Bay to
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
-
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
boundary via
Blanc-Sablon Blanc-Sablon is the easternmost community in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative région of Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 1,122 inhabitants in 2021, it is the most p ...
(, asphalt surface) The TLH runs through dense
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
for most of its length with no roadside services between communities. Route 500 connects with
Quebec Route 389 Quebec's Route 389 connects Route 138 adjacent to Baie-Comeau with the Newfoundland and Labrador border, connecting with the Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador provincial route 500) to Wabush and Labrador City, and beyond to Goose ...
, which runs through wilderness north from
Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...
to the Quebec - Labrador boundary.
Cell phone reception A mobile phone signal (also known as reception and service) is the signal strength (measured in dBm) received by a mobile phone from a cellular network (on the downlink). Depending on various factors, such as proximity to a tower, any obstructio ...
along the Trans-Labrador Highway is limited. In the 2020 budget, the provincial government allocated $200,000 for a pre-feasibility study for a road to connect the north coast of Labrador to the Trans-Labrador Highway.


Construction and development


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 completed in 1992.History of Labrador City
, ''LabradorWest.com'', Retrieved February 7, 2011
Some sections were poorly built or in need of upgrades due to increased traffic use, particularly the section between Churchill Falls and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. In the summer of 1999, $60 million was allocated to upgrade the highway as part of the "Labrador Transportation Initiative". The Phase I section of the TLH began undergoing paving operations in 2009; by October 2011, a stretch of approximately leading east from Labrador West had been paved, as well approximately heading west from Goose Bay towards Churchill Falls. The entire Phase I section of the TLH was completed in 2015.


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 Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
. The impetus for this project was the federal government's desire to cut costs and remove itself from subsidizing coastal
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
service to Labrador
outports An outport is the term given for a small coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador other than the chief port of St. John's. Originally, the term was used for coastal communities on the island of Newfoundland, b ...
which was being provided by the federal
Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
Marine Atlantic Marine Atlantic Inc. (french: Marine Atlantique) is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Marine Atlantic's corporate hea ...
. 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 C$340 million for extending Labrador's road network. A key component to this plan was $150 million 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 The Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
.


Phase II, Red Bay to Cartwright Junction

Phase II of new construction, costing $130 million, began in 1999 and saw Route 510 extended over four years from its terminus in Red Bay northeast to the port of
Cartwright Cartwright may refer to: * Wainwright (occupation), a tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons * Cartwright (surname), including the list of people Places ; Australia * Cartwright, New South Wales ; Canada * Cartwr ...
. This section was paved as far as Cartwright Junction, the unpaved remainder (to Cartwright) being designated Highway 516.


Phase III, Cartwright Junction to Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Phase III is a section of Route 510 built for $130 million south of
Lake Melville Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the l ...
/
Hamilton Inlet __NOTOC__ Hamilton Inlet is a fjord-like inlet of Groswater Bay on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Together with Lake Melville, it forms its province's largest estuary, extending over inland to Happy V ...
to connect Cartwright Junction ( south west of Cartwright) with
Happy Valley-Goose Bay Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
, completed sufficiently to open to traffic as a gravel road on 16 December 2009. During 2010, two permanent bridges, road surface work, signage, and guardrails were completed at a cost of $15 million. The road was then paved except for from Cartwright Junction westward to Paradise Heights (the divide between the basins of the Paradise River and the Eagle River). The remainder was completed in July 2022.


Route 516 and supplementary routes

Phase II involved completion of highway north to Cartwright from Red Bay, and was opened in 2002. Although the entire route was initially designated as Route 510, upon completion of Phase III, the northern from Cartwright Junction (to Cartwright) was designated as Route 516. Phase II also included other branch routes: * Route 513 to St. Lewis * Route 514 to Charlottetown and Pinsent Arm A segment of
Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in El ...
extends from
Old Fort, Quebec Vieux Fort (also known as Old Fort) is an unconstituted locality within the municipality of Bonne-Espérance in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is also known as Old Fort Bay or Vieux-Fort (the latter is preferred by the Commission d ...
to the
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
border connecting with Route 510 near
Blanc-Sablon Blanc-Sablon is the easternmost community in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative région of Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 1,122 inhabitants in 2021, it is the most p ...
on the eastern end of the Côte-Nord. A gap remains between
Kegashka Kegashka, population 138 (as of the 2011 census), is the easternmost point in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada to be reachable by road without passing through Newfoundland and Labrador. Quebec Route 138 reached the community on September 26 ...
and Old Fort, through isolated communities accessible only by coastal ferry. On August 25, 2006, the
Quebec government Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
announced a 10-year project to connect the two segments by building 425 km of highway along the Lower North Shore. As of 2022, the highway has not been completed.


Kilometre markers


Route 500


Route 510


State of the road

;Route 500 ;Route 510 ;Footnotes


See also

*
Churchill River (Atlantic) The Churchill River, formerly known by #Names, other names, is a rivers of Canada, river in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It flows east from the Smallwood Reservoir into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville. The river is long and drains an a ...
*
Division No. 10, Newfoundland and Labrador Census Division No. 10 of Newfoundland and Labrador is composed of the Labrador region of the province, excluding Nunatsiavut. It has a land area of 199,703 km² (77,105.8 sq mi) and at the 2016 census had a population of 24,639, up ...
*
List of Newfoundland and Labrador highways This is a list of highways in Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador is unusual among jurisdictions in Canada in that it exclusively uses highway marker signs that do not use either the province's name, symbols, or other official ins ...
* Newfoundland-Labrador fixed link *
Newfoundland and Labrador Route 516 Route 516, also known as Cartwright Highway, is a north–south highway in southeastern Labrador in the Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It connects the town of Cartwright, Newfoundland and Labrador, Cartwright, along with ...
*
Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in El ...


References


External links

*
Map of the southern TLHCommunity portraits along the southern TLHPhotos of snow pictures in southeastern Labrador
{{Newfoundland and Labrador highways Newfoundland and Labrador provincial highways Labrador