Leading far north carrier offers to bankroll roadwork

YELLOWKNIFE — Fed up with financial hurdles slowing down the widening of Old Airport Road, the owner of RTL Robinson Enterprises has told the City of Yellowknife he’ll fund the project himself to get it completed.

According to Northern News Services, Donnie Robinson offered the city’s Priorities, Policies and Budget Committee the loan this week in an effort to expedite completion of the roadwork.

RTL, as well as other carriers, have been frustrated by the fact they can’t operate double trailers — known as “rocky mountain doubles” — until the road is finished.

“Such a configured vehicle cannot negotiate the curve coming from Hwy. 3 and onto Old Airport Road without going off the paved surface or crossing the centre line,” reads a July 12 letter from the city to RTL, Grimshaw Trucking, Northwest Transportation, and Tlicho Landtran.

Leaving the second trailer on each double 40 km from the city and making a second trip to collect it is wasting about $2,000 worth of fuel a day for the industry on the whole, Robinson said.

Estimates on how much the work would cost varies wildly. The city pegs the bill at $100,000, while Robinson says the figure is closer to $15,000, reports Northern News Services.

— from Northern News Services