page_title: Canol Road
section_title: Post-War History and Status
hierarchical_section_title: Canol Road / Post-War History and Status
caption_attribution_description: English: Typical Canol Road bridge and signs
context_page_description: The Canol Road was part of a project to build the Canol pipeline and a road from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, to Whitehorse, Yukon, during World War II. The pipeline no longer exists, but the 449 kilometres long Yukon portion of the road is maintained by the Yukon Government during summer months. The portion of the road that still exists in the NWT is called the Canol Heritage Trail. Both road and trail are incorporated into the Trans-Canada Trail.
  The Canol Road starts at Johnson's Crossing on the Alaska Highway near the Teslin River bridge, 126 kilometres east of Whitehorse, Yukon, and runs to the Northwest Territories border. The highway joins the Robert Campbell Highway near Ross River, Yukon, where there is a cable ferry across the Pelly River, and an old footbridge, still in use, that once supported the pipeline.
context_section_description: Some of the supplementary pipelines remained active into the 1990s, although the line to Skagway, Alaska, had its flow reversed, and it was used by the White Pass and Yukon Route railway to move petroleum products into the Yukon.
  Portions of the primary pipeline between Whitehorse and Canol was later removed and sold for use elsewhere.  The refinery was purchased in early 1948 by Imperial Oil, dismantled, and trucked to Alberta for the Leduc oil strike.
  The roadway is the surviving legacy of the Canol project.  Although abandoned in 1946–1947, the southernmost 150 miles (240 km) was reopened in 1958 to connect Ross River, Yukon, with the Alaska Highway. A molybdenum mine briefly operated along this part of the route in the late 1950s.
  The next 130 miles (209 km) from Ross River to the Northwest Territories border was reopened in 1972, and soon after, mining exploration companies used the route to reach into the N.W.T., including the use of washed-out, bridgeless roadway to scout for minerals, although none beyond the border have been developed. A barite mine has operated near the north end of the Yukon section.
  The highway was designated as Yukon Highway 8 until 1978, when it became Yukon Highway 6.
  The Yukon section of the road is little changed from 1945, although culverts have replaced some of the original one-lane bridges, and several one-lane Bailey bridges remain.  There are very few two-lane bridges on the road.  Many are marked with a sign indicating differing vehicle weight limits above and below −35 °C (−32 °F), seemingly redundant since the road is closed in winter, when such temperatures would happen.
  It is a winding, hilly road, resembling the original Alaska Highway (which has since been substantially upgraded); the road is not recommended for RVs, and traffic is very light. Occasionally, the road's alignment is emphasized with signs that show the symbol for winding road. There are few guardrails, and other than a government campground, no facilities except at Ross River.
  Former Yukon Member of Parliament Erik Nielsen owned a cabin for a retreat at Quiet Lake, and at party meetings, some people showed up with signs identifying themselves as delegates for Quiet Lake. Quiet Lake was the location of a small boat used by military officers for recreation during the war; that boat is now at the Transportation Museum in Whitehorse.
  Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers wrote and performed a song called "Canol Road" which names several settlements in the area.
caption: Typical Canol Road bridge and signs
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