About how much was the original Liard Highway reported to cost when it opened in 1984?
The Liard Highway links northeastern British Columbia with the Northwest Territories. British Columbia's road-history publication describes the highway opened in June 1984 as an approximately CAD 80 million project and identifies CAD 26 million for the British Columbia section. A contemporary federal annual report independently confirms the June 1984 opening. The rounded amount concerns the original cross-border highway, not later paving or reconstruction contracts.
Reported project cost
CAD 80 million
Approximately $61.77 million
Cost basis: 1984
The short answer
CAD 80 million
A British Columbia road-history publication calls the original Liard Highway an approximately CAD 80 million project at its June 1984 opening. This is a rounded reported historical amount, not an audited final bill.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
The figure concerns the original highway connecting British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. It is not the sum of later paving, reconstruction or widening programmes.
Project record
Opened or launched
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - 1984 annual report1984
Project context
About Liard Highway
The Liard Highway created a direct road link between northeastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Provincial documentation attributes CAD 26 million to the British Columbia section; the CAD 80 million headline refers to the wider cross-border highway.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
The project amount comes from British Columbia's Frontier to Freeway road history. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada independently confirms the June 1984 opening, but does not verify the amount. The approximate Canadian-dollar figure is converted at the World Bank's 1984 annual-average rate, without inflation adjustment.