Canol Road National Historic Event
Johnsons Crossing, Yukon Territory
Canol Road
(© Parks Canada Research Paper: 1983-SUB Jun (P) The Canol Project, NWT)
Address :
junction of the Canol Road and the Alaska Highway, Johnsons Crossing, Yukon Territory
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1983-06-13
Other Name(s):
-
Canol Road
(Designation Name)
Importance:
American military project in 1941 to exploit Norman Wells oil fields
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: junction of the Canol Road and the Alaska Highway, Johnsons Crossing, Yukon Territory
Additional plaque: Norman Wells, Northwest Territories
Following the United States' entry into war against Japan and its allies in December 1941, a number of large construction works were carried out in the Canadian northwest and Alaska under American military auspices. One of these was the 825 km. Canol Road between Canol Camp, N.W.T. and Johnsons Crossing, Y.T. The road, completed in 1943, was part of the massive Canol (Canada Oil) Project which included development of the Norman Wells oilfields, laying of a pipeline from there to Whitehorse, and construction of a refinery at Whitehorse. The pipeline, road and refinery were shut down in 1945.