Whitehorse's Airport Chalet given more time to make way for highway upgrades, gov't says

The Yukon government and the owners of Whitehorse's Airport Chalet have reached a deal that gives the hotel at least five more years before having to move.

The hotel is located within the Alaska Highway right-of-way. It's had a licence to occupy the route since the 1970s. The Yukon government has now extended that permit for five years.

The hotel's location complicated plans for a service road that is to run parallel to the Alaska Highway. The road was supposed to be part of package of upgrades to the Alaska Highway near the Whitehorse airport.

In 2015, as planning got underway for the upgrades, the Airport Chalet's owners complained that the work would destroy their business.

Paul Murchison, director of transportation engineering with the Department of Highways and Public Works, said this week that the Chalet is not at risk.

"We're comfortable that we can continue to achieve the overall safety requirements without having that continuous service road," said Murchison.

"That allows us to provide some accommodation to the [Airport] Chalet, and not put undue strain on that business as a result of this project."

Other planned work includes new turning lanes, trails and traffic lights at the entrance to the Whitehorse airport. Construction on other parts of the project got underway earlier this year.

The project has proven controversial in other ways. 

Residents in the nearby neighbourhood of Hillcrest have called for a tunnel to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the highway, which they say would be safer than crossing at the traffic lights.

The government rejected the tunnel idea, saying it would cost too much.