Driving through the Arctic landscape on one of the newest roads in the north, the 2019 Chevy Silverado’s most important feature suddenly became its heated steering wheel.
Even in mid-September, the temperatures in Inuvik, Northwest Territories Canada can easily reach below the freezing mark, enough to chill the fingers, but just a sniff at the temperatures that will embrace the region during the upcoming winter.
It is here that Canada’s newest Arctic highway begins, running 138 Kilometers (85 miles) to the small town of Tuktoyaktuk, the construction of which brought us here. Chevrolet Canada embraced its “find new roads” tagline and brought a group of automotive media to drive the new highway, completed in November of 2017.
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The road itself is not a challenging drive; it’s a gravel road no worse than what you would find in any rural community. But it was still an excellent proving ground to feel how the all-new 2019 Silverado handles potholes and washboard road.
On the way up the highway, we set out in a LT Trail Boss fitted with 20-inch wheels and Bridgestone Dueler A/T tires. The Trail Boss gets a two-inch lift compared to standard Silverados along with Rancho shocks, revised suspension tuning and skid plates, and while we didn’t need the hardcore off-road gear, running a rutted road was enough for us to appreciate the softer suspension of the Trail Boss.
Revised steering contributes to solid on-center feel from the truck and weighting that is on the heavier side overall, giving the driver plenty of feedback to work with.
On our drive south on the highway, we took an LTZ equipped with 22-inch wheels, and while this might be needless to say, big wheels on a road full of large potholes is not a good mix. A few of the holes managed to hide themselves quite well over dips and dives in the road, and the impact was jarring to say the least. Besides those holes though, the Silverado provided a comfortable cruise all the way up and down the highway.
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The road itself is an interesting piece of infrastructure, as it was constructed in such a way as to not disturb the beautiful Mckenzie river delta that surrounds it. A layer of geotextile fabric was laid down on the ground to protect the permafrost from melting, as losing that permanent ice layer would mean the road would sink into the soft ground.
That means that no digging was done here; the entire road is on the surface and the gravel in some areas measures in up to 6 meters or 20 feet thick. Construction of the road took about four years and the total cost was $300 million.
You have to see the beauty of the Arctic for yourself to truly understand it, but for now, watch the video embedded above for all the gorgeous views and some info on the 2019 Chevy Silverado.
