After more than 40 years and 1,100 km, the Trans-Labrador Highway is finished

A worker rakes asphalt to the remaining spots on the Trans Labrador Highway at Cartwright Junction on Tuesday. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

After decades of construction, the Trans-Labrador Highway — a gigantic infrastructure project that allows vehicles to drive from western Labrador to the Strait of Belle Isle — has been paved. 

Work on the 1,149-kilometre road was started in the early 1980s, with segments of the highway completed in phases. 

On Tuesday, at Cartwright Junction, workers used rakes to smooth out asphalt, finally joining two distinct parts of the highway. 

Communities in the south coast began connecting to the highway while it was