Twinning of Highway 43 then ceased for 15 years until a segment within Whitecourt from Govenlock Road/Mill Road, just east of the McLeod River, to east of 33 Street in Whitecourt's southeast end was opened by 1997. Shortly after this segment was twinned, the Province announced an aggressive twinning program for the highway from Gunn to the BC border as part of Alberta's North-South Trade (CANAMEX) Corridor initiative. By 1999, the twinning program saw its first two segments open – from Grande Prairie westward towards British Columbia (halfway to Wembley) and from Whitecourt eastward towards Edmonton (halfway to Highway 658).