Ferry back in service

Jack Danylchuk
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Dec 11/00) - The ferry across the Mackenzie River was back in service Saturday, just over a week after low water levels grounded the vessel.

Les Shaw, GWNT's director of Marine Service, could not guess how long the crossings would continue. Shipments of food and fuel started rolling in immediately.

"Could be two days could be two weeks," he said.

Low water and an ice jam in Great Slave Lake knocked out the ferry at Fort Providence and territorial transportation officials couldn't predict when service would resume.

The water level is up this year, but it is still one-tenth of a meter below the 30-year average and that is enough to strand ice on sandbars where the lake empties into the Mackenzie River.

Last winter, low water and ice shut ferry service down for 17 days. Shaw said if the pattern of the past five years holds, the ice bridge won't open until after Christmas.

A small and growing mountain of freight was stranded on the south bank of the river in Fort Providence and Hay River. Mail, perishable goods and passengers were being flown into Yellowknife.

Janet Robinson, risk manager for RTL Robinson Enterprises Ltd. said 50 trucks were delayed by the shut down.

Frontier Coach Lines is warning Yellowknife-bound travellers that they are on their own beyond Hay River.

Kandee Froese, Frontier's officer manager in Hay River, said that until the ferry returns, the company will airlift freight to Yellowknife at a cost of 40 cents per pound.