by Ian Elliot
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 22/97) - When the ice roads are delayed, it puts a serious crimp in the lives of people living in communities that rely on them.

For instance, the ice road that runs from Wrigley to Fort Good Hope in the Sahtu, a road which normally starts carrying traffic around the time of the New Year, might not be ready until the end of January. Unseasonably warm weather and a lack of snow has hampered construction of the river crossings.

That delay has meant residents are unable to shop for lower-priced goods in the South, can't pick up new vehicles and may not get to see their families this Christmas.

"A lot of the students who go to school outside the communities use the ice road to come home," said Sharon Pierrot of Fort Good Hope.

"Without the road, they probably won't get home this Christmas."

The big advantage of the ice road is it's the only time of the year that people can drive out of the communities instead of flying or going by boat. That means the road is the conduit for purchases such as cars and truck that are too large to fly as carry-on luggage.

"For a lot of people, that's how they get their new vehicles," Pierrot said. "They get a ride with a family going down south and drive their new vehicle back. Personally, we've picked up two vehicles that way."

In Tulita, the ice road usually opens between Christmas and New Year's Day, and Chief Gordon Yakaleya says residents look to it not only as an opportunity to get out and buy goods for themselves and their families at lower prices than those in the community stores, but also to bring in things that would be ruinously expensive if they had to be flown in.

"Cost-wise, to fly everything in is tremendous," he said. "Things like building materials come in on the winter road. We have to get those in or we miss out."

When the ice road does go into Tulita, which is located at the junction of the Mackenzie and Great Bear rivers, the road will follow a slightly different route than in past years, Yakaleya said.

The community was concerned about the safety of its children, given the amount of traffic the road carries, and was also worried about possible spills of hazardous materials being trucked north, so this year a bypass will be built to swing the ice road around the community.

"It's something we've been working on for several years," he said.