Paula White
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 16/98) - Most Yellowknifers probably welcomed the news of the reopening of the Fort Providence ferry Tuesday, but none welcomed the news more than the owners and managers of local grocery stores.

"Excellent," said Northern Fancy Meats owner Terry Greene. "We were all hoping it would get in."

The Department of Transportation announced yesterday morning the ferry resumed crossings at 5 a.m. The ferry had been closed since Dec. 8, and as a result, grocery store shelves around Yellowknife were looking a little empty.

Greene said there had mainly been a shortage of fresh items, such as chicken, pork and turkey. He said ordinarily he would have had supplies flown in by plane, but he gambled the ferry would reopen. The gamble paid off.

Extra Foods Store Manager Glen Meek was also happy to hear that the ferry was reopening.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," he said. "We've got five trucks on the way over the next couple of days."

Brent Edgson, owner of Edgson's Market, said he had been flying supplies in since last Thursday because most of his business involves selling products wholesale to other area businesses, including restaurants, hotels, airlines and BHP Diamonds Inc.

"It definitely gets things back to normal. That's the big thing," Edgson said. "It saves the customers money and everybody's happy."

Peter Hough, General Manager of the Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-operative, said the store was also getting low on items such as milk and produce, but it still had most of the basics.

Les Shaw, director of Marine Services for the Department of Transportation, said it is not out of the ordinary for ferry services to shut down for an extended period of time each year.

"Just a lot of people forget about it," Shaw said. This year, he added, the closure lasted a little longer than usual.

"Normally we can get her going in four (days), but the weather didn't cooperate."

Shaw explained that temperatures were too warm for the ice in the river to stabilize, and crews, therefore, could not clear a channel because of the risk of it caving in. Shaw said the department was not expecting anymore major delays, but minor ones were likely to occur.

"If the channel caves in, we're looking at a delay of 12 to 24 hours," he said. "But we're not expecting that."

Historically, Shaw said, the delay caused by the chopping of the channel occurred around the beginning of December. He said a change in weather patterns (warmer temperatures in December) in the past couple of years has resulted in the delay taking place later in the month. Last year, for example, the ferry was closed between Christmas and New Year's.

"I am very glad we got this over with before Christmas," he commented.

Construction of the ice bridge began Monday as well. Shaw said it will likely take about three or four weeks to complete, but it may open for light traffic before that.

"There's a whole bunch of variables on it," he said. "They'll work 24 hours on it if they have to."