Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 24/02) - The ferry has been operating since Wednesday evening and the section of highway at Bluefish Creek has finally been repaired.

Breakup at the Mackenzie River crossing finally occurred on Monday night and the ferry was open for business by Wednesday evening.

A rapid thaw, however, resulted in an overflow at kilometre 44 of Highway 3 just north of Fort Providence that washed out a section of the road.

The road was closed on Tuesday afternoon but one lane was re-opened on Thursday afternoon.

Bob Kelly, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, says a temporary steel bridge has been put across the washed out section.

The road has been open to single-lane traffic since Thursday afternoon.

"Because of the tremendous amount of water coming that's still coming through the area ... they're going to let that run its course for the next little while and then we'll dam it and repair the road when it's appropriate to do so," said Kelly.

Crews from the Department of Highways are directing traffic at kilometre 44 and Kelly said motorists should proceed with extreme caution in the area.