Yellowknife (Apr 21/06) - The ice road at Fort Providence closed for the season Tuesday afternoon, severing the only road link between Yellowknife and the south.

But companies in the capital are well-versed in the annual closure - which usually lasts anywhere from three to five weeks - and those who spoke with Yellowknifer expect business as usual.

"This doesn't really affect us much," said Steve Bassett, operator of Bassett Petroleum. The Hay River-based company provides heating oil for hundreds of Yellowknife homes. It also provides gas to a Shell station on Range Lake Road.

In preparation for the road closure, Bassett stockpiled fuel in 1,090,000 litre tanks in the Kam Lake industrial area.

Supermarkets like Extra Foods, however, face the tricky task of keeping produce, bread and milk stocked and fresh.

The two Yellowknife stores- owned by a division of grocery giant Loblaws Inc. - have been hoarding non-perishables inside the Real Canadian Wholesale Store on Old Airport Road, a bulk dealer that closed its doors earlier this year.

Extra Foods spokesperson Lori Stene said the company will use helicopters to bring in perishables five times per week, but the "significantly higher" costs will not be passed on to consumers.

"We will not raise prices," said Stene.

Despite the warmest winter on record in the Northwest Territories, the Providence crossing remained relatively stable.

Its closing date this year - April 18 - was on par with the last five years, according to statistics from the territorial Department of Transportation.

The road remained open to cars until late last week, but warm temperatures opened up potholes and flooded the surface, the department said.