Fort Smith (Apr 24/06) - Peter Martselos says the Alberta government can afford to build an all-weather road between Fort Smith and Fort Chipewyan.

The Fort Smith mayor was responding to news the Alberta government has asked Ottawa to become involved in an initiative to build the road between the two communities.

Martselos says Alberta has expressed such support for the project in the past, but nobody ever comes up with the money.

"That's the problem," he says. "But I hope it's different with all the money the Alberta government has."

Martselos says it is hard to say how much the road would cost, but he guesses it would be at least $100 million and maybe much more.

In January, Alberta's Department of Infrastructure and Transportation sent a letter asking the federal government to support the idea.

"We proposed we work together on the initiative," says Bart Johnson, the department's director of communications.

Such a road would mean more reliable access and shipment of supplies to Fort Chipewyan, a northern Alberta community about 100 km south of Fort Smith.

The community was cut off for a time this winter when warm weather delayed opening of an ice road. That prompted residents to petition the Alberta government to build an all-weather road.

Johnson says the Alberta government supports a connection north to Fort Smith because it would mean a shorter route than south towards Fort McMurray.

The federal government's support would be needed because the road would have to go through Wood Buffalo National Park.

"We can't do anything on our own," Johnson says.

There has been no response yet to the letter, although he notes that's not surprising considering the change of governments in Ottawa.

Johnson says three main steps have to occur before the project could begin -- reaching an agreement with the federal government, determining a route and assessing the project in relation to other highway requirements in the province.

"Although Alberta is in good financial shape, there's a limit to what we can do," he says. "It's a matter of prioritizing."