Fort Simpson (Jun 09/06) - Henry White's most recent trip to Fort Simpson was a white knuckled, bone jarring trip.

White, who is the Henry of Henry's Barbershop in Yellowknife, said the drive from the junction of Hwy 3 and Hwy 1 to Checkpoint usually takes him two-and-a-half hours.

On May 30, it took him four-and-a-half hours.

"It's pothole city from one end to the other," he said.

White drives to Fort Simpson once every seven to eight weeks. In seven years of driving, White said this is the worst road condition he has seen and it's hard on his Ford Focus.

"Every pothole it just shook," he said.

In addition to the potholes, White said there was no gravel on the highway.

"They shouldn't allow people to drive over a highway like that," White said.

"They say safety come first, they don't know what safety is."

He said road conditions were so bad that his plan on May 31 was to load his car onto a lowbed truck to get it back to the junction at Hwy 3.

White said he's not the only one who's noticed the state of the highway. Road conditions were the main talk in the barber's chair in Fort Simpson. White said he also talked with three groups of tourists on the road pulling big campers who were looking for a place to turn around because of the conditions.

"It's totally disgusting to see tourists coming in and turning around the other way," he said.

Recent rainfall has affected all the gravel roads, Art Barnes the South Slave regional superintendent for the Department of Transportation, said.

Maintenance can't keep up with the potholes during long rainy periods, Barnes said.

Calcium chloride used on the roads to keep them dust-free is hard and durable, but becomes mushy when wet, Barnes said.

Depressions in the roads collect water which acts as a softening agent and increases the size of the hole.

On June 5, the department had to close Hwy 1 from the intersection with Hwy 3 and Hwy 7 because of washouts in two areas near Jean Marie River and Kelly Lake.

"We've had too much rain for our system," Barnes said.

On June 6, he expected the highway to be closed for at least two days, depending on the weather.

But over the summer, Barnes said drivers will be able to notice improvements on the roads. Graders will be the first plan of attack to reblade the roads but some areas are also scheduled for resurfacing.

The Liard River ferry hours were also a popular topic of conversation in the barber's chair, White said.

He also said he'd heard about people sleeping in their trucks after they just missed the 8 p.m. ferry.

Ferry hours were returned to the normal operating schedule of 16-hour days from 8 a.m. to midnight on June 2.

The reduced hours were caused by a shortage of certified marine engineers across the country, Barnes said.

The MV Lafferty usually has three marine engineers with two working eight-hour shifts each day and one on time-off.

The ferry started the season with one engineer because of hiring difficulties, Barnes said.

A heavy duty mechanic had to be brought in from Inuvik and given special training to allow the service hours to be increased, he said.

A second certified marine engineer is starting work on June 12 and the department is still looking for one more, Barnes said.