SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It was a long week for Yellowknifers waiting in line at gas pumps and scrounging dwindling supplies of produce at grocery stores, but for Joe Handley it was a week of vindication.

Gas was selling for $1.99 a litre at the Mac's Convenience Store on Friday after the business decided to fly some in to meet the city's urgent demand for more fuel. Former premier Joe Handley predicts climate change will lead to more ferry disruptions in the future, making the $185 million Deh Cho Bridge he initiated a necessity to bring supplies into Yellowknife. -

Handley was the man who put the troubled and much maligned Deh Cho Bridge into motion near the end of his term in 2007.

So with the Merv Hardie ferry across the Mackenzie River out of action for more than a week until Friday night, and flown-in gasoline reaching $1.99 a litre, the former premier is looking rather prophetic.

"Part of the reason we're building the bridge was an anticipation of exactly what's happening this year," said Handley of the bridge, at $185 million and counting to build today but estimated at $150 million when the former premier sunk his shovel into the dirt in a ground-breaking ceremony in August 2007.

"Water levels have been dropping and that ferry has been bumping bottom. With climate change the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable and the winter road season is shortening."

During the winters of 2008/09 and 2009/10, the Mackenzie River ice-bridge opened in early January. According to the Department of Transportation's website, that bridge was usually open by mid-December (with some exceptions) during the early 1980s. Mid-April closure dates have remained fairly consistent.

The bridge is to be paid for by tolls on trucks weighing over 12 tonnes. Handley said a B-train truck of fuel could expect to be tolled at $250-300 per crossing.

"It will take 35 years to pay for itself depending on the amount of exploration activity," said Handley.

"The goal is to have 12-month access in and out. We need to build infrastructure for industries and communities so that we can access our resources."

A sudden drop in temperatures earlier in the month caused the Mackenzie River to freeze upstream from the ferry crossing, which runs beside the partially complete Deh Cho Bridge. Earl Blacklock, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, explained that the ice dam blocked flow, lowering river water levels.

With the ferry out of service, gas pumps began drying up last Monday.

The Mac's Convenience Store ran out of regular gas on Tuesday and waited until Friday to have two deliveries of gas flown in, which it began selling at $1.99 a litre.

Gastown still had gas Friday afternoon, but expected to be out by the end of the day.

Yk Motors gas station, the Co-op Gas Bar and the Monkey Tree Gas Bar were sucked dry Friday afternoon. All three stations said they were waiting for the ferry to resume service.

Mike Dove, a spokesperson for Petro-Canada's bulk plant, said they had closed their pumps to regular customers Thursday at noon, but reopened again Friday morning, allowing customers 40 litres each.

"You gotta ration it because people are getting crazy," he said Friday afternoon. "If we opened our station full bore, we would have been empty within an hour and a half."

The remaining gas at Petro-Canada was being kept for emergency vehicles, he said.

The river was 15 cm too shallow for the ferry to operate as of Friday afternoon, but by 6 p.m. the quickly rising water levels reached the 150 m above sea level needed to resume ferry service.

Operations were restricted until Sunday noon, with priority being given to commercial vehicles hauling fuel and food.