Ice road closure stirs nostalgia
New all-weather road will bring opportunities of its own, Inuvik mayor says, as region says goodbye to iconic ice road
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Saturday, April 15, 2017
TUKTOYAKTUK
When Jim McDonald was 10 years old, his parents took him across the ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk for the first time.
Peter Clarkson from Inuvik, walked to Tuk from Inuvik for the closing ceremonies. - photo courtesy of Weronika Murray/GNWT
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It was the 1960s. In those days, the road wasn't as well-travelled or as well-kept as it is now, recalls McDonald.
Now the mayor of Inuvik, McDonald looks back with nostalgia on what he calls "the end of an era."
"I've been driving that road for probably 50 years," he said.
For the past four years, the Government of the Northwest Territories has been working to construct a highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk to replace the seasonal ice road.
The highway, which cost an estimated $299 million, is set to open Nov. 15.
To commemorate the closing of the last ice road, a ceremony was held at Kitti Hall in Tuktoyaktuk the evening of April 13. The celebration included a feast, Inuvialuit drum dancing, snow sculptures and polar dipping.
Vicky Gregoire-Tremblay, the economic development and tourism manager for the Town of Inuvik, said while the closure of the ice road will have impacts on the region's tourism, she expects the new highway will have a draw of its own.
"It's going to be a scenic route," she said.
"It is definitely the end of an era, but I think it's the beginning of something else. The all-weather road will be really interesting and I think it will bring a lot of opportunities or possibilities for economic development and for increased tourism visitation."
While tourists will no longer be able to drive on the Arctic ocean - a draw Gregoire-Tremblay describes as "iconic" - there will still be an ice road to Aklavik that they can drive.
As the new highway opens, McDonald hopes there will be opportunities to include some tourism draws. This winter, he said, Inuvik saw a "closing boom" from tourists wanting to take the last opportunity to travel the road.
"We've certainly seen a lot of people this season from all across the country, really, to drive the road, and to see the reindeer crossing this year," he said.
"Although they won't be able to do the ice road any more, there might be some opportunities for viewing (reindeer) on the all-weather road, because that's where their winter pasture is."
Looking back on a lifetime of driving the road, McDonald remembers a time when people had to be a lot more cautious driving the road than they are now. Since his first years on the road, it has been widened and better maintained.
"It's quite a bit different now. I have some good memories, and some experiences as well," he said, recalling the most memorable time he got stuck on the road.
It was a blustery Christmas Eve and he was living in Tuktoyaktuk at the time. He made the trip to Inuvik for last-minute Christmas supplies, and on the way back a storm blew up.
"I don't know how long we were in the storm there - probably five or six hours. It's kind of hopeless when you're in the storm like that - if you're stuck, there's a lot of drifting and the roads would plug up pretty quick," he recalls.
"We finally gave up and decided to turn around and head back to Inuvik."
After a couple more hours of struggling through the storm, the weather cleared.
"We realized we were still headed North toward Tuk," he said with a laugh. "We actually got home that night. We were sure glad to be home."
While bad weather won't change with the opening of the all-weather road, McDonald said the region will be saying farewell to some of the more dangerous activities related to the ice road - such as competitions to see who could be the first across, or braving a watery length of road at the end of the season.
As for the final closure, McDonald said there is still time for one or two more trips before the road closes for good.
He plans to make the best of those.
