Plans are now underway to connect Churchill with the provincial winter road system.
The proposal would see an ice road constructed from Sundance to Churchill, covering about 300 km of distance. At Sundance, the road will connect to Highway 290 and the rest of the provincial highway system.
The road is expected to be ready for transport by January.
If completed, it would mark the first time Churchill has ever been connected to the rest of Manitoba by road. The road would be the longest winter road operating in Manitoba and is likely to run near the existing rail line.
The road will be a joint project between Winnipeg-based Polar Industries Ltd., Fox Lake Cree Nation and Churchill-based Remote Area Services. The three companies hope to operate a cat train service on the new road.
“This is a risky venture that has been done before but the people of Churchill need supplies since the rail line stopped operation,” said Polar Industries president Mark Kohaykewich in a press release.
Churchill has been without a steady transportation link since heavy flooding damaged the railway to the community in May. The company that owns the railway, Omnitrax Inc., has been ordered by the federal government to either fix the track within 30 days or face a lawsuit for breach of contract.
“This effort is to provide much needed goods and supplies to the community in the short term,” said Fox Lake Cree Nation Chief Walter Spence in a statement.
