Residents of Wollaston Lake, Sask. are traversing the only ice road into their community at their own risk. The company that builds the road, Hatchet Lake Development Limited Partnership, says the minimum thickness is only nine inches, which is too thin to hold the weight of large transport trucks and other equipment.
The CEO of the company says it’s the worst she has seen it in the past 20 years, and the situation will likely put the the entire community at risk if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
Doyle Vermette, MLA for Cumberland, says the community has been asking for an all weather road for years now. He says they’ve been promised one twice, first by the previous NDP government, then by the Sask Party, but that so far it does not appear the government is moving toward steps to build one.
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He says the community depends on the road for all its supplies, including fuel and groceries.
“They’re looking for cold weather to get some ice … in there,” said Vermette. “To be able to haul in the goods that they need. That’s the issue, because if you can’t bring the goods in by semis and by semi trailers coming in, then you have to fly in those goods. The cost is just unebelievable.”
Wollaston Lake is located in the far northeast corner of the province. In 2010, one person lost her life after her vehicle plunged through the ice.
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