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The route between Fort Chipewyan and Fort Smith has joined a growing list of winter roads opening later this year than is normally the case.
In recent years, the road connecting the NWT town of Fort Smith to northern Alberta’s Fort Chipewyan, which runs through Wood Buffalo National Park, has opened in mid-December.
This year, Parks Canada announced the road’s opening on Wednesday, January 10.
The 98-km road is limited to four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles, with a weight limit of 15,000 kg and a speed limit on ice bridges of 15 km/h.
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Parks Canada thanked residents for their patience.
In December, Parks Canada said a drop in water levels after ice had first formed in the region caused instability, “setting everything back” in terms of road construction.
The federal agency said climate change, ongoing drought conditions and water flows at upstream dams along the Peace River were all factors affecting how and when the winter road can be built.
Elsewhere in the NWT, winter roads from Inuvik to Aklavik and from Dettah to Yellowknife are yet to open, weeks after people might normally expect to be driving on them.
