Freedom Road on track for 2019 opening
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2017 (2910 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
“Freedom Road” could be open as early as January of 2019.
It will take about a year to complete construction into Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, and when the work starts depends on when the ground freezes, Freedom Road committee chairman Cuyler Cotton said Monday from the Manitoba-Ontario border reserve.
“At this point, everyone is applying themselves to the complexity of how to get services to this community.”
Shoal Lake 40 was cut off from the mainland in 1917, becoming an artificial island due to the construction of the City of Winnipeg’s aqueduct. The reserve sits on Indian Bay in Shoal Lake, which is the source of Winnipeg’s drinking water. The so-called “Freedom Road” will connect the community to the Trans-Canada Highway.
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler told reporters Friday that construction of the portion on the reserve is complete and the remaining road across Crown land will be built soon.
“The timelines as laid out by the minister are correct,” said Cotton, who was on the ferry to Shoal Lake 40 when he was interviewed.
The first nine kilometres on the reserve is complete, leaving about 14 km to go, he said.
“We’ve got the federally funded project complete, ahead of time and on budget. Everyone’s shooting for construction this winter season. We’re dealing with access issues that require frozen ground,” Cotton said.
nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Nick Martin
Former Free Press reporter Nick Martin, who wrote the monthly suspense column in the books section and was prolific in his standalone reviews of mystery/thriller novels, died Oct. 15 at age 77 while on holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
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Milestones along the road toward a Shoal Lake 40 road:
1913: Thomas Deacon is elected mayor of Winnipeg on a promise to secure a new source of drinking water for the city.
1914: The International Joint Commission, which settles Canada-United States disputes on boundary waters, approves the diversion of water from Shoal Lake to Winnipeg.
1915: Winnipeg begins construction of a 135-kilometre aqueduct to transport water from Indian Bay on Shoal Lake to the city.
1917: As part of the aqueduct construction, a causeway and channel are built to prevent the tannic water flowing out of Falcon River from entering Indian Bay. The channel, which sits within Manitoba, carries the water into Snowshoe Bay instead. It also cuts off a peninsula that’s home to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, which sits at the east end of the point of land in Ontario.
1919: The Greater Winnipeg Water District Aqueduct begins transporting water to the Manitoba capital. The aqueduct has met the city’s drinking-water needs ever since.
1980: Winnipeg steps in to prevent Shoal Lake 40 and neighbouring Iskatewizaagegan First Nation from developing 350 cottage lots along Indian Bay, due to concerns about the effects on drinking water.
1989: The city and province sign a development deal with Shoal Lake 40, placing $6 million in trust for the First Nation. Ottawa signs on the following year with $3 million of its own.
1997: Cryptosporidium is detected in Shoal Lake, prompting a boil-water advisory for Shoal Lake 40. A boil-water advisory put in place in 2000 remains in effect.
2011: A plan to build a water-treatment plant on Shoal Lake 40 falls apart when Ottawa declines to cover the entire cost. The First Nation proposes an all-weather road instead, both to make it less expensive to build a treatment plant and to open up other economic opportunities.
2014: The completion of a road to Bloodvein First Nation in Manitoba prompts Shoal Lake 40 to call on the Manitoba government to build a similar road to Ontario.
2015: Three levels of government commit to fund a 23.4-km road to Shoal Lake 40 from the Trans-Canada Highway, at a projected cost of $30 million.
Nick Martin
Former Free Press reporter Nick Martin, who wrote the monthly suspense column in the books section and was prolific in his standalone reviews of mystery/thriller novels, died Oct. 15 at age 77 while on holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Monday, November 6, 2017 5:04 PM CST: Clarifies description of Shoal Lake location
Updated on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 7:30 AM CST: Edited