The ice road to Churchill

By Bailey Hildebrand-Russell

On June 9, 2017, OmniTRAX Inc. announced the indefinite closure of the Hudson Bay Railway. According to the Denver, Colo.-based company, with its Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg, an independent engineering firm indicated the track bed had been washed away in 19 spots and five bridges were visibly damaged. At the time, an additional 30 bridges and 600 culverts that allowed water to pass under the track needed to be further assessed for structural integrity.

The closure has left the remote northern Manitoba community of Churchill, a town of less than 900, without rail service since May of 2017 and very little options for transportation of goods and services.

OmniTRAX, one of North America’s largest private railroad and transportation management companies, purchased the railway and the Port of Churchill in 1997 from the Government of Canada. All photos supplied by Mark Kohaykewych, Polar Industries.

As winter approached, with no rail service restoration in sight due to legal disputes between OmniTRAX and the federal government on who is responsible for the repairs, Mark Kohaykewych, president and CEO of Polar Industries Ltd., knew of a possible alternative to help Churchill’s residents.

Polar Industries specializes in remote logistics and rose to international fame being featured on the History Channel’s series Ice Road Truckers.

Kohaykewych has been very involved with shipping to northern communities as well as shipping to Churchill via the rail line over the past eight years and has developed relationships with the people of the North through his work. He said he recognized a need after the railway went down and he’s never been the type of person to back down from a challenge. Very shortly after OmniTRAX announced the closure, Kohaykewych said crews were already surveying

the land to determine whether an ice road to Churchill was possible without hurting the environment.

“The process started back in June (2017) when I went up there and started doing some land surveying to see different routing we could possibly do with the least amount of environmental impact,” Kohaykewych said. “I was pleased to say that we’ve been able to do this project with zero environmental impact and zero brush and tree clearing. We used existing trapping trails as well as hydro trails to accomplish this. The second phase involved partnering up with Fox Lake First Nation whose traditional territory we’re crossing.”

Once Polar Industries received the go-ahead from the Manitoba government and Manitoba Hydro, the company announced it would create a nearly 300-km ice road to Churchill from Gillam, Man. Work began on Nov. 17, 2018 with help from Fox Lake Cree Nation and Churchill’s Remote Area Services. That work didn’t stop once drivers took to the road. Maintaining the ice road is constant work and Kohaykewych said he couldn’t ask for a better partner in doing so than Fox Lake Cree Nation.

“They’ve got a lot of knowledgeable skilled people. This is their traditional land. A lot of them are trappers that are familiar with the territory. When I was up there, the amount of young men on the trail was incredible to see. I’m talking guys in their early 20s that are out there and excited to be working and be a part of making history in their own backyard.”

As of mid-March 2018, Polar Industries made around 25 trips to Churchill from Gillam on the seasonal road, with between 50 and 60 trips to go before the season ends and the road melts away. Each trip, which crosses several lakes and rivers, takes around 24 hours. Drivers are hauling everything from household goods to food, construction supplies to fuel.

there were high expectations when the road first started operating, which led to some disappointment, Kohaykewych said.

“People in Churchill were frustrated at the start because I think they were expecting this to be more of an easier winter road, but we’re trying to let them know the challenges we’ve been facing,” he said. “I think we’ve got this thing finally perfected. It’s taken two or three months to get this thing done properly. It’s never been done before so it’s tough to predict the challenges. The creeks, the rivers – there are 83 water crossings. Steep banks and weather, the list is endless. At the end of the day, I think we’ve definitely made a lot of people happy, but without them realizing what sort of transpired along the way, it’s tough to explain why this process is taking so long.”

But the resident’s excitement for help couldn’t be more apparent when the first loads arrived with hundreds of people lining the road in -40C to greet the drivers.

Now that the ice road has been successful with several kinks worked out, Kohaykewych said there may be more in store for the road’s future.

“I’d like to continue doing this all the time. I think the people in Churchill need an alternative form of transportation to provide goods to their community regardless of whether the rail’s replaced or not.” •