Cumberland House, Sask., has limited access to food, supplies, while Highway 123 is a 'muddy road,' locals say

CBC
·6 min read
Following recent rainfall in Cumberland House, Highway 123 leading into the community has been in a marshy state, making the access to the community almost impassable. (Submitted by Raven Chaboyer - image credit)
Following recent rainfall in Cumberland House, Highway 123 leading into the community has been in a marshy state, making the access to the community almost impassable. (Submitted by Raven Chaboyer - image credit)

According to Raven Chaboyer, if people want to drive in or out of Cumberland House, Sask., they're doing so at their own risk. Now, the community that is already running low on groceries and supplies could remain isolated for another week due to the rains in forecast.

"The roads are mushy and muddy. The trucks get stuck all the time. There's no cell service on that road, so if you get stuck, you're stuck there," the 17-year-old said.

"Our elders are very worried because most of them can't leave the house themselves. We are concerned about their health and safety. The ambulances aren't even leaving the town, they're only taking people out by flight."

Highway 123 is the road the community relies on when food, mail or fuel is transported in, and it's the road emergency services must travel to help those in need. If it isn't passable, then the community is essentially cut off from the rest of the province.

Raven and, her grandmother, Laura Chaboyer say their community is also running an online petition, which is nearing its goal of 1500 signers, to get the highway up and running.
Raven and, her grandmother, Laura Chaboyer say their community is also running an online petition, which is nearing its goal of 1500 signers, to get the highway up and running.

Raven and her grandmother, Laura Chaboyer, say their community has an online petition, which is nearing its goal of 1,500 signatures, to get the highway up and running. (Submitted by Raven Chaboyer)

With the recent rains, the road leading up to the community has become even more cumbersome to cross.

Raven said there's always been big potholes in the gravel roads but the problems are always exacerbated during spring and autumn.

"There's no pavement around Cumberland House or down the roads up until Thunder Rapids. Small vehicles aren't able to leave," she said, adding that sometimes drivers refuse to come in to bring food crates in.

"Our gas trucks and our fuel trucks aren't coming in because of our roads. Food trucks come in twice a week but with the way that the roads have been, they haven't been able to come in at all … people have appointments with doctors and they had to cancel it because of their roads."

'We're out of bread now'

Raven said these conditions have been ongoing for longer than she's been alive. Her grandmother, Laura Chaboyer, who was born and raised in the community, agrees.

"This issue has been there forever. My husband is the grocery manager at the store, and they're restricted in bringing in necessities for the community," Laura said.

"We're out of bread now in the stores and they don't anticipate a delivery this week either because it's been raining so much and it's still forecasted to rain for a couple more days."

While no food deliveries are anticipated this week, in the past fortnight, Laura said, the community had to send 13 pickup trucks out the 92 kilometres to meet the freight.

"A lot of us have SUV's and cars and you can't go on the highway, you're going to get stuck," Laura said.

Raven Chaboyer says driving on the muddy highway is not ideal and gas and food trucks aren't coming in because of the roads. She says people have been missing their medical appointments in the fear of getting stuck on the road.
Raven Chaboyer says driving on the muddy highway is not ideal and gas and food trucks aren't coming in because of the roads. She says people have been missing their medical appointments in the fear of getting stuck on the road.

Raven Chaboyer says driving on the muddy highway is not ideal and gas and food trucks aren't coming in because of the roads. (Submitted by Raven Chaboyer)

Despite being the oldest community in Saskatchewan, Laura said they can't "get the services that other communities get".

The community is also running an online petition, which is nearing its goal of 1,500 signers, looking for the support to get the highway up and running.

"Residents who rely on dialysis up to three times a week must leave the community for care but struggle with unreliable road conditions," the petition read.

Laura, who is an educational assistant at the community school, came up with a parody version, called Muddy Roads, of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads and sang it with other teachers in attempts to raise awareness around the highway conditions.

'This should not be happening'

"I came in by motorboat to work this morning because I didn't want to navigate the highway," Renee Carriere, a business owner and an educator in the community, said Tuesday morning.

She said Highway 123 south of the community is considered an all-weather road but is not being maintained as one.

"We have members that pass away but a body cannot be transported safely and with dignity," she said, noting there were two funerals last week and there's one coming up.

Carriere questioned why the Ministry of Highways has let things deteriorate so far.

"Where is Scott Moe driving up and down our highway? This should not be happening in 2024. It's absolutely horrible," she said. "It's not a highway. It's a trail with mud."

Plans to invest $3.3M to improve Highway 123

In an email statement Monday, the Ministry of Highways said it has been a challenging spring for this road.

In 2017, the ministry said rebuilding the road will be too pricey as paving a road to a solid, durable gravel surface in southern Saskatchewan was then costing between $300,000 and $400,000 a kilometre.

"Given the fact Highway 123, which is 70 kilometres long, is located in the north, partly on the Canadian Shield and the Saskatchewan River delta, costs could quadruple due to engineering challenges," the ministry had then said.

But the ministry said it took some steps in early May to help improve the gravel portion of Highway 123 south of Cumberland House.

It said it temporarily restricted truck weight to eight tonnes to prevent additional damage to the road and placed about 130 tonnes – or about 15 truck loads – of rock material to strengthen a three-kilometre segment of the road south of Cumberland House.

Carriere said travelling a 90 kilometre stretch of highway 123 sometimes takes as long as three hours, due to its deteriorating condition.
Carriere said travelling a 90 kilometre stretch of highway 123 sometimes takes as long as three hours, due to its deteriorating condition.

In 2017, locals said travelling a 90-kilometre stretch of Highway 123 sometimes took as long as three hours, due to its deteriorating condition. The road's condition remains poor today. (Anne-Marie Kidd/Facebook)

"The ministry will work with trucking companies to ensure food, fuel and other key supplies can reach Cumberland House," the statement said.

"Message boards will be posted advising travelers of the conditions and recommending four-wheel-drive trucks only. A contractor will be put on site to help pull out motorists, as required."

During this construction season, the ministry said it plans to invest $3.3 million to improve Highway 123 south of Cumberland House by rebuilding a total of about four kilometres of the road with gravel.

The ministry said it already invested $4.3 million in 2019 to raise the grade of the road and widen it, from Cumberland House to 32 kilometres south.

In the last three years, the ministry said it has invested $2.47 million in maintenance on Highway 123 from its junction of Highway 55 to Cumberland House, which is about 138 kilometres long.