Aberdeen mayor hopes for bridge at Clarkboro Ferry crossing

Every couple of years, it seems as though someone wants to push the “seasonal limits” and try their luck driving across the South Saskatchewan River ice in the springtime at the Clarkboro Ferry terminal, according to Aberdeen Mayor Ryan White.

White was also quick to point out that since he arrived in the community in 2007, he doesn’t believe anyone has been killed or injured while trying to do so.

The Clarkboro crossing is one of the busiest in the province, which, according to official numbers from the Ministry of Highways, averages between 70,000 and 75,000 vehicles per year.

“This is a pretty vital crossing for communities on both sides. Right from the moment it hits the water it’s busy, not only with residential traffic from both sides going back and forth, but a lot of farm (and) commercial traffic use it just because it’s such a nice shortcut to get between Warman, Martensville, Highway 11 and things like that,” said White.

The ferry only operates between late spring and fall, however, and the provincial crossing estimates reflect that. During the rest of the year, the ferry is parked and the route across the river becomes an unofficial ice road.

“We have people come out and unofficially maintain it and it gets used. The danger … is that it’s a flowing water body. Depending on weather conditions, water conditions, whether they release more water, it can affect the thickness of the ice quite drastically from day to day,” White explained.

“People just need to use their common sense.”

On April 7, Warman Fire Rescue was called to the crossing after a vehicle tried driving across the ice, but instead went through it. The department posted a picture to its Facebook page showing headlights shining through the thin ice on the river. The vehicle occupants were all able to escape.

Headlights can be seen under the ice at the ferry crossing, after a vehicle broke through. (Warman Fire Rescue/Facebook)

“It was pretty obvious. I mean, there was open water. There was actually a flowing body of water on top of the ice that you could visibly see,” White noted.

He said the ice road is extraordinarily busy in the winter with families going back and forth between the communities, especially on the weekends and during events like local hockey tournaments.

A bridge crossing the river would not only save travelling time, but would also virtually eliminate any danger of crossing the river ice in the winter. White said he’d like to see a bridge built, but he’s not sure it’s possible at the moment.

“I don’t know if it’s politically feasible to spend the money and put a bridge here,” the mayor said. “I just don’t know how much of a provincial appetite there is to put a bridge in here.”

The mayor was right in his assessment that there is little provincial appetite for a bridge crossing the river at the Clarkboro Ferry site. According to a statement from the Ministry of Highways, there are typically fewer than 500 crossings there each day.

“To put things in perspective, there are more than 20,000 vehicles per day between Warman and Saskatoon,” the ministry added.

The roads on either side of the crossing are also municipal roads, not provincial highways, and whenever a bridge is built there are also environmental factors and other concerns that need to be taken into consideration.

“The province currently has no plans to replace the Clarkboro Ferry with a bridge,” the statement said. “The Ministry is unaware of any advocacy groups wanting a bridge.”

White said a permanent bridge has “definitely” been a conversation topic between local mayors.

“That would just be such a nice addition because we’d be able to access these communities,” said White.