Cumberland House residents worry about highway access

CTV Saskatoon Archive: Stuck on Highway 123 Residents of Cumberland House are saying enough is enough after students become stuck on Saskatchewan's worst highway.

A group of students and the vice-principal of Charlebois Community School in Cumberland House became stranded on a section of Highway 123 about 50 kilometres from home when the bus they were in got stuck in about 18 inches of thick mud.

Aaron Fosseneuve said that with no cell service, their only option was to make a sign using cardboard and lipstick to ask for help from passing vehicles.

“We could not get through it. We were stuck there for approximately two hours before a bobcat was dispatched to pull us out. “ said Fosseneuve, the vice-principal.

Highway 123 is the only access to Cumberland House for the more than two-thousand residents. It was voted the worst highway in Saskatchewan last year in a contest put on by CAA. Residents say they have been dealing with the treacherous conditions for years. Cumberland House resident Raquel Lambert told CTV News the road costs residents a lot of money each year.

“It does get to a lot of our wallets. We have to fix countless tires and struts. There is more vehicle maintenance and you have to pay people to tow you out” said Lambert.

Residents have been told ambulances cannot make it down the highway, so emergency patients will be flown out by helicopter. The family of an elder who recently passed away wonders how they’ll get the body back from Nipawin.

Fosseneuve said, “It’s one thing to lose a loved one…but to have the stress of how you’re going to get to Cumberland House or how your vehicle will handle that road….nobody wants that on their plate.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure says workers started raising the elevation of the highway in areas prone to flooding last year. Doug Wakabayashi says that work hasn’t started this season yet but the contractor will provide maintenance in the interim by hauling gravel and grading. He says Highway 123 is currently not included in the provincial government’s capital plan.

With no permanent solution in sight, residents of Cumberland House say all they can do is brace themselves for the bumpy road ahead.