Highway 7 gate between Fort Liard and B.C. only open by appointment, N.W.T. announces
Change is being made to help free up local resources for the COVID-19 response in Fort Liard, says gov't
The gate on Highway 7 near Fort Liard, which restricts travel between the community and British Columbia, will be operated by appointment only until at least Jan. 30, the territorial government announced in a news release Thursday.
Appointments will only be available on Tuesdays and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The territorial government says the change is being made to help free up local resources for the COVID-19 response in Fort Liard.
Residents in the community are currently on a mandatory 14-day containment order. The order bans all at-home gatherings of any size, forces schools and non-essential businesses to close and mandates masks in public places.
Commercial vehicles carrying essential supplies or essential services wishing to arrive through the gate along with any vehicle looking to depart through the gate, must contact Protect NWT at 8-1-1 or 1-833-378-8297 if calling from outside the N.W.T., or email protectnwt@gov.nt.ca.
The government says Protect NWT will relay the requests to the local public health officer for action.
Only commercial vehicles carrying essential supplies and essential services can come through the gate, while departures may be arranged for other vehicles.
The gate, which sits about 10 kilometres from the N.W.T.-B.C. border, has been the source of trouble for RCMP in the area in the past year, with incidents of damage to the gate on several occasions.