JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

The Hudson-Oka ice bridge is not yet open for the season, and it is unclear whether it will be kept closed for the second winter in a row.

The mild temperatures in December and early January prevented the ice from forming a solid base across the Lake of Two Mountains, said Claude Desjardins, the owner of the Hudson-Oka ferry service that operates the bridge.

Whether the bridge will open this season is a question with “no guarantee,” he told The 1019 Report: “In mid-January we had good weather. But we couldn’t take advantage of more cold (weather) before. It’s like the ice is (only) now starting to thicken. We’re going to need it to thicken quickly if we want to have enough in February.”

Desjardins added the recent bouts of heavy snowfall have also created unfavourable conditions for the ice to thicken. Snow acts as an insulator, delaying the freezing process for the water beneath it.

The thickness of the ice needs to measure at least 15 inches for cars to safely traverse the two-kilometre passage. Desjardins said that his team will soon begin to measure the thickness of the ice, but added that he is doubtful that it will be thick enough right away, especially toward the centre of the lake.

“It’s cold now, but it needs to continue like this,” he said. “We need an intense cold and we need the ice to thicken.”

The ice bridge was not open last winter due to mild temperatures and heavy snowfall. In the 2022 season, however, the ice bridge operated for 48 days – significantly longer than the operating average of between 18 and 20 days in past seasons.

“It’s year by year,” said Desjardins. “Throughout global warming we sometimes see extreme weather. Throughout that we will surely see some years that are favourable.”