Waterways, Alberta

Waterways
Location of Waterways, Alberta

Waterways is a locality within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo[1] in northern Alberta, Canada. It is now a neighbourhood within the Fort McMurray urban service area along the west bank of the Clearwater River, south of the river's confluence with the Athabasca River.[2]

History

The Alberta and Great Waterways Railway was extended to Waterways in 1921.[3] Waterways was the northernmost point on the North American railroad grid[4] until service was extended to Hay River, Northwest Territories.

Cargo for destinations further north was shipped to Waterways, and then transferred to barges. Fleets of tugboats were then employed to take these barges to destinations within the Mackenzie River watershed.

Legislation authorizing the construction of the rail line was passed in 1909. In the 1960s, the more northerly Hay River, on Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, became the northern terminus of the rail grid.

During the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, Waterways was critically damaged. According to fire damage reports on May 4, 90% of homes in Waterways had already been lost to the wildfire.[5]

Demographics

The population of the Waterways neighbourhood in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo's 2006 municipal census was 750.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2006 – Economic Regions (4816037 - Wood Buffalo, geographical codes and localities, 2006)". Statistics Canada. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  2. 1 2 "Envision Wood Buffalo: Towards 250K – Fort McMurray" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. May 2004. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  3. ↑ "Fort McMurray tourism". Archived from the original on 2012-11-29. Rail reached Lynton in 1919 and pushed through to “Old Waterways” (now called Draper) in 1921. The rail service from Lac La Biche and Waterways was largely built across muskeg, a dangerous surface subject to frequent derailments. Canadian National Railway assumed control of the line in 1980. Mixed passenger and freight services came to a halt when Canadian National closed the line in 1989. Athabasca Northern Railway Ltd. Has since brought the line back to life in a limited commercial capacity. The new shortline railroad company was established in 2000 and services industries in the Fort McMurray area, as well as customers along the line.
  4. ↑ "Radium King en route: Eldorado Subsidiary's Ship Leave for West by Train". Montreal Gazette. 1937-04-15. p. 20. Retrieved 2012-05-31. Both ships were built for the Northern Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Mines, Limited, and will ply the Mackenzie and Athabaska rivers, 1,600 miles north of Edmonton.
  5. ↑ "Fort McMurray Wildfire Updates". Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.

External links

Coordinates: 56°42′00″N 111°20′24″W / 56.700°N 111.340°W / 56.700; -111.340 (Waterways)

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