Superior court denies access point to Big Lake ice road

BOB MARTINSON/Frontiersman reporter

A Palmer Superior Court judge on Jan. 7 denied the Big Lake Chamber of Commerce's request for an injunction allowing continued use of the access point to the ice road at the Big Lake Lodge. The road had been closed by the lodge's latest owners.

Judge Beverly Cutler set a March 14 scheduling conference to make a decision on when the case will go to trial, making it too late in the season for legal use of the road this winter. The Chamber intends to continue pressing the lawsuit.

Roland and Helmi Blank, former owners of the Big Lake Lodge, sold it to Houston and Terry Snyder, who have since closed the business. It is not known if closing the gate for access at the lodge would be a liability issue if someone fell through the ice, but people are driving around the closed gate to gain access at this point, which is technically trespassing, said Bill O'Hara, who belongs to the Big Lake Community Council, Big Lake Chamber of Commerce and owns Bill's Cat House, a snowmachine dealership.

"We don't know why they are locking it up, but they had it open until they closed the business," O'Hara said. "The Big Lake ice road has been in use since the early 1950s at least, but I've only been using it since '69, myself."

Every fall and spring, people and vehicles fall through the lake ice. O'Hara said there is a lot of weight difference between a small car going across and then a big diesel pickup following. He said some drivers in heavier vehicles make an error in judgment after watching a smaller vehicle cross the ice.

The main reason people are so upset is because the ice road is the primary access to other areas of

the lake.

A big map at the Big Lake Tesoro station depicts the road.

"It is absolutely an established road and the owners of the road typically kept logs across to keep people from going out onto the lake, as a warning when the ice was thin," O'Hara said.

There is an access from the Southport Marina where they have opened the state park boat launch and the corridor to the existing normal route.

Currently, this road is only being plowed one lane wide, making it difficult to meet someone coming from the other direction.

A lot of people didn't know about the ice road until recent coverage in the press, which has increased interest in the road.

Randi Perlman, president of the Big Lake Chamber, said the board met Jan. 11 and decided to continue the lawsuit.

"At this point, that's all we can do is wait until March," she said.