Highway 955, also known as Semchuk Trail, is a

provincial highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a state or ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. It runs from Highway 155 near

La Loche La Loche () is a village in northwest Saskatchewan. It is located at the end of Highway 155 on the eastern shore of Lac La Loche in Canada's boreal forest. La Loche had a population of 2,827 in 2016 and is within the Northern Saskatchewan Adminis ...

Cluff Lake mine Cluff Lake mine is decommissioned former uranium mine located in northern Saskatchewan, located 30 km east of the provincial border with Alberta and approximately 75 kilometres south of Lake Athabasca. The mine and mill were owned and operated by ...

. The mine has been closed since the early 2000s and its adjacent

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

is also closed now, meaning there are no formal services (such as

gas stations A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

) at the northern turn-around point. Drivers using the route need to carry extra fuel and other supplies, including spare tires owing to the sharp gravel used on the road. The name "Semchuk Trail" comes from Martin Semchuk who, along with John F. Midgett, and Jonas Clarke, were involved in building the original trail in 1955–56. Highway 955 is approximately long and is almost entirely unpaved. A section is paved from La Loche to the

Clearwater River Dene Nation The Clearwater River Dene Nation () is a Dene First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the taiga, boreal forest area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. It maintains offices in the village of Clearwater River situated on the east ...

. From there a paved access road leads to the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

village of Clearwater. Douglas River from the bridge of highway 955

Highway 955 has nearly no intersections with other roads due to its northern location. About one-third of the way to Cluff Lake mine, there is an access road to Descharme Lake. According to provincial road maps dating from the early 1980s, a seasonal / winter road at one point continued north from Cluff Lake to the shore of

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

and then across the lake towards

Uranium City Uranium City is a northern settlement in Saskatchewan, Canada. The community is at the mouth of Fredette River on Martin Lake. It is north of Lake Athabasca and Beaverlodge Lake and is about northwest of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, northeast ...

, but this appears to no longer be in use. Highway 955 passes through Clearwater River Provincial Park. It is also the closest roadway to the Carswell structure, the largest astrobleme in Saskatchewan at in diameter. Highway 955 traverses the Douglas River. This large valley is the Carswell meteor impact rim.

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

is mined at three sites along the perimeter of the Carswell structure near the terminal end of Highway 955. Highway 955 was originally part of Highway 155, but was renumbered in the early 1980s as part of the establishment of the 900-series highways.

References

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955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...

See also

References