Manitoba's winter road network, which passes through boreal forest, has become treacherous as mild temperatures have turned it into muck. (RCMP)

Large trucks will be able to reach dozens of remote northern communities now that Manitoba's winter road network has finally opened.

The province says recent colder temperatures helped build the thick ice needed to support the 2,500 kilometres of winter roads.

Some of the roads are still subject to weight restrictions depending on the thickness of the ice.

The roads are crucial for about two dozen remote communities which rely on trucks to bring in groceries, fuel and construction materials that would otherwise have to be flown in.

First Nations leaders say climate change has made the roads less reliable and have called on Ottawa to build more permanent highways.

Northern chiefs declared a state of emergency in January because the winter road network was delayed by several weeks, which caused a fuel shortage in at least one community.