Major northern ice road to get twinned

YELLOWKNIFE — To ensure a longer trucking season in the far north, the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter ice is getting a twin addition.

The separate route for south-bound traffic will stretch from the West Bay of Gordon Lake, and and wind south past Prosperous Lake until it connects with the Ingraham Trail, according to the Yellowknifer.

The new NWT ice road will handle both empty trucks and those backhauling refuse or other loads from diamond mines and exploration sites, Eric Madsen, director of winter road operations for the Joint Venture Management Committee (JVMC), told the newspaper.

Last year, the Tibbitt to Contwoyto ice road lasted just 42 days compared to 76 days the day before.

RTL Robinson Enterprises, the main ice road builder and trucking carrier in the region, will build and maintain the secondary ice road.

Helicopters will conduct overhead checks for ice thickness before detailed measurements by buoyant Hildebrand vehicles, which will be used for profiling this month.

— from the Yellowknifer