Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road

Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road is a km to mi|num=568|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes long annual ice road first built in 1982 to service mines and exploration activities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in northern Canada. The road is the world's longest heavy haul ice road. Most of the road (87%) is built over frozen lakes, km to mi|495|abbr=yes, with the remaining km to mi|73|abbr=yes built on over 64 land portages between lakes.

Construction and Operation

The road is constructed during January with plows, graders, water trucks, bulldozers, snow blowers, and specialized low ground pressure equipment. The road is built extra wide so storms don't block them and for extra spacing when opposing trucks are passing each other. The road is m to ft|num=50|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=0|wiki=yes wide on the ice, but narrower on land portages ranging between m to ft|12|abbr=yes|precision=0 and m to ft|15|abbr=yes|precision=0 wide. Once initially built, the road is checked by drilling holes into the ice. If the ice needs to be thickened, water trucks are called in to add water to that specific area. The road is only operational during February and March, an average of 67 days per year. The ice has been proven by engineers to support light vehicle loads at cm to in|num=70|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=-1|wiki=yes and increasing to full highway truck loads as the ice thickens, often exceeding cm to in|100|abbr=yes|precision=-1.

On some lakes, traffic may be re-routed to new lanes to avoid damaged or rough sections of ice, and additional"express lanes" allow returning, empty trucks to travel at higher speeds.

The highest allowable speed for fully loaded trucks on the ice is convert|25|km/h|mi/h|0|lk=on|abbr=on with some areas reduced to only convert|10|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on. Empty trucks have a maximum speed limit of convert|60|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on on the ice. Speed limits on portages range between convert|30|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on and convert|50|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on. Speed limits are strictly enforced by security personnel with radar used to clock speeds just as national and provincial police forces do.

There are three road camps servicing drivers hauling loads along the road, they are at: Dome Lake, Lockhart Lake and Lac de Gras. Full catering is provided for travelers working for trucking and mining/explorations companies at these road camps.

Truck drivers are not allowed to travel the winter road alone, therefore, three trucks are dispatched from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on an average of every 20 minutes. Heavy and wide loads are dispatched from Yellowknife between 12:00 am and 6:00 am to avoid daily commuter traffic.cite web|author=Nuna Logistics Ltd|title=The Winter Road|accessdate=2007-08-15|url=http://www.nunalogistics.com/projects/winter_road/]

Diesel fuel is the largest item trucked north on the road. Other supplies include cement, tires, prill (ammonium nitrate) for explosives manufacture, construction materials, and machinery parts.

History

The road was first built in 1982 to service the Lupin Gold Mine at Contwoyto Lake, Nunavut.

Until 1998, the road was licensed and operated by Echo Bay Mines Limited.

Since 1999, the road has been licensed and operated by the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture, a partnership between: Echo Bay Mines Ltd., BHP Billiton, and Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (Rio Tinto Group). The road is engineered by EBA Engineering Ltd. Currently, Nuna Logistics (primary road) and RTL Enterprises Ltd. (secondary road) are responsible for the annual construction, maintenance, dispatching, and camp catering for the winter road. Security on the road is provided by SecureCheck.

The year 2007 saw record usage of the ice road with 10,922 loads north, totaling 331,000 tonnes (325,772 long tons or 364,865 short tons). That record number doesn't include the 818 back hauls south, totaling 15,000 t (14,763 L/T or 16,535 S/T). The road was open for 73 days from January 27 to April 9, only closed for a total of 91.5 hours (70 hours due to storms and 21.5 hours due to minor incidents). There were over 700 drivers registered during 2007 with nine accidents and one minor injury (a bruised shoulder). During the record 2007 season, there were 120 infractions with vast majority resulting in verbal warnings. Nine five-day suspensions and seven season suspensions were issued.cite web|author=Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture|title=The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road|accessdate=2007-08-15|url=http://jvtcwinterroad.ca/]

In 2007 the road was featured on The History Channel series called "Ice Road Truckers". The mining company that owned the road where the first season was filmed felt that the show portrayed the road in a negative fashion, and decided not to participate in future seasons of the show. A new rule for the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Roads was enacted for the 2008 season prohibiting commercial, media, video or rolling film cameras either inside or attached to the outside of vehicle. The show's producers have said that they have located an alternate ice road and that there will be a second season of the show. [Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road 2008 orientation materials http://jvtcwinterroad.ca/Orientation/Part4.PDF] [cite web |url= http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2008/Feb08/020408/020508-07.htm |title= Producers find new ice road for TV series |accessdate= 2008-02-21 |date= 2008-02-05 |work= Landline Magazine |publisher= Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association |language= English]

In 2008 the ice road opened to Hot Shots (Grocery Truck Drivers) on January 28th and to regular traffic on January 29th. cite web|author=Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture|title=The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road|accessdate=2007-08-15|url=http://jvtcwinterroad.ca/] On March 28th it was announced that the road would be closed for the season at 18:00 on March 31st. The road was officially closed for the season on April 7, 2008. [cite web|author=Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture|title=2008 Winter Road Updates|accessdate=2008-04-07|url=http://jvtcwinterroad.ca/Updates2008.asp]

Route

The ice road begins about km to mi|60|abbr=yes east of Yellowknife at the end of Highway 4, more commonly known as the Ingraham Trail.

From there, it winds its way north the following destinations:
*Tibbitt Lake (start of road) - km to mi|0|abbr=yes
*Meadows Station Security Checkpoint - km to mi|7|abbr=yes
*Dome Lake Maintenance Camp - km to mi|35|abbr=yes
*Lockhart Lake Rest Stop - km to mi|170|abbr=yes
*Snap Lake Diamond Mine Project, Northwest Territories, owned by De Beers Canada Inc. - km to mi|264|abbr=yes
*Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project, Northwest Territories, owned by a joint-venture between Mountain Province Diamonds and De Beers Canada Inc.
*Lac de Gras Rest Stop (for Lupin/Jericho traffic only) - km to mi|350|abbr=yes
*Diavik Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories, owned by a joint venture between the Aber Diamond Corporation and Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group - km to mi|373|abbr=yes
*Misery, Northwest Territories, satellite mining camp of the Ekati Diamond Mine - km to mi|378|abbr=yes
*Ekati Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories, owned by BHP Billiton - km to mi|405|abbr=yes
*Lupin Gold Mine, Nunavut, owned by Echo Bay Mines Limited - km to mi|568|abbr=yes
*Jericho Diamond Mine, Nunavut, owned by Tahera Diamond Corporation - km to mi|600|abbr=yes

The road ends in Jericho Diamond Mine, at the north end of Contwoyto Lake, Nunavut.

ee also

*List of Northwest Territories highways
*Highways in Nunavut

References

External links

* [http://www.gov.nt.ca/ Government of Northwest Territories]
* [http://www.nunalogistics.com/ Nuna Logistics]
* [http://jvtcwinterroad.ca/ Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture]