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Roads & Bridges
No update on Dettah-Yellowknife ice road opening
January 2, 2023 By Cabin Radio
No firm date for the ice road connecting Dettah and Yellowknife to open for the winter 2022-23 season
The winter road across Yellowknife Bay, Northwest Territories opened on December 24 for the past two years, which is also the average opening date for the road over the past two decades.
But conditions on the bay play a large role, and territorial records show the road didn’t open until January for five consecutive years between 2016 and 2020.
At the time, the GNWT said initial ice measurements on the road began on December 16 but large areas of overflow at the Yellowknife end needed to freeze, and ice thickness in some areas needed to increase slightly, before snow clearing work can begin. This fall has brought more snow than usual to Yellowknife, which can have an insulating effect that complicates ice road construction.
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