Quick Facts: The Tibbit to Contwoyto Winter Road
First year constructed – 1982
Original purpose – supply the Lupin Gold Mine at Contwoyto Lake, Nunavut Territory
Length – 600 kilometres (360 miles) to Lupin with route being 87% over lake ice
Width – 50 metres (160 feet) on lakes, narrower on portages (12-15 metres) 25-45 feet
Ice thickness – Engineer proven to support light vehicle loads at 70 cms (27-28 inches) increasing to full highway truck loads as the ice thickens, often exceeding 107 cms (42 inches)
Speed limits on ice: Loaded trucks – 25 km/hr (15 mph) with some areas 10 km/hr; empty trucks – 60 - 70 km/hr (35 mph) on "Express Lanes" – which are return (southbound lanes) built on larger lakes
Speed limits on land (portages): – Mandatory portage speed is 30 km/hr, with trucks having to slow to 10 km/hr on and off portage
RELATED: Ice road to Diamonds
Number of Portages – 64 portages are located along the route
Maintenance Camps – Three camps that can accommodate 49 personnel in each are located at Dome Lake, Lockhart Lake and Lac de Gras
Manager – Joint Venture Management Committee (JVMC) comprised of BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. and DeBeers Canada Inc.
Road Constructor – Nuna Logistics Ltd (main route), RTL Robinson Enterprises Ltd. (secondary route) are contracted by the JVMC
Engineering – EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.
Security – Deton Cho /Scarlet Security Services, historically SECURECheck (2000 – 2009)
Historical Winter Road Statistics (2000-2011)
Year |
Operating Period |
Total Tonnes Hauled (northbound) |
Number of Truckloads (northbound) |
Days Open |
2001 |
Feb 5 Apr 15 |
245,586 |
7981 |
70 |
2002 |
Jan 26 Apr 16 |
256,915 |
7735 |
81 |
2003 |
Feb 1 Apr 2 |
198,818 |
5243 |
61 |
2004 |
Jan 28 Mar 31 |
179,144 |
5091 |
64 |
2005 |
Jan 26 Apr 5 |
252,533 |
7607 |
70 |
2006 |
Feb 5 Mar 27 |
177,674 |
6841 |
50* |
2007 |
Jan 28 Apr 9 |
330,002 |
10,922 |
63 |
2008 |
Jan 28 Mar 31 |
245,585 |
7484 |
55 |
2009 |
Feb 1 Mar 22 |
173,195 |
4847 |
42 |
2010 |
Feb 4 - March 21 |
120,020 |
3508 |
36** |
2011 |
Jan 28 - March 31 |
239,000 |
6832 |
55.5 |
* Road shut down early due to thin ice conditions – approx 1200 loads had to be flown into the mines in the summer/fall of 2006
** Due to warmer temperatures, the joint venture was forced to adopt night time only hauling from March 3-16
This story is posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing