Ice on Yellowknife Bay still isn’t thick enough to start building the Dettah ice road, the NWT government said.
Each winter, a road built across the bay connects Yellowknife and Dettah, drastically shortening the time it takes to drive between the two communities.
In a Wednesday update, the territory’s Department of Infrastructure – which builds the road – said “there is still not enough ice to start clearing snow for construction.”
The ice road is already almost a week past its latest recorded opening date. Given the road takes about a week to build, it’s not likely to open until at least late January, which is unheard-of.
A mild December disrupted ice build-up on the bay, then cold weather in January kept crews off the ice for days.
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On Wednesday, the GNWT said the minimum ice thickness has reached 28 to 30 cm in places – but construction can’t start until that reaches at least 33 cm.
The Department of Infrastructure has said the road costs about $50,000 to build annually. It normally opens around Christmastime and lasts until mid-April.
“We plan to profile Dettah Ice Road again next week and will start construction as soon as it is safe to do so,” the department wrote.
