Fort McPherson (Nov 20/06) - The NWT Department of transportation has started clearing snow off the Mackenzie River ice crossing and expects vehicles to be crossing within days.

On Nov. 15, regional superintendent Gurdev Jagpal said the ice was slowly getting thicker.

When it reaches 35 centimetres, he said the department will bring its ice graders to the river and allow traffic to cross.

"The ice is rough," he said. "We have to smash it and grade it. And to do that, we need to take heavy equipment on the ice."

And while temperatures have been higher than usual across the Beaufort Delta this year, Jagpal said the ice roads were freezing on schedule.

"The Peel River was actually opened six days faster than the average for the past 15 years," he said.