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End of the road in sight But Ingraham Trail bypass could be delayed into 2014
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 23, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
They're on budget and on time right now, but cool fall weather could push completion of the Ingraham Trail realignment into 2014, says the project manager with the Department of Transportation.
Larry Purcka, project manager for the Ingraham Trail realignment project, stands at the end of the 4.1 km workers have blazed from Highway 3 near Fred Henne park since October 2012. - Daniel Campbell/NNSL photo |
The new road is currently scheduled to open in October 2013.
Larry Purcka, project manager for the realignment project, said they should start paving the new intersection of highways 3 and 4 in early September, but the new roadway will require fair weather this fall to begin. They'll be chip-sealing the new surface, which requires temperatures to stay above 10 C.
"If it gets too cold in early October, there's no way it's going to happen," Purcka said.
The realignment project spans 7.8 km of roadwork changes to the Ingraham Trail, starting near the intersection of Highway 3 and carrying on to the Yellowknife River bridge. A major part of the project is a 5.9-km bypass around Giant Mine.
Workers blasted through tons of solid rock starting last winter, cutting an 11.4-metre swath through the wilderness west of Highway 4. Now the cut ends only 1.8 km from where the bypass will reconnect with the highway.
It'll reconnect with the Ingraham Trail just past Baker Creek, near Vee Lake Road.
Standing on the edge of the embankment above the cut, overlooking the Giant Mine roaster complex, Purcka can see where the new highway will rejoin the trail. It's possible to drive down the sub-base of the road to this point, although the path will take its toll on any vehicle's suspension and tires.
A front-end loader is moving tons of rock from the end of the tunnelling path. There's a massive rock outcrop behind the tractor spotted with bright orange spray paint. It's the last major rock formation the road needs to blast through.
Purcka said drillers will put over 1,000 holes in the formation to prep it for blasting.
The bypass is a massive undertaking, involving the drilling and blasting of more than 250,000 cubic metres of rock. Det'on Cho contractors have used 252 metric tonnes of powdered explosives to date on the site.
Purcka, who has 30 years experience in road construction, is excited to finally see where the bypass will rejoin the highway.
"One day, people will be using one road and the next they won't be," Purcka said.
"It'll be a fairly instantaneous transition."
Once the bypass is complete, the Ingraham Trail from the marina to Giant Mine will be closed to the public. Purcka hopes they reach that point on schedule in October, but he's not making any predictions.
"It'll depend on the weather," he said.
The team has around 90 per cent of the rock drilled off - Purcka says it's just a matter of moving it now. All of the rock will be reused, either on the embankments of the road, or ground up to different sizes to grade the road.
They're even using some of the stone to help build a path in Fred Henne Territorial Park. Purcka has had to work with both the park and the Giant Mine remediation team during the project.
"We try to keep disturbances to a minimum," Purcka said.
Workers are only allowed to blast rock during the day, so they won't disturb park users. However, Purcka said it's inevitable they'll have an impact on the surrounding environment.
"You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette," he joked.
The project has ran into snags with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, leading to some delays in work. Purcka said they couldn't start work around Baker Creek until July because of fish spawning earlier in the spring and summer.
They've also had issues with Northwest Territories Power Corporation lines intersecting with the bypass, but Purcka says that's all par for the course when it comes to road construction.
Work on the bypass began in October 2012 with a budget of $17 million.
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