by Glenn Taylor
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jan 09/98) - The ice road to Tuk is finally open, two weeks late and one water-logged dump truck later.

Mild weather earlier this winter delayed construction of the ice road to Tuk, which normally opens for business in late December, according to Transportation superintendent Gurdev Jagpal.

"We've had lots of overflow, and lots of problems," said Jagpal. With weak ice, and a recent dump of heavy snow pushing water to the surface, construction could not safely begin until mid-December.

The overflow created soft spots on the ice surface, claiming a dump truck working on the road near Tuk. The truck encountered overflow near Bar C, and quickly sank until only the top two feet of the vehicle were visible, said Jagpal. No one was hurt in the incident. The truck had still not been recovered at press time.

It will be a few weeks before the ice strengthens enough to allow heavy trucks to travel the road. Only light vehicles up to 3,500 kilograms can safely travel the road so far. The road to Aklavik is still under construction, and should be open to light traffic by late next week, said Jagpal.

Building and maintaining the ice road costs the GNWT about $500,000 per year, said Jagpal. More than three-quarters of that cost comes from maintenance, particularly near Tuk, where wind from the ocean causes heavy drifting.