Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 10/00) - As expected, unusually balmy temperatures in December has created problems for work crews building ice roads in the NWT. There are signs, however, that the wait for winter roads to open may soon be over. If the current freezing temperatures last, that is.

"The weather is co-operating right now," said Art Barnes, the regional superintendent of transportation for the South Slave.

"Our crews have been hampered by low water and that has impacted our crew's ability to get it done," said Barnes, referring to the Fort Providence ice road.

The road opened to light traffic, up to 4,000 kilograms, last Thursday. The Fort Providence ferry is also running 24 hours a day.

Barnes said large vehicle traffic should be open by the third week of January.

As of last week, the Mackenzie Delta has been the only region in the NWT where most of the ice road construction has been completed.

Road currently open in the Delta area are the Arctic Red River crossing -- up to a load limit of 50,000 kilograms, the Peel River crossing -- up to 60,000 kilograms, and the Tsiigehtchic winter access up to 42,000 kilograms.

The Tuktoyaktuk ice road is open to light traffic up to 6,000 kilograms, but poor weather conditions have delayed the construction of the Aklavik ice road until at least the end of this week.

Les Shaw, Highway Supervisor for the Dept. of Transportation, said that warm weather conditions have been particularly troublesome for ice road construction along the southern reaches of the Mackenzie River and the surrounding area.

"The Trout River crossing should be open pretty quick," Shaw said. "It was open but we had to close it because of the warm spell in December. The winter road from Wrigley to Tulita is not due to open until mid-January."

The ice road at Nahanni Butte is currently open with a load maximum of 10,000 kilograms, while the ice road at Ndulee is open for vehicles weighing no more than 4,000 kilograms.

Whether or not global warming is the culprit for this winter's delay in ice road construction, Barnes contends that -- at least within the last ten years -- no general warming trends have been noticed that might have affected ice road construction.

"I'd say, looking over the last 10 years, that we're in the same general field," Barnes said, noting that last year's ice crossing of the Mackenzie River was completed by Jan. 4.