LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - To meet the transportation needs of the oil and gas industry the Department of Transportation has adopted new construction techniques on the Ndulee ice crossing.

Starting on Jan. 26 a five-person crew from Fort Providence began work on the crossing using two high capacity spray pumps to build the ice thickness. The pumps are normally used to construct the Fort Providence crossing on the Mackenzie River but this is the first time they've been used on the Ndulee, said Michel Lafrance, the regional superintendent of transportation.

In an unprecedented move, the Department of Transportation brought in two high capacity spray pumps from Fort Providence to bring the Ndulee ice crossing up to its maximum weight capacity. - photo courtesy of the Department of Transportation

The decision to bring in the crew and the pumps was made as a result of the needs of companies in the oil and gas industry, Lafrance said.

Companies including Husky Energy and Petro Canada have winter exploration programs planned in the Sahtu region and were waiting to bring in the necessary drill rigs and supplies for their plans, said Lafrance. The companies' programs were being delayed because the Ndulee crossing hadn't opened to its maximum vehicle weight, 64,000 kilograms. Vehicles have to traverse the crossing to reach the winter roads up the Mackenzie valley.

The 1.3 kilometre long crossing located 80 kilometres north of Fort Simpson on Highway 1 has been a trouble spot this season. A late freeze-up delayed the original opening of the crossing to light traffic, said Lafrance.

Equipment couldn't be placed on the river to construct the crossing because of the thin ice leading to an opening date of Jan. 11, Lafrance said.

The crossing is usually open before Christmas and the latest the crossing has ever opened to light traffic at 5,000 kilograms was on Jan. 12, 1998.

Following the opening, crews continued to work to build the crossing up to the necessary 127 centimetres of ice needed to support the maximum vehicle weight. Even with extra crews department officials felt the crossing wasn't forming fast enough.

"We weren't getting ice formation as fast as in previous years," said Lafrance.

With approval from both Husky and Petro Canada the crew and equipment were brought in from Fort Providence. The companies will cover the costs of the extra work, Lafrance said. Lafrance was unable to give an exact cost for the project.

The Fort Providence crew, along with staff from Fort Simpson, worked over the weekend on the crossing.

A bypass road was created so vehicles could continue to use the crossing while the pumps sprayed the surface with water.

With the pumps online, 10 days worth of work using traditional methods was completed in a weekend, said Rod Gunderson, the district superintendent of highway operations.

The crossing was expected to open to its maximum weight capacity by Jan. 30, Lafrance said.

Co-operation between the Department of Transportation and industry is common because the movement of heavy equipment on the winter roads has to be coordinated, said Lafrance. The winter roads are in place to generate economic windfalls so it's important for industries to be able to utilize them, he said.

Graham White, a spokesperson for Husky Energy, confirmed the company was in discussions with the Department of Transportation about the completion of the crossing.

Husky is part of a consortium project together with International Frontier Resources Corp. and Pacific Rodera Energy. The companies will be conducting exploratory drilling at a site 100 kilometres north of Wrigley this winter, said White.

White said "lots of equipment" will have to be transported to the site for the project.

Using the spray pumps on the Ndulee has set a new precedent in the Deh Cho, said Lafrance.

For many years the same practices were used to build the crossing but now traditional methods have to be modified, he said.

"We have to be more vigilant and resourceful," said Lafrance.

People in the transportation industry have to start thinking about whether late openings are the result of climate change and what that will mean for the future, he said.

"You have to think differently," said Lafrance.