SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A new ice road leading out from the dock at Giant Mine is being built to transport four giant fuel tanks to the Bluefish Hydro Dam approximately 20 km north of Yellowknife.

This empty 450,000 litre fuel tank is one of four tanks that are being transported to the Bluefish Hydro Dam via an ice road across Yellowknife Bay to the Dettah junction on the Ingraham Trail. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

Mike Bradshaw, director of corporate communications with the NWT Power Corporation, said the ice road was needed to avoid power lines on the Ingraham Trail, which are too low for the big tanks.

One tank, currently resting on the Giant Mine dock, has a 450,000 litre capacity. The tank was transported to Yellowknife from Power Corp.'s tank farm in Tuktoyaktuk.

"It's certainly come along way," said Bradshaw.

He said the ice road at Giant mine extends across Yellowknife Bay, and then through the bush to the Dettah junction on the Ingraham Trail. From there, the tanks will move up the Ingraham Trail to another ice road on Prosperous Lake, heading to the dam which the power company is repairing. The fuel tanks are being used for fuel for equipment and other operations on the site.

As for how long it will take to get all the tanks to the dam, Bradshaw said that depends on whether the ice road can continue to handle the heavy loads, and also on the weather.

On Wednesday, the ice road builder Roberston Trucking Ltd., measured the ice on Yellowknife Bay at 34 inches, said Bradshaw. He said between 38 to 44 inches are needed to safely haul the four tanks across the lake.

"It is certainly important for us to get in the heavier loads in as quickly as possible," said Bradshaw.

The Power Corp. contracted out the project to Robertson Trucking Limited, which has subcontracted out the project to the Deton'Cho Corporation to do the flooding of the road. Bradshaw estimates the cost for the pioneering and the ice development of the road to be between $80,000 to $100,000.

The power company is looking at other methods of transportation to get materials to the site in the summer, including barging.

"We aren't even sure that can happen with water levels but we are exploring that too," said Bradshaw.

The NTPC expects the repaired dam to be operational by 2011.

- with files from Mike W. Bryant