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A total of 210,000 tonnes, or 6,545 loads, were hauled on the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto Winter Road over 57 days this season. - Mike W. Bryant /NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Despite warmer than normal temperatures this winter, the winter road season was a success, the road's director told Yellowknifer.

All freight planned for resupply of the diamond mines was sent before the road closed on March 28.

"It certainly was a challenging year just because of the warmer than normal temperatures," said Ron Near, director of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road joint venture. "That made it certainly challenging and did cause additional work for the teams involved in building the road."

The road, which operated 57 days after opening on Feb. 1, reached full thickness of 41 inches by March 1, later than last year when it reached full capacity thickness on Feb. 17.

Nonetheless, all freight planned for the mines made it this season, with 210,000 tonnes, or 6,545 loads, hauled on the road.

As far as backhaul, all freight to be returned was transported from the mines, including rock boxes from the decommissioning of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.'s 218-tonne haul trucks. There were 656 backhaul loads.

Due to the weather, the road was closed three times this year, including four days in March when a "huge storm" occurred at the northern end of the route.

Despite the closures, all freight, including fuel, cement, explosives, steel, and "just about anything needed to run a small town," was transported to the mines, Near said.

Nuna Logistics, the team in charge of building the road, and Deton Cho RTL on the secondary route, did an "absolutely excellent job on building and maintaining the road," Near said.

In 2006, successful transport of all freight was not achieved, when the road was cut off early due to mild weather, and never reached full capacity that year.

A "considerable amount" of freight had to be flown into each of the three joint venture partners that year, which, according to Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, could be four to eight times more expensive per pound than by road.

Besides the three diamond mines, nine exploration and remediation properties also supplied their projects using the road this year.

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