CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF THE FORT CHIPEWYAN WINTER ICE ROAD

摘要

Fort Chipewyan, Alberta is a remote Northern community of a population of about 920 that is isolated on the north side of Lake Athabasca about 720 km north of Edmonton and 260 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. In the summer, goods are transported to the hamlet by air and barges, but in the winter, after the lake freezes, an ice road is used. There is a time as between the first freeze-up and when the ice road is complete when the goods must be flown in. This paper discusses the construction and maintenance practices for the Fort Chipewyan winter ice road. This ice road is over 195 km long and comprises three main sections: (1) the "on-land" section, where the road is constructed in deep muskeg in some areas and sand in others (2) several river crossings over the Athabasca, Embarras, Quatre Fourches, and Des Roches Rivers (3) the final section of the road over Lake Athabasca. Construction begins usually in mid-November when the temperatures drop consistently below -18?C at night and when the daytime temperatures do not permit thawing. The portions of the road through the sandy areas are worked on first, where the road is leveled using normal road construction equipment and the sand is sprayed with water using 3000 Gallon water trucks to freeze the sand. The muskeg sections are then leveled and frozen in the same way. Work on the rivers and lake must wait until the water bodies have adequately frozen. On the lake, small trees are place alongside the road to mark the path. When complete, a journey on the road will take approximately 4.5 h to travel from Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan. Operation conditions and maintenance of the ice road are also discussed.