The winter road from Yellowknife to Dettah opened as of 3 p.m. on Jan. 10 for vehicles weighing up to 5,000 kgs, according to the GNWT Department of Infrastructure.
This marks the second latest date on record for Dettah winter road access since 1993.
During the past two years, the road opened around Dec. 24, on average. The latest opening date was on Jan. 11, 1993, the department’s records show.
The road has been under construction since Dec. 22, with challenges posed by large areas of water overflowing across the Yellowknife end of Dettah ice road alignment. The ice had to be a minimum of 35 cm thick to safely start the road clearing process.
The Great Bear Lake ice crossing to Deline also opened to vehicles weighing up to 5,000 kgs, but passage on that road began on Jan, 11.