Ice road

Ice roads are roads that lead over frozen lakes, rivers or marine waters.

In countries where the climatic conditions allow it, such as Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Canada, the United States or Russia, ice roads are set up in the winter when weather conditions. This can cause over frozen waters and thus replace ferry routes. So the Finnish Road Administration oriented approximately in the winter regularly a seven- kilometer-long official ice road over the Lake Pielinen one, by which the distance between Lieksa and Koli more than halved.

Formerly an ice road was even decorated by the Kvarken over the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden in cold winters, such as during the Winter War 1939/40, and most recently in 1966 and 1970. However since kept free icebreaker a shipping channel in the Gulf of Bothnia, this is no longer possible.

The longest ice road Estonia joins the Baltic Sea island of Hiiumaa and the mainland is around 25 km long.

A well-known historical ice road was the " road of life ", was powered by the Leningrad during the siege in World War II on Lake Ladoga. Also ice roads can lead to remote places in the lead no paved roads. This applies to Tuktoyaktuk in Canada's Northwest Territories, which is in the summer because of the swampy muskeg tundra soils can only be reached by plane.

As longest ice road applies the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road, which connects the Tibbitt Lake near the Canadian city of Yellowknife on several gold and diamond mines with the 400 km northern Jericho Diamond Mine. It has a total length of 568 km, of which 73 km walk on land. Their main purpose is the ability to handle heavy load transports to supply the mines. It is only about two months opened in the year and the only road link of the territory of Nunavut with the rest of the American road network.

The authorities furnished ice roads are public roads on which almost always special traffic rules apply. For security reasons, a maximum weight for the passing vehicles. Also, the speed limit because beyond which triggered by the vehicles undulations can under the ice lead to dangerous cracks in the ice.

301188
de