Ratdog68
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Tale time (been a while).
Come late fall, the ice begins to form on the Arctic Ocean. Time to put away the boats. For a few months, we get to/from via hovercraft. This in between time is called "Shoulder Season". Late in "Shoulder Season", when there's enough ice to support equipment, they begin Ice Road construction.
Initially, snow mobiles venture out. Workers bring cordless drills and auger bits to measure the depth of the ice. A VERY important lesson was learned a couple of winters ago. The workers were going out to re-check the route staked out... and, since it was such a nice day, had decided to walk for a spell. While they're doing their thing... one of the workers happens to look up. Less than 20yds away, a young boar (polar bear) is swatting the snow, stomping with his fore paws, chopping his teeth, and locking eyes with them. Now, mind you... not ONE of them was armed ! They're "hosed", and know it. The group stuck together and slowly backed away (in the general direction of where they'd parked their snow mobiles (about 100 yds. away). Nobody became a Happy Meal for Nanook, and a group of terrified workers came racing back to shore... demanding to have a bear guard with them. What they got was... a scolding for leaving their machines. Idling machines (only feet away) ensures one's best chance for escape from such emergencies.
Once the ice is thick enough, farm tractor styled equipment venture out to do their thing. They have a rack on the back which is geared, and allows them to move two implements (back and forth). The first is an auger (about 12") which bores down through the ice. The second is then moved into place to deploy a tubed shaped pump head. Water is pumped up and cast out onto the ice, flooding it with water to freeze up. Ideal Ice Road building temps are -20F. As the thickness of the ice increases, that section becomes heavier, sinks down just a little... and, the process is repeated... until the desired thickness if ice is achieved. For example, a CAT 966H front-end loader requires 48" of ice to support it's weight (roughly 60,000 lbs). Many of the tractor/trailers using the road are 80,000 lbs. EMPTY. Serious loads are hauled to our little island. Plywood boxes (cubes, 48" square) containing over a ton of chemical (dry) are stacked onto flatbed trailers. 20 tons of material are not uncommon (multiple trips per day). Drilling pipe/casing... weighing in at similar numbers (and more) are hauled out (multiple trips per day). It's nearly $1 Million/mile to build/maintain our Ice Road... which generally opens in February and lasts until April. The depth of the water between shore and our island varies from 3' to 8' deep. Ideal/shallow area for ice roads.
With Construction completed in February (usually begins in November), the maintenance contract kicks in. To travel on the Ice Road, one is required to stop (prior to going onto it), get out, and do a 360 degree inspection of his vehicle... to ensure it isn't leaking, is in good repair, isn't dropping chunks of dirt/gravel (and, there are NO paved roads in the area). The driver will have a spill kit on board (absorbent pads, two clear/heavy plastic bags, duct tape, label tag), a shovel, as well as a means of containment. "Containment" may be a diaper, made of a very heavy tarp material which will not allow fluids to penetrate. This diaper is affixed to various points under the vehicle to catch any/all "drips"... be they coolant, engine oil, transmission oil, power steering fluid, hydraulic fluid. NO fluids are allowed to be left on the surface of the Ice Road. Spills are immediately reported, and clean up crews are dispatched to take care of anything more than what the driver may clean up with his shovel/spill kit. Any/all spills are to be reported to the company... and standards are in place for reporting to environmental agencies (be they State, or Federal). The Coast Guard may be one of those called if a spill is large enough. The other means of "Containment" is, carry/use of a "Duck Pond". These are variously sized portable containments which are constructed of the same HEAVY tarp type material, which have rigid sides, creating a 4" high wall to contain leaks. Once you park, the "Duck Pond" is placed beneath the engine... when you come back to your vehicle, another 360 degree inspection and secure your "Duck Pond" into the bed of the truck and go about your business. Those "in the know" tether the "Duck Pond" to the vehicle with a section of rope, tying it to the driver's side mirror. This serves as a reminder to bring your containment with you... OR, keeps it from being blown away during a "blow"... OR, after the "blow", allows you to tug on your rope to find your snow-buried containment.
The reason that gravel/mud are not wanted on the ice road? Because, as spring arrives, the sun is out more. The sun will warm the darker items faster... causing degradation of the Ice Road faster.
From time to time, cracks can/do appear on the Ice Road. Inspections of the road are conducted daily... sometimes hourly. Cracks are dealt with by sending a road grader out, it will shave the surface and leave a berm on either side of the crack... creating a dyke of ice chips. Then a water truck will come along and lay down a stream of water to fill the crack. Once frozen, it'll be shaved smooth again with a large "snow blower" (big enough to chew up a pick-up). Another means (for heavier cracks) is to have the auger/pumping unit used to fill the void after the berms are created. Another means of dealing with a crack which comes back continually... as an open lead... is to bridge it with steel plate, and cover it with "chip" (ice) and flood it. These spots are single lane, and speeds reduced to 5mph.
Travel on the Ice Road is strictly monitored/enforced. 25mph for pick-ups, and if conditions warrant, all vehicles will slow to 15 mph, or less. The heavier a vehicle is, the more this applies. The faster the vehicle travels, the more this applies. As a vehicle travels on the ice, the ice sags and gives beneath the load. This pushes the water, and generates the beginning of a "wave" beneath the ice, which travels in front of the vehicle. This can cause cracking, even destruction of the road. Because the road is so expensive to make/maintain, preservation of the road's condition is paramount. Crew buses bring workers to/from the island for their rotations, a weekly semi delivers groceries for the camp kitchen, chemicals (wet/dry) are trucked, as well as drilling pipe/casing. Contractors coming/going to do various tasks they specialize in, people coming/going for meetings. Our little island is a popular place.
A couple of weeks ago, one of the rigs had a little problem. This is a tractor/trailer combination, a "dump bed" about 40' long, side walls are about 6' high. Empty, the rig is in the neighborhood of 80,000 lbs. In the dump bed of this rig is a water tank. The tank (insulated with about 4" of foam on the entire outside) sits at least 6' higher than the bed's walls. The tank also extends a few feet out behind, allowing it to drop down to axle height. A nozzle fans out from there. This is a water truck, used to flood the Ice Road surface, as it's reconditioned on a daily basis. You can imagine how many gallons of water this rig carries (at 8 lbs/gal). Well... this entire rig suddenly dropped 16" as the ice gave way beneath its weight. No threat of losing the rig (due to shallow waters and thickness of ice), but, it can sure wake a fellow up in a hurry ! No damage to the rig either. The rig was yarded out and driven to shore.
Repairs to the road... dump some chip, flood it, let it freeze. Dump some chip, flood it, let it freeze. After a few days, we were open for limited use... first, light trucks only (escorted). Then 80,000 limits (medium sized trucks with small loads) escorted. Then 100,000 limits (escorted). Tomorrow, the road should be reopened and regular use resuming.
Do NOT be "that guy" who neglects to check his rig and leaves a trail of oil drops, or, worse yet COOLANT drops along the length of the ice road. Each and every drop must be found/collected after someone reports the spill. And, trust me... it WILL be reported by someone... since someone ELSE is designated as the clean-up person. If it's -50F and blowing 40 mph... that clean-up task is BRUTAL on a 3 mile long ice road. "That Guy" can lose a good paying job and be sent home for negligent behavior. Stuff happens, and if you inspect/find a leak... and are doing what you can to clean it up before the clean-up crew arrives... life is still good for you. LOL
Just one of the little facets of life in the arctic, working the oil fields. Doing it "right" is what we strive to do, and doing it safely too. The most recent acknowledgement is that our island has exceeded 01 year without a lost time injury... probably a million man hours.
Come late fall, the ice begins to form on the Arctic Ocean. Time to put away the boats. For a few months, we get to/from via hovercraft. This in between time is called "Shoulder Season". Late in "Shoulder Season", when there's enough ice to support equipment, they begin Ice Road construction.
Initially, snow mobiles venture out. Workers bring cordless drills and auger bits to measure the depth of the ice. A VERY important lesson was learned a couple of winters ago. The workers were going out to re-check the route staked out... and, since it was such a nice day, had decided to walk for a spell. While they're doing their thing... one of the workers happens to look up. Less than 20yds away, a young boar (polar bear) is swatting the snow, stomping with his fore paws, chopping his teeth, and locking eyes with them. Now, mind you... not ONE of them was armed ! They're "hosed", and know it. The group stuck together and slowly backed away (in the general direction of where they'd parked their snow mobiles (about 100 yds. away). Nobody became a Happy Meal for Nanook, and a group of terrified workers came racing back to shore... demanding to have a bear guard with them. What they got was... a scolding for leaving their machines. Idling machines (only feet away) ensures one's best chance for escape from such emergencies.
Once the ice is thick enough, farm tractor styled equipment venture out to do their thing. They have a rack on the back which is geared, and allows them to move two implements (back and forth). The first is an auger (about 12") which bores down through the ice. The second is then moved into place to deploy a tubed shaped pump head. Water is pumped up and cast out onto the ice, flooding it with water to freeze up. Ideal Ice Road building temps are -20F. As the thickness of the ice increases, that section becomes heavier, sinks down just a little... and, the process is repeated... until the desired thickness if ice is achieved. For example, a CAT 966H front-end loader requires 48" of ice to support it's weight (roughly 60,000 lbs). Many of the tractor/trailers using the road are 80,000 lbs. EMPTY. Serious loads are hauled to our little island. Plywood boxes (cubes, 48" square) containing over a ton of chemical (dry) are stacked onto flatbed trailers. 20 tons of material are not uncommon (multiple trips per day). Drilling pipe/casing... weighing in at similar numbers (and more) are hauled out (multiple trips per day). It's nearly $1 Million/mile to build/maintain our Ice Road... which generally opens in February and lasts until April. The depth of the water between shore and our island varies from 3' to 8' deep. Ideal/shallow area for ice roads.
With Construction completed in February (usually begins in November), the maintenance contract kicks in. To travel on the Ice Road, one is required to stop (prior to going onto it), get out, and do a 360 degree inspection of his vehicle... to ensure it isn't leaking, is in good repair, isn't dropping chunks of dirt/gravel (and, there are NO paved roads in the area). The driver will have a spill kit on board (absorbent pads, two clear/heavy plastic bags, duct tape, label tag), a shovel, as well as a means of containment. "Containment" may be a diaper, made of a very heavy tarp material which will not allow fluids to penetrate. This diaper is affixed to various points under the vehicle to catch any/all "drips"... be they coolant, engine oil, transmission oil, power steering fluid, hydraulic fluid. NO fluids are allowed to be left on the surface of the Ice Road. Spills are immediately reported, and clean up crews are dispatched to take care of anything more than what the driver may clean up with his shovel/spill kit. Any/all spills are to be reported to the company... and standards are in place for reporting to environmental agencies (be they State, or Federal). The Coast Guard may be one of those called if a spill is large enough. The other means of "Containment" is, carry/use of a "Duck Pond". These are variously sized portable containments which are constructed of the same HEAVY tarp type material, which have rigid sides, creating a 4" high wall to contain leaks. Once you park, the "Duck Pond" is placed beneath the engine... when you come back to your vehicle, another 360 degree inspection and secure your "Duck Pond" into the bed of the truck and go about your business. Those "in the know" tether the "Duck Pond" to the vehicle with a section of rope, tying it to the driver's side mirror. This serves as a reminder to bring your containment with you... OR, keeps it from being blown away during a "blow"... OR, after the "blow", allows you to tug on your rope to find your snow-buried containment.
The reason that gravel/mud are not wanted on the ice road? Because, as spring arrives, the sun is out more. The sun will warm the darker items faster... causing degradation of the Ice Road faster.
From time to time, cracks can/do appear on the Ice Road. Inspections of the road are conducted daily... sometimes hourly. Cracks are dealt with by sending a road grader out, it will shave the surface and leave a berm on either side of the crack... creating a dyke of ice chips. Then a water truck will come along and lay down a stream of water to fill the crack. Once frozen, it'll be shaved smooth again with a large "snow blower" (big enough to chew up a pick-up). Another means (for heavier cracks) is to have the auger/pumping unit used to fill the void after the berms are created. Another means of dealing with a crack which comes back continually... as an open lead... is to bridge it with steel plate, and cover it with "chip" (ice) and flood it. These spots are single lane, and speeds reduced to 5mph.
Travel on the Ice Road is strictly monitored/enforced. 25mph for pick-ups, and if conditions warrant, all vehicles will slow to 15 mph, or less. The heavier a vehicle is, the more this applies. The faster the vehicle travels, the more this applies. As a vehicle travels on the ice, the ice sags and gives beneath the load. This pushes the water, and generates the beginning of a "wave" beneath the ice, which travels in front of the vehicle. This can cause cracking, even destruction of the road. Because the road is so expensive to make/maintain, preservation of the road's condition is paramount. Crew buses bring workers to/from the island for their rotations, a weekly semi delivers groceries for the camp kitchen, chemicals (wet/dry) are trucked, as well as drilling pipe/casing. Contractors coming/going to do various tasks they specialize in, people coming/going for meetings. Our little island is a popular place.
A couple of weeks ago, one of the rigs had a little problem. This is a tractor/trailer combination, a "dump bed" about 40' long, side walls are about 6' high. Empty, the rig is in the neighborhood of 80,000 lbs. In the dump bed of this rig is a water tank. The tank (insulated with about 4" of foam on the entire outside) sits at least 6' higher than the bed's walls. The tank also extends a few feet out behind, allowing it to drop down to axle height. A nozzle fans out from there. This is a water truck, used to flood the Ice Road surface, as it's reconditioned on a daily basis. You can imagine how many gallons of water this rig carries (at 8 lbs/gal). Well... this entire rig suddenly dropped 16" as the ice gave way beneath its weight. No threat of losing the rig (due to shallow waters and thickness of ice), but, it can sure wake a fellow up in a hurry ! No damage to the rig either. The rig was yarded out and driven to shore.
Repairs to the road... dump some chip, flood it, let it freeze. Dump some chip, flood it, let it freeze. After a few days, we were open for limited use... first, light trucks only (escorted). Then 80,000 limits (medium sized trucks with small loads) escorted. Then 100,000 limits (escorted). Tomorrow, the road should be reopened and regular use resuming.
Do NOT be "that guy" who neglects to check his rig and leaves a trail of oil drops, or, worse yet COOLANT drops along the length of the ice road. Each and every drop must be found/collected after someone reports the spill. And, trust me... it WILL be reported by someone... since someone ELSE is designated as the clean-up person. If it's -50F and blowing 40 mph... that clean-up task is BRUTAL on a 3 mile long ice road. "That Guy" can lose a good paying job and be sent home for negligent behavior. Stuff happens, and if you inspect/find a leak... and are doing what you can to clean it up before the clean-up crew arrives... life is still good for you. LOL
Just one of the little facets of life in the arctic, working the oil fields. Doing it "right" is what we strive to do, and doing it safely too. The most recent acknowledgement is that our island has exceeded 01 year without a lost time injury... probably a million man hours.
