At least two workers involved in the construction and maintenance of ice roads in northern Ontario have died this winter after their equipment broke through the ice. Those deaths have prompted one Thunder Bay equipment supplier to incorporate a new standard feature in all of the winter-road grooming equipment he sells.
“As a matter of policy, all of our equipment now features a retro-fitted escape hatch in the roof of the cab to provide operators with a way out in an emergency,” says Rick Prior, manager of Loch Lomond Equipment Sales.
Prior’s shop crew cuts a hole in the fiberglass roof of the groomer, then installs an aluminum frame with a 22- by 22-inch door made of Lexan.
“The door is held in place with heavy Velcro, so you can easily open it if you need to exit through the roof,” says Prior.
The cost of installing the kit adds about $1,200 to the price of each vehicle. The hatch will be installed in both new and used units.
Prior is also equipping cabs with a combination plastic hammer and seatbelt cutter that might assist trapped drivers in an emergency.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported that Henry Meekis died after his ice groomer crashed through thin ice on Deer Lake in December. A few weeks later, the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service’s North West Region Crime Unit and OPP recovered the body of operator Thomas McDonald after a similar incident near Kenora.
“It’s possible that the operators of the equipment couldn’t get out of the cab of their groomers in time,” says Prior. “Sometimes it’s water pressure or ice that could hinder opening the door.”
Northern Ontario’s 3,000-km network of winter roads provides a vital link and commercial lifeline for First Nations communities. Goods shipped by ice roads are substantially cheaper than those flown in by plane.
“There’s an urgency for winter roads to be opened so that these communities can bring in supplies, diesel fuel to run their generators, large goods and construction materials,” says Prior.
“The ice road season can last from mid-January to as late as April. But with recent warmer temperatures the season has been much shorter and there’s an urgency to get ice road construction started.”
With a shorter season, and thinner than usual ice at the beginning and end of the season, winter road construction can be much more hazardous.
Ice roads are built up slowly, beginning with packing snow over swamp and muskeg and flooding the ice surface with water. Adjacent open water then freezes and winter road builders follow a planned route, drilling holes in the ice and pumping water over the road surface.
When the road ice thickens sufficiently, full-sized, wide-track snow groomers, such as those made by Bombardier, are sent out to maintain the roads.
The groomers weigh about 7,200 kilograms, although that weight is distributed across extremely wide tracks.
“They have a low-pressure footprint and they are the lightest of the heavy equipment used in winter road construction,” says Prior.
“However, some of our customers are seeking even lighter equipment, because they feel it might be safer on fragile ice.”
Prior recommends that ice road builders use spotters to look for cracks in the ice and other danger signs.
He also recommends that crews begin the season with the lightest equipment that can take on the work at hand, then gradually work up to full-sized equipment.
The earliest packing work might be completed with an Argo amphibious tracked vehicle weighing in at around 750 kgs.
“Next they could move up to an interim machine like the PistenBully Scout, or the amphibious Land Tamer, which are tracked utility vehicles similar to the larger groomers, but at less than half the weight,” says Prior.
“They don’t offer the same width of coverage, but the safety of the operator is more important than speed.”
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