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Investigation Starts After Snowcat Falls Through Ice on Yukon River

Thursday, 24 January 2019 16:17

A view of a previous ice bridge.

Construction for the Dawson City Ice Bridge has been halted as the investigation is ongoing.

The Occupational Health and Safety Board and a local contractor for the construction of the Dawson City Ice Bridge are investigating an incident after a snowcat broke through the ice and plunged to the bottom of the Yukon River.

Director of the transportation branch of the Highways and Public Works Paul Murchinson says the contractors were doing snow clearing work on-site when the ice failed.

"While they were doing that clearing work, the ice failed and and the snowcat that they had doing the work fell through the ice and into the river. Thankfully the operator of that piece of equipment was able to safely exit (and that) no one was injured."

The incident occurred in shallow water around the ferry landing, and construction on the ice bridge has since stopped as the investigation is ongoing.

Murchinson says the future weather patterns and impacts from the ongoing investigation could determine whether the bridge opens this year.

"The fluctuations with warmer temperatures that we're seeing also changes in the morphology of moving gravel bars in the river. Those changes and conditions puts us in a scenario that with the budget we have, there's no certainty that the ice bridge would be constructed. There's so many unknowns".

Kamloops-based NOR-EX Engineering also is assisting Cobalt Construction with the engineering and construction of the bridge and the latest a bridge has ever been constructed is February 9th.

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