Iceroad Construction at 35 below 0

[Randy Krieg]

Igammon: The iceroad is built over rivers, lakes and tundra. Some river and lake areas the ice is grounded; so in those areas all that is really required is to remove the snow. Where the road is built on ungrounded ice then we must thicken the ice by mixing snow and water into a slurry, which then freezes. On some of the river crossings, which have water underneath, the ice must be 12 feet thick to support the drill rig (the rig we moved in here 2 years ago weighed 2.5 million lbs.). The construction of the road (width and ice depth) is based on which drill rig will be used for that year’s program. Where the road is built over the tundra, those areas we have to pre-pack the snow over the tundra, which drives the frost into the tundra. Pre-packing is done with Tucker Sno-Cats and drags so as not to damage the tundra. If we don’t first drive the frost into the tundra it would be like building an ice road over peat moss (extremely unstable). Using GPS coordinates thermistors probes are put in the tundra every few miles and they are used to record the temperatures in the tundra and determine when it is safe to start building the iceroad over the tundra. Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) keeps track of these temperatures and frost depths and they give the clearance to go or not go. Once the frost is deep enough and clearance is given then the first thing is to ice in the bottom layers of snow that are naturally present on the tundra by flooding them with water. Then using snow and water we start building up the layers to smooth out the top. During the construction phase all snow, ice chips and water is hauled using Caterpillar and Volvo Articulated Trucks. During the final top coating (paving phase) conventional and artic water trucks are used. So BDFT has it just about right; we use the snow in other areas to build up the road and to build ramps up off the rivers and lakes, but we can’t just use snow alone. We mix it with water to form ice. In the areas where we don’t use snow then we grind the surface of the lakes using roto-mills and make ice chips. We are regulated by DNR as to how much water and ice chips we can take from each lake. In regards to your berm comment; berms or windrows up here are a bad deal. With all the blowing snow and wind any berm causes drifting and any drift can quickly get out of hand and plug the road with snow. Any time we clear the road we always use snow blowers so as not to form any berm close to the road.

I hope this helps you to understand some of the process.
Regards, Randy

 

[Ron1]

Very cool pics, I see you are working with, or for Cruz construction. I have been running grader in Western North Dakota for the last two years. And I tried to get on with them down here. They seem like a pretty top notch company. Keep up the good work and stay warm!

 

[Tinkerer]

Awesome photo quality Randy. What kind of camera do use ?

 

[lgammon]

thanks, there is always something to learn. all i can say is i feel for the poor mechanic that has to work in a place like that!

 

[RonG]

His camera is a Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd according to the EXIF info.Thanks for taking us along for the ride Randy,we would not get to see this stuff otherwise.Nice work as usual.Ron G

 

[Randy Krieg]

Thanks for the Compliments

Ron 1; That is correct, I do work for Cruz Construction, Alaska Division. They have 2 Divisions in North Dakota now. They are a great company to work for in Alaska. Some of my friends left The Alaska Division and went to work for the ND Division because they had so much work down there. Thank goodness for the Bakken Oil Field and American ingenuity.

Tinkerer; Ron G is exactly right; the pictures were taken with a Fuji Film’s Finepix S1000. It’s a 10.0 Mega Pix camera with a 16:1 digital zoom and is rather compact, which is nice for packing in the cab of a grader. It hangs perfectly from the factory coat hook! RonG thanks for the compliments, I enjoy showing fellow operators just what it takes to find more oil so we can keep powering this country.

Both shifts are grounded due to extreme cold right now; 50 below 0 outside. Not good for the equipment. Thank goodness for a warm camp!

 

[tuney443]

Thanks for the Compliments

Ron 1; That is correct, I do work for Cruz Construction, Alaska Division. They have 2 Divisions in North Dakota now. They are a great company to work for in Alaska. Some of my friends left The Alaska Division and went to work for the ND Division because they had so much work down there. Thank goodness for the Bakken Oil Field and American ingenuity.

Tinkerer; Ron G is exactly right; the pictures were taken with a Fuji Film’s Finepix S1000. It’s a 10.0 Mega Pix camera with a 16:1 digital zoom and is rather compact, which is nice for packing in the cab of a grader. It hangs perfectly from the factory coat hook! RonG thanks for the compliments, I enjoy showing fellow operators just what it takes to find more oil so we can keep powering this country.

Both shifts are grounded due to extreme cold right now; 50 below 0 outside. Not good for the equipment. Thank goodness for a warm camp!

''NOT GOOD FOR THE EQUIPMENT'' Hah--I was thinking about another logistical problem[maybe] at -50* regarding equipment. The type used for a liquid transfer when outside if need be.

 

[Randy Krieg]

Arctic Madness

''NOT GOOD FOR THE EQUIPMENT'' Hah--I was thinking about another logistical problem[maybe] at -50* regarding equipment. The type used for a liquid transfer when outside if need be.

At these temperatures it usually freezes before it hits the ground during transfer!

Up here we have a thing known as "Arctic Madness"; that's when the transfer tube is 4 inches long and the layers of clothes are 6 inches thick.

 

[Randy Krieg]

Arctic Madness

Suppose to hit 55 below tonight! With the windchill??? Instant Ouch when you walk outside.

 

[OldandWorn]

Both shifts are grounded due to extreme cold right now; 50 below 0 outside. Not good for the equipment. Thank goodness for a warm camp!

Geeze....how do you get the stuff running again?

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Brrrrrrrrrr!. Makes me cold just thinking about it.

 

[truefinn]

Great Stuff and I thought it was cold here in Finland!

One question out of interest, what is the cutting angle in your main blade and have you tested any of these special blades we use in Finland to even the icy road surface.

Here's a pic: http://www.metsatyo.fi/Shared/Images/ProductImages/Hms3000.jpg

 

[YellowIorn]

I'm sure you've been asked & answered a hundread times if you guys leave your iorn running 24/7 up there Randy so you don't have to answer, but I am curious about what you guys do about fuel. I imagine you guys run thin "arctic" oil or even synthetic's for engine, transmission and hydro(big fan of the stuff), but at those extremes the 50/50 off-road & kerosene mix we use in the winter's say here in Maine must not cut it up in god's country. Do you overdose with those "Power Service" and "Disesel 9-1-1" additives or run heavier doses of K-1? I know I had the winter diesel blues here and we don't get much colder the 10 below ambiaent all winter in south western Maine. Thank You and great work, Ryan

 

[Radrock]

Geeze....how do you get the stuff running again?

They probably never shut it off haha

 

[Randy Krieg]

Slow Response!

Gentlemen
I apologize for my slow response, but we were running 7 days a week, 12 and sometimes 18 hours a day. The iceroad and drill-pad are now completed (see upcoming thread) so I got to come home for some rest.

Ryan/YellowIorn, in regards to fuel; we use straight Number 1 in the winter. We lose about 15 to 20 percent power, but the stuff has a much lower cloud point and won’t turn to jelly like #2 does. We do use some Power Services 911 when we are transitioning for Number 2 to Number 1 in the Fall months. We run Synthetics in just about everything and even they have problems sometimes.

OldandWorn, most of the time the machines do run 24 hours a day, but like everything else, things change and they have to be shut down sometimes. Getting them restarted is like waking the dead. A machine that’s been sitting for days a sub zero temperatures gets a very eerie look to it. We plug in the block heaters, pad heaters and pump heat into the engine compartment with an ES700 portable heater. The ES700 uses a 700,000btu diesel fired Carlin Burner http://www.equipmentsourceinc.com/heaters.htm . A few hours of heating and they light right up.

truefinn, we run Kennametal http://www.kennametal.com/images/repositories/catalog/us/KMTL-Scarifier_Blades_for_Graders.pdf edges and tool holders with a C-87KCSB-SR tooth. This system is very similar to the ones you’re using.

Regards Randy

 

[Radrock]

Thank for the kewl photos Randy, I don't envy you at all. Looks way to cold to me. When I lived in Colorado we seen some cold mornings as low as 35 below. I didn't like that either but your extremes are worse and you probably don't see much sunshine either. Keep warm.

 

[Aussie Leroy]

Randy Kreig ; How long does the cold,ice,snow stay for (weeks months), Man never been around cold like that in my 54 years only just seen Zero "C" on the thermomator, Cheers Randy, love the pics just a whole new world to me.

 

[HEO Girl]

Wow! A few hours for them to thaw enough to even attempt to start them. That's nuts.

 

[OldandWorn]

Randy Krieg, thanks for pics and I see what you mean by eerie looking. I imagine batteries could even freeze if they don't have a full charge.

 

[Bluetop Man]

Great thread, but when it comes to frozen over lakes and rivers, I would much prefer ice fishing. Interesting environment, to say the least. Only way I'd do that is riding sleeper team with that gal on Ice Road Truckers.