Winter Road Not Yet Frozen

A snowplow driver went missing and was presumed drowned after the vehicle crashed through the ice on a lake. He had been assigned to plow a winter road linking two communities. Police in the area had warned the ice was not yet thick enough to handle the snowplow, but the road maintenance department had determined it was safe enough to cross. The winter road was not yet open to the public when the incident occurred.

Winter roads are common in Alaska and northern Canada, with motor vehicles and other means of transport using frozen lakes and rivers to move from one place to another. Crossing at the beginning of freezeup and near spring breakup is the most hazardous. Making sure conditions are safe for work and travel is vital in any climate.