Ice Removal

[mgb]

Thought some might like to see what I think is interesting, I take a cable ferry to work every day. In some particularly bad winters the river really closes up and to get the ferry through the ice has to be removed. They remove the ice using excavators. These pics have been taken over a period of about a week and a half. All of the ice they remove sits on top of the river ice; not sure the pics really do the size justice. Hope you enjoy.

[mgb]

And some more:

[Mikem]

Where is that ? Mike

[Lil Giants]

For part of the winter would it not be more feasible to pull the ferry out & make the crossing an ice road?

[jack van]

Originally Posted by Lil Giants

For part of the winter would it not be more feasible to pull the ferry out & make the crossing an ice road?

not to sure about this as i am guessing but any iceroad must reach a thickness to hold a fixed wieght

[mgb]

Mike: This is the Crossing between Harding's Point and Westfield, just outside Saint John New Brunswick.

Joe: They never pull the ferries out, most people wouldn't take the ice if it was available. In this section of the river the current is usually very strong and it doesn't always freeze up like this, only in certain conditions.

Jack: Winters here have been suspect for the last few years. We used to have an ice road when it was more predictable; there was no official measurement by the gov't of thickness, just local knowledge and travel at own risk. I believe it was 11 km's long and saved about 20 minutes on the trip to the city, but it crossed a different river.