YAKUTSK, April 8. /TASS/. Climate change and warming, observed in Yakutia's Arctic and northern territories, affect ice thickness, and therefore special light equipment is used in laying winter roads, said Nikolay Popov, first deputy director general and chief engineer of the region's Roads of Arctic Company.

"In recent years, warming and climate change have been evident in the northern and Arctic regions. This change hinders us from laying, tracing and inspecting winter roads in early winter - in November and December. In warm and snowy weather, the ice thickness is growing slowly, as the snow acts as a cushion that keeps the ice from freezing up. Therefore, in recent years we have been using light equipment," he said.

Presently, winter roads in Yakutia operate from December to mid-April, depending on climatic conditions. "While in the past we used to wait until the ice gets 40-50 cm thick to send out the equipment, now, in order to build up the ice thickness quickly, we at first are sending light equipment to clear off the snow. We have not used this method earlier, but due to the too slow ice freezing, we send out the equipment in late November - early December already. We use all-terrain vehicles Trekol, Burlak and lightweight MTZ and BTZ bulldozers. In the past, we used only the K-700 tractors, which weigh 20 tons," he continued.

"Moreover, to prepare winter roads, we also work in summer. This is due to the spring flood, which erodes the shores. By boats, all-terrain vehicles, we get to the descents to the reservoirs and align them, using shovels and motor pumps, to ensure a gentle ramp to the ice from the shore in winter," he explained.

The current situation

Winter roads, managed by the company, run through the Arctic and northern districts - Abysky, Allaikhovsky, Verkhnekolymsky, Verkhoyansky, Momsky, Nizhnekolymsky, Oymyakonsky, Srednekolymsky, Tomponsky, Ust-Yansky, Eveno-Bytantaysky. The winter roads are expected to close in the near future. Some of them have lower load capacity. By April 20, almost all winter roads are subject to closure, and using them will be banned for all types of vehicles.

The state-owned Roads of Arctic Company was established in 2014. "At that time, the company managed 3,774 km of roads. Over 9 years, the length of serviced roads has more than doubled, mainly due to the municipal winter roads. In recent three years, the company has received more than 1,500 km of seasonal roads," the company's representative said.

The company reports to the regional transport authority. The Roads of Arctic Company serves more than 8,100 km of roads, where more than 7,700 km are winter roads, more than 477 km are year-round paved roads. The company employs 310 people, uses 270 units of equipment. The company is financed from the regional road fund.