Description :
The ice road routed over Gordon Lake typically comprises of up to three lanes, i.e. the primary lane (east/right), express lane (centre), and backup lane (west/left). Each lane supports traffic in both directions. Travel of loaded trucks—mostly northbound—is restricted to the primary route at speeds up to 25 km h-1. The lane of choice for empty trucks—largely southbound—is the express route which permits speeds up to 60 km h-1. These general speed limits are complemented by other regulations, including rules relating to convoy size, vehicle spacing, and load weight/size. During the operating season, about 12 north-
and southbound transport trucks travel the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto winter road per hour, 24 hours per day, and 7 days per week. RADARSAT-2 multi-polarization image composites do not reveal the presence of truck traffic. Apparently, the C-band backscatter signals from trucks and ice roads are comparable.