DAWSON CITY – Dawson’s second ice bridge, the one rated to carry 40,000 kg, opened for traffic last Friday week, according to Jim Regimbal, the northern area superintendent for the Department of Highways and Public Works.

It joins the 5,000-kg. route that has been in use since early January.

Cobalt has completed its work, and its equipment has been removed from the site.

There is an electronic sign installed at the beginning of the route which will be used to display information about the bridge. It was not yet operational at the time the accompanying photo was taken.

There was a sign advising drivers not to go faster than 15 km/h or 10 mph and to be sure the vehicles going in the same direction were spaced 200 metres or 500 feet apart.

The 40,000-kg route is a more direct connection between the two ends of the ferry landing.

It’s shorter than the 5,000-kg route, which began as a do-it-yourself connection before it was improved by Cobalt.

Now that the route with the thicker ice is in place, the highways department will take over the maintenance of the two bridges for the remainder of the winter.

The length of the season will depend, as usual, on the weather, the increasing sunlight and the speed of the spring thaw.