In Yukon’s deep winter, when the thermometer plunges to –40 C and below, a quiet army of workers keeps northern communities moving. Construction and service crews in Dawson City and Whitehorse adapt to extreme cold and maintain critical infrastructure like the Yukon River ice bridge.
They apply proven safety protocols that allow essential work to continue in one of the harshest climates on Earth.
Building an Ice Highway at –40 C
Each winter, the Yukon River freezes and becomes more than a scenic backdrop—it turns into a transportation lifeline. In Dawson City, crews are shaping this seasonal ice into a usable bridge that reconnects isolated residents with the townsite.
The Yukon River Ice Bridge: A Critical Lifeline
The annual ice bridge across the Yukon River links West Dawson and Sunnydale to Dawson City’s main townsite. Without it, communities on the far side of the river face significant barriers to accessing groceries, medical care and other essential services.
With the George Black ferry removed for the season, this frozen route becomes the only practical crossing until the spring breakup. This week, the bridge opened to light traffic, giving residents much-needed access after weeks of isolation.
If ice growth continues as expected, heavier vehicles will be allowed in January, restoring normal movement of supplies and fuel.
Field Conditions: Engineering on Ice
Working at –40 C is not just uncomfortable—it changes the physics of materials, machinery and even the human body. Crews must constantly assess ice thickness, structural integrity and load-bearing capacity while contending with blowing snow and brutal wind chill.
Every decision—where to clear snow, when to flood the ice to build thickness, how to direct traffic—is made with safety and redundancy in mind. In this environment, experience matters, and local knowledge can be as critical as any instrument reading.
Human Factors: How Crews Survive the Cold
Behind every successfully completed shift in these temperatures lies a careful strategy for protecting workers. Construction crews across Yukon have refined cold-weather protocols over years of trial and error, learning to respect the limits of both people and equipment.
Short Shifts and Constant Monitoring
On the Dawson ice bridge, Cobalt Construction’s crew works in tightly controlled intervals. As project lead Will Fellers explains, outdoor shifts are limited to one or two hours at a time.
Then workers must return to a warm space to recover, rehydrate and check for early signs of cold-related injuries. Crew members monitor each other’s faces, hands and behavior for symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia.
In these conditions, numbness, confusion or loss of coordination are treated as urgent warnings, not minor inconveniences. No task is important enough to ignore the first sign of injury.
Changing Workflows in Whitehorse
Farther south in Whitehorse, where temperatures have also hovered near or below –30 C for weeks, many employers have temporarily shifted away from outdoor operations. Safety, not scheduling, dictates whether work proceeds.
Ketza Construction, for example, typically stops exterior work at around –25 C. Below that threshold, crews perform only short outdoor tasks, followed by mandatory warm-up breaks in heated shelters or vehicles.
This approach maintains productivity where possible while recognizing that cold stress accumulates quickly and can be deceptive.
Preparedness and Teamwork: Core Safety Principles
Across the territory, companies have converged on a similar set of practices for surviving extreme cold while keeping essential work going. These measures are not optional add-ons—they are built into project planning from the outset.
Planning, Equipment and Emergency Readiness
Firms like Arctic Backhoe Services adjust their operations to minimize risk. Wherever possible, work is moved indoors, and staff avoid long exposures in open environments.
When travel outside city limits is unavoidable, crews are required to carry emergency supplies, recognizing that mechanical breakdowns or weather-related delays can quickly turn dangerous.
Typical cold-weather readiness plans include:
These protocols are backed by a culture of vigilance and teamwork. Supervisors and workers share responsibility for recognizing hazards, slowing down when conditions deteriorate and stopping work entirely when risk exceeds acceptable limits.
Working Safely in the North: Lessons from Yukon
The current cold snap in Yukon, with temperatures rarely climbing above –30 C, highlights a broader reality of northern life: essential services don’t stop when winter turns dangerous. Instead, they adapt.
From the Dawson City ice bridge to construction yards in Whitehorse, employers have learned that long-term success in the North depends on three pillars—preparedness, communication and respect for the environment.
Here is the source article for this story: Extreme cold waether won’t stop some Yukoners from getting their jobs done