Adventure along the Lena River Ice Road
Located in the Republic of Sakha, in northeast Russia, the Lena River Ice Road connects the port city of Yakutsk, on the west side of the river, and Nizhny Bestyakh on the east bank. It’s said to be one of the most dangerous roads of the country.
This amazing highway runs 15.6km (9,69 miles) along the frozen ice of the Lena River, the world’s 11th longest. It opens each late December and operates until the middle of April bringing vital supplies to remote settlements. This is the only crossing which connects Yakutsk with northern districts, located over the Lena river. Hundreds of these winter roads are the lifeblood of outlying Siberian communities yet they are dangerous. Each year dozens perish when their cars or trucks fall through cracking or melting ice. This road is one of the most important and dangerous roads in Russia.
Sometimes the crossing doesn’t hold heavy loaded trucks and the trucks go under the ice. Sometimes there can be icings and the crossing is closed. Much of the year the river is impassable due to flooding or ice floes or semi-thawed ice not supporting the weight of vehicles.
Pic: By Natxo Rodriguez from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country (Cruzando el río Lena congelado) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons