In Lieksa, the ice road from Vuonislahti to Koli is a good seven kilometers long. Stock photo. MATTI TANNER

The Vuonislahti-Koli ice road, listed as the longest ice road in Europe’s inland waters, was opened after weeks of suspense. In Lieksa, North Karelia, the road over Pielinen was officially opened last Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

– This has been a very exciting time. Although there have been frosts, the snow has messed things up badly. Every time it has been plowed, there is always new snow. It’s a good insulator, that snow cover, when you need to get the sides of the road in order to get the required 20 meter width, a person from Vuonislahti who made the ice road together with another contractor Calle Heinonen tells.

The large amount of snow on top of the ice has caused great difficulties in plowing the road, because a thick layer of water and slush has remained under the snow. The snow has also pushed water into the plowed area. In addition, before the opening of the road, plow operators have been stuck in water slush numerous times, both with tractors, pick-up trucks and ATVs. In the heavy slush snow, parts of work machines have also broken several times. It also has its own risk in the fact that the load-bearing capacity of the ice outside the road area is worse than in the plowed area.

However, Heinonen says that moving on ice with machines has not been terrible.

– You always have to ensure the quality of the ice as soon as you change to a heavier machine. That’s where the risk lies. But keep your wits about you and work in pairs so that if something happens, the other person will be able to help, he says.

Men always have ice collars around their necks and a change of clothes in a waterproof bag just to be safe.

The construction of the road over Finland’s fourth largest lake was not helped even by the exceptionally hard frosts in the days between Christmas and early January, when the mercury in the thermometers dropped to close to 40 degrees below zero on several days. Heinonen says that even in severe frost, freezing was slow because the snow served as such a good insulator.

– He had wild dreams already at Christmas time that the road would be opened, but when the snow has been falling continuously, he says.

Ten holes

In order to open the ice road, the requirement of the North Karelia Ely Center (Business, Transport and Environment Center) is that there must be at least 40 centimeters of steel ice along the entire distance of seven kilometers. Heinonen says that in the measurements made the other week, it was already seen that the ice was in many places well above the requirements. However, the road could not be plowed to the required width because of the water lurking under the snow. The situation was not made easier by the plus bills. The previous weekend, the road had already been plowed into an “airport”, but a heavy snowstorm came right after.

Finally, on Friday, in the measurements of the Ely center and the contractors, it was found that all the requirements were met and that the opening was possible. As in previous years, the opening was preceded by the drilling of more than 200 measurement holes in the ice.

Now the surface of the ice road is still so uneven that a speed limit of 30 kilometers is in force the entire way. When the road surface is improved, the limit is supposed to be increased to the normal 50 kilometers per hour.

– It’s that kind of place on the ice where you never know what’s going to happen. I’m in my fourth winter now and each one has been completely different. You’re always learning, and you can’t plan much in advance, says Heinonen.

He says that work has been done on the ice since the beginning of December. The ice situation was inspected for the first time already on December 4 with a hydrocopter. As soon as the carrying capacity was sufficient, plowing began with the ATV.

– We have been working on that ice every day. Now that’s quite a job win.

The deadline for opening the ice road is mid-February every year. If the opening is not successful by now, it will not be attempted again in the same winter. This has happened four times in the ice road’s history, which began in 1980, and the last winter that was difficult for the road was in 2022. Also in 1984, 1992 and 2001, the road has not been opened.

More than 500 vehicles

Heinonen says that the ice road is eagerly awaited among the locals and the makers have been busy answering questions about the situation. After the opening on Saturday, motorists were literally queuing on the ice road.

– The car was like in London, Heinonen laughs.

The Vuonislahti-Koli ice road has been open more than mid-April in the best winters. It was opened in record time in the winter of 2010, when traffic started already on December 15. In this case, it was possible to keep the road open until April 4.

The ice road usually has to be closed in the spring and winter due to water rising on the ice. Last year, the road was opened just before the deadline of February 13 and was able to be kept open until April 11. Even in this case, the opening was preceded by days of tension, with water rising under the snow causing challenges.

After opening, the ice road may have to be temporarily closed due to, for example, dangerous ruts or water that has risen on the ice. An exceptional snowstorm can also block the road and in that case it has to be closed for plowing.

The ice road shortens the distance between the center of Lieksa and Koli by 51 kilometers. At its best, more than 500 vehicles per day have driven along it.

The ice road crossing Pielinen is one of Finland’s three official ice roads. The other two are located in Hailuodo and Kemijärvi.