Construction
Measuring 219 km (136 mi) in length and 138 km (86 mi) wide, Lake Ladoga (or Lake Nevo as it was called in ancient times) is one of Europe’s largest lakes of its kind. Due to its size and unpredictable weather conditions, many speculated that the construction of an ice road connecting its shores would be impossible.
Although the Russians had previous historical experience in ice road construction (an ice railroad had been laid over the Kola River near Murmansk during World War I, and another over a portion of Lake Baikal during the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway), none of their prior endeavors were as complicated or as urgent as the Ladoga supply route. Even during winter, the region’s erratic winds were capable of increasing or decreasing the lake’s water level by as much as four feet within just a few hours. A team of engineers was quickly assembled to ensure that the proposed 30 mile route would be structurally sound; one Leningrad scientist noted:
“At 23 degrees above zero 4 inches of ice would form in 64 hours; at 14 above 4 inches would form in 34 hours, at 5 above zero 4 inches in 23 hours. A foot of ice would be laid down in 24 days at 23 above. It would take 8 days to create a foot of ice at 5 above”.
Additionally:
- A minimum of 4 inches of ice was necessary to support a horse without cargo.
- A minimum of 7 inches of ice was necessary to support a horse-drawn sleigh with one ton of cargo.
- A minimum of 8 inches of ice was necessary to support a truck transporting one ton of cargo.
Although only a foot of ice was required to support mass transit along the route, the actual thickness of the ice typically ranged from 3-5 feet, a density thick enough for nearly any task.
Once the route had been confirmed and tested for stability, larger plows and snow carving machines were then used to widen the ice road and make it more suitable for automobile transport. By February 1942, large snow banks on either side of the route had been made into massive ice walls, which shielded transport from the lake’s harsh winds. At each kilometer, a traffic guard flagged the convoy onward, and warned of obstructions or accidents ahead. As the ice melted in the spring, the ice road was dissolved and replaced with a flotilla system that continued to ferry goods across the massive lake.
As soon as the ice hardened, the Road of Life was reconstructed again in the winter of 1942, and once more in the following winter of 1943.
Read more about this topic: Road Of Life
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