Winter road on the ice of Baikal connected its largest island with the mainland. The Kurkut - Irkutsk Bay ice road, which connects the largest and only inhabited Baikal island of Olkhon with the mainland, was put into operation on Tuesday.

      The Olkhon ice crossing is the longest in the Irkutsk region, this year its length is 10.4 km. It is planned to deliver everything needed for the population of Olkhon and remove waste from the island.  The minimum ice thickness is 60 cm, the maximum is 93 cm. It is allowed to drive the cars with a mass of no more than 10 tons, at a speed of no more than 10 km / h. The edges of the winter road are marked with restrictive landmarks, painted with reflective paint; shields with rescue equipment are installed at the entrances. Check of the thickness and structure of the ice at the crossing will be carried out daily.

      In total it is planned to open 50 ice crossings in the Irkutsk region this winter. As previously reported, in the winter of 2018 the Baikal ice road worked less than a month and a half, from February 15 to March 26; in the winter of 2017 - almost two months, from February 10 to March 31.

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      Olkhon is the largest island on Baikal, 73.5 km long, up to 15 km wide. It is connected to the mainland by a ferry in summer and an ice road in winter. It is the most popular tourist destination in the Irkutsk region.