First Iqaluit dock plan developed in 1979

Plans to build a dock in Iqaluit have been on the drawing board for many years.

In 1979, the federal Department of Transport sent a team to survey and perform diamond drilling in the bed rock situated at the site known as Inuit Head. It had been determined that Inuit Head was the ideal location, due to the depth of water at low tide.

The plans at that time included a 400-foot-long dock suitable for all sizes of ships, a mobile crane on tracks suitable for the heaviest lifts, a huge warehouse enclosed in a compound, and a road that tied into the existing road to the causeway.

It was in the late 1950s that the American military constructed what remains of the so-called causeway. It was composed of huge rocks that were quarried on site and pushed into the bay to form the basic pier. A series of caissons were sunk into the bottom of the bay to help support the structure. A large area at the end was built to allow enough space for a ship to tie up and for trucks to load, turn and haul their loads to the site of the new runway and the SAC base. Its surface was paved.

This facility was built for that purpose only, but it did allow for civilian use some years later. Unfortunately, it was not built high enough and during winter, ice floes slowly destroyed the surface, which eventually led to its unservicability.

The causeway was used for smaller ships that would carry goods from the larger ships unable to sail into much shallower water. However, the basin at the tanker terminal is deep and suitable for much larger vessels. Hence the decision to use the point at Inuit Head.

The idea of building a suitable dock in just any community in Nunavut is not practical. The infrastructure exists in Iqaluit: a fully functional airport and fuel supplies.

Bryan Pearson
Iqaluit