Design and performance of the Inuvik, N.W.T., airstrip

The Inuvik airfield was constructed between 1956 and 1958 on a site underlain by frozen fine-grained soils containing considerable quantities of ice. Its design and performance were therefore of considerable concern. The airfield consists of an embankment of rock fill constructed on the undisturbed ground surface to a thickness sufficient to prevent, or minimize, thawing of the frozen subgrade soils: from 2.5 to 4.2 m, and averaging about 3m. The airfield was paved with asphaltic concrete in 1969. Ground temperatures were measured at several locations in the subgrade and the embankment from 1958 to 1974. All temperature observations showed that the permafrost table moved up at least 0.6 m into the fill after construction was completed in 1958 and remained at about the same level in subsequent years, even after paving. The airstrip has performed extremely well to date and has required little maintenance work.
Fourth Canadian Permafrost Conference, March 2, 1981, Calgary, Alberta, Canada