Constructing a New Garage
The garage on the north side of the station has been in sevice for ten years already, and over that peridod of time, the ice it has been standing on it has shifted and retreated. It was time to do something aobut it: build a new garage that can be adjusted as the ice moves.
This photo gallery documents the first several weeks that the BELARE team has been working on this task.
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The old garage was anchored in the ice. As the ice moved and shifted, so did the walls of the garage. This season, as the movement of the ice over ten years had displaced the structure of the old garage quite a bit, it was time to build a new one.
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The new garage will be anchored on hinges attached to the granite ridge that the station is built on.
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A lot of work has to be done on the rock to prepare the anchor points.
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The BELARE team working to prepare the anchor points in the granite ridge.
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The team must cut into the granite and bore a hole into the ridge in order to make sure the hinge will be level and stable.
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The granite is first sliced to make it easier to break the rock away.
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It's hard work cutting through granite.
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Here you can see the first anchor point.
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Before installing the metal hinge, the team double checks that everything is even.
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The hinge will need to be aligned correctly.
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The team uses a jack hammer and a grinder to prepare the granite to receive the new hinge.
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The holes will need to be drilled deep in order to fasten the hinge that will help the new garage be moved as the ice beneath it shifts and retreats.
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Drilling into the granite and installing the hinge is a tough job, but the BELARE team is up to the task. Everyone works well as a team.
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In the old garage preparing the metal hinge.
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These emergency backup gensets will soon be re-installed in the new garage.
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The hybrid Komatsu drags out the old backup genset before the garage is demolished.
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Before any work to dismantle the old garage can be done, the team must shovel the snow off of it.
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The old garage has been been cleared of all tools and equipment in preparation for the demolition.
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One last look at the old garage before demolition beings.
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The first step in dismantling the old garage is to remove the EPDM roofing material to ensure that it won't be mixed up with the wooden debris.
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Using a hybrid Komatsu to break apart the wood of the old garage.
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A piece of the old garage has already been dismantled, leaving a large, empty space in front of the station.
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Piece by piece, the wood from the roof of the old garage is taken off.
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Aerial drone footage shows the hybrid Komatsu being used to help remove wood panels from the ceiling of the old garage.
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Parts of the old garage roof are piled onto a sledge to be recycled or disposed of.
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Slowly the team makes progress to remove the roof of the old garage.
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The drone takes another nice aerial photo of the work being done on the garage.
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After a few days of work, the roof of the old garage is gone.
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An aerial view of the old garage without its roof.
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Now the walls will be removed from the old garage. Stay tuned for updates!
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