FOX, Alaska—The permafrost tunnel is getting an upgrade. A $11.4 million one, to be exact.
The U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center (ERDC) broke ground June 25 on its new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility, a 4,300 square-foot building that will contribute to significant advances in permafrost engineering, geotechnical research, and Earth and Mars polar science, as well as a greater understanding of life in extreme environments.
“As the Arctic’s physical environment continues to change and temperatures across the region increase faster than global average temperatures, understanding how and where thawing permafrost adversely effects our military’s missions, operational plans and installations is a critical national security issue,” said Dr. David Pittman, ERDC director. “The new Permafrost Tunnel Operations Facility will give U.S. Army scientists and researchers new tools and capabilities that will help them accomplish their important missions.”
The facility will be built adjacent to the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s (CRREL) Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska. Expected to be completed in November 2025, it will house office and meeting space, a visitor briefing area, and garage work and maintenance space. But most importantly to the researchers and scientists who will work in it, the new facility will house a laboratory with cold storage and a three-dimensional permafrost test bed.
“The new laboratory space will bolster our research, development, testing, and evaluation of geophysical and geotechnical capabilities, particularly for infrastructure development and expeditionary operations in challenging permafrost regions,” said Dr. Ivan Beckman, CRREL’s acting director. “This will directly lead to improved forecast models that assess current and future ground conditions, aiding in the evaluation of infrastructure vulnerabilities and the identification of impacts on training and deployment.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District will be among the many beneficiaries of the enhanced permafrost research capabilities made possible by the new facility, as the work it performs is often informed by ERDC researchers’ work.
“Between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District and the Engineer Research and Development Center, we are experts in the fields of arctic engineering, construction and research,” said Col. Jeffrey Palazzini, Alaska District commander. “It is not unusual for our projects to touch permafrost and it’s through our partnership with CRREL that we are able to navigate those engineering challenges and deliver for our nation.”
The project also includes site development, utilities and connection, well/pump house, fire water tank, information systems, paving, parking, walkways and drainage, and will meet modern access standards for individuals with disabilities.
Situated on a 16-acre parcel near the confluence of Goldstream and Glenn creeks, CRREL’s permafrost tunnel is a 650-meter-long research facility dug into a large block of continuous permafrost. The 1963 tunnel project initiated a U.S. and international effort to better understand permafrost that has lasted six decades. The tunnel intersects a wide range of permafrost features including ice wedges, segregated ice, thermokarst cave ice, frozen silts, gravels, and organic material.