Inuvik’s Mike Zubko airport will be getting a $22-million upgrade to protect its runways from the effects of climate change.
The joint-investment by the Government of Canada ($16.5 million) and the GNWT ($5.5 million) will be used for upgrades to the runway and taxiway embankments, widening them as well as repairing surfaces and improving drainage. The upgrades are meant to ‘reduce the rate and extent of ground settlements throughout the airfield.’ The airport, which is built upon permafrost, has experienced the ground under the runway shifting in the past.
“The Inuvik Mike Zubko Airport is vital infrastructure for the Beaufort-Delta region,” Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Alfred Moses states. About 7,000 residents of the Beaufort Delta rely on this airport for travel, including medical travel, and the delivery of mail, freight and other goods.
