TUKTOYAKTUK
Residents in Tuktoyaktuk came out to celebrate the official opening of the James Gruben Airport Terminal Building April 11.

Darrel Nasogaluak, centre, mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, was presented with a commemorative plaque during the opening ceremony for the James Gruben Community Airport April 11. Also pictured are Transportation Minister Tom Beaulieu, left, and Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson. - photo courtesy of Roya Grinsted

While the building has been operational since 2012, the official opening was delayed to allow dignitaries, elders and guests to travel to Tuktoyaktuk for the ceremony, said Terry Brookes, manager of buildings and planning with the airports' division of the Department of Transportation.

Brookes is using the trip to check up on the building and see how it's functioning after a couple of years of operation.

He said one of the most important considerations that went into its construction was energy efficiency.

"With the new building, there are many new materials that are used nowadays that are much more robust," Brookes said.

The building cost about $2 million, $700,000 of which was provided by the federal government through its Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. The territorial government provided the remaining funds.

Brookes said the old airport, which was constructed in the 1980s, was a "piecemeal" project that had become outdated.

"The old building, I'll say, was very energy inefficient," he said. "That was a big bill that we had to pay ourselves as taxpayers."

The new building is built on jacks, which can be adjusted to accommodate the structure if it shifts.

"You could lose some of your integrity in terms of slight cracking here and there," he said. "With jacks, it allows you to go and adjust it now and then."

Brookes said this will help prevent cracks from forming, which will keep more heat inside the building and avoid cold air from seeping in.

"A very inefficient building will lose a lot of air, and that's air you've heated up, and it goes outside then cold air comes in and you have to heat it up again," he said. "This is saving heat by maintaining the integrity of the building."

The airport's communications and navigation systems have also been upgraded and its mechanical room was constructed large enough to allow workers to perform tasks comfortably.

Brookes said the building was constructed to allow local mechanics to fix most problems that arise.

"In one sense, a good building is built as simply as you can make it, that's the best building you can get," he said. "Making sure that anything that can happen there - and buildings break down because they are mechanical things - the local people can repair it and maintain it and keep it going."

He said, ideally, workers would be able to get parts needed for repairs from Inuvik.

"You don't want something that people can't handle, or you can't get spare parts for," he said. "That's not a good design."

The building was also constructed closer to the landing apron, giving passengers a quicker, safer walk to the airport terminal, Brookes said.

Artifacts and artwork, such as a bronze statue of the facilities namesake James Gruben - a local bush pilot/businessman who was killed on the ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk - have been transferred to the new building.

Brookes said in the North, airports are much more than just facilities where planes land and take off. They are places where families and friends reunite and final goodbyes are spoken.

He said the local airport is also a visitor's first introduction to the community. It's also the last place people see when they leave.

"It's a memory in everybody's mind who comes North and, often, people that live in those communities, that's the last building they left when they left that community," he said. "It's an important site."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.