Designed to withstand a nuclear attack — including an overpressure of 500 psi and four Gs of shock — the Super Combat Centre / Direction Centre was built some 560 feet below Reservoir Hill . The design consisted of three underground caverns excavated from the rock : two measured approximately 400 by 45 feet , and up to 70 feet in height , each holding a three-storey freestanding structure that housed the SAGE equipment . The third , slightly smaller , cavern contained power plants and support facilities to make the complex selfsufficient . Two underground water reservoirs were also dug out , one for domestic use and the other to provide emergency air conditioning for the computers . Two separate tunnels ( one a mile long , the other half a mile ) would provide entry into the complex .
DCL also arranged the contracts for the BOMARC bases : total costs for storage and launching facilities at North Bay and for storage , launching and living facilities at La Macaza , Quebec came in at $ 10 million and $ 15 million respectively . Both bases came online at approximately the same time , in August 1962 , in the midst of a national public debate about whether or not Canada should be adopting nuclear weapons .
Other CADIN projects included connecting 25 existing Pinetree radars to the SAGE system , establishing seven new heavy radars in Canada ( including Moosonee , Ont .) and upgrading existing radar stations . By 1963 , the work was complete and the bill for the Canadian portion of the CADIN program was totalled at $ 82.7 million .
The Moosonee Bowl Moosonee , Ont ., 1959 — Bob Givens On arriving for the first time at Moosonee , I was required to write a Site Inspection Report for the clearing and drainage project to be contracted that autumn … ( so ) I inquired at the OPP office whether I could be shown the location . Corporal Hart drove me in his Jeep as close to the site as possible . He instructed me to cross the first creek , proceed to the second creek ( but not cross over ), to turn west and to go about three fourths of a mile . I was then to search for survey markers , always looking out for bears .
I thought it likely that Corporal Hart was pulling my leg about the bears … Anyway , I crossed the creek , a feat which required taking my wallet out of my pocket before wading through water above my waist . Proceeding towards the second creek through dense bush with muskeg underfoot , I noticed a trail heading northwest . I took it , and after a couple of minutes of much easier walking , lo and behold , I saw a black bear ambling toward me in the distance . My first thought was to vacate the environs immediately — but which way should I run , how far should I go and how long should I stay ? I suspected that the bear wouldn ’ t follow the trail for long , so I decided to tarry awhile and hide in yonder bushes . Poking my head out after a couple of minutes , I noted that the bear was still coming … ( and ) was carrying an axe . Every good engineer knows that Godivas may ride horses but bears don ’ t carry axes .
BREAKING NEW GROUND DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
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