Foundation of Inuvik’s Midnight Sun Complex ‘moving quite a bit’

Engineers in Inuvik are trying to understand why the foundation of the town’s Midnight Sun Complex is shifting.

The complex serves as Inuvik’s main recreation hub, as well as a venue for conferences and other events.

During a recent council meeting, town director of infrastructure Daniel Dokunmu said geotechnical surveys were conducted in October 2024 and in February, July and November last year.

According to Dokunmu, the survey data so far largely confirms previous observations that the foundation of the MSC is moving “quite a bit.”

He described fluctuating elevations recorded in both the aquatic centre and community hall areas of the complex and added underground radar showed a void in the facility’s right-hand corner, where the floor slopes.

He said engineers believe the fluctuations may be influenced by passive and active cooling systems under the building. Visible wall cracks are being addressed by the town’s maintenance team.

Dokunmu said the next step is to better understand the data and, as a consequence, the structural integrity of the building itself.

Mayor Peter Clarkson told Cabin Radio the town is addressing the ongoing issues to ensure the complex is in stable condition.

Clarkson said engineers have some work planned for this summer to see what needs to be done and a “big thing is monitoring the building to see what shifts.”

In the meantime, he said, the facility remains open to the public.

“We’ve also had to freeze back some permafrost that had thawed, and so we’ve been doing that over this winter and things seem to be going pretty well,” he said.

“We haven’t seen any other thawing or the foundation shifting, so we’re hoping that we’ve been able to stabilize the building and we’ll continue to do that monitoring.”