Preparations begin on breakwater for Iqaluit's small craft harbour

Crews will bedrilling along the municipal breakwater in Iqaluitthis weekend as part of geotechnicalstudies for the plannedsmall craft harbour.

FromOct.15to 18,crews will drill along the breakwater to assess if the bedrockcan support proposed expansions.

"This is the first on-the-ground activity," said Kris Mullaly, acommunications officer for Nunavut'sDepartment of Community and Government Services.

"We are still on track with the original time frame for completion in 2019or 2020."

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The federal government has committed $64 million for a new deep sea port and small craft harbour in Iqaluit.

The drilling this weekend will only be looking at the area for the small craft harbour. Mullaly said geotechnical testing for the deep sea port will take place this winter when the drillers can use sea ice as a platform.

Mullally said crews are taking steps to make sure their work won't interfere with the public's use of the breakwater this weekend.

"The drill will be on a mobile platform in the bed of a truck, so if somebody is loading or unloading or doing a boat retrieval, we can get out of the way," he said.