Toolik Field Station Upgrades

The NSF has funded facility enhancements for the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Toolik Field Station, which is located on the shore of Toolik Lake, just off the Dalton Highway in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. The enhancements are being contracted through the PICO office of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and they will become property or under the custodianship of UAF. Hence, the UAF Master Planning Committee has been asked by Facilities Services to review the present design and make recommendations to the chancellor. It must be pointed out that the designs were only received by UAF last Friday (May 7, 1999), and that the University of Nebraska is urging an immediate response to quickly organize construction contracts. While the summer construction season here is short, this late submission to UAF in no way obligates UAF's Facilities Services and Institute of Arctic Biology (who will be responsible for the completed facility) to carry out anything less than a detailed review.

Recommendations

1. Because UAF will become the owner or custodian of the new facilities and UAF and other users of the Toolik Field Station are the ones most qualified to determine detailed specifications, it is imperative that user requirements and specifications as determined by IAB through its contacts with users be given top priority.
2. Experience has shown that successful construction in the Arctic requires adequate knowledge and appreciation of the Arctic environment by designers and contractors. Prior Arctic design and construction experience must be demonstrated as a prerequisite for pre-qualifying bidders. Differences between Antarctic conditions and those at the Toolik Lake site in the Arctic must be understood and accommodated.
3. All relevant Alaska codes and/or statutes are to be followed, and specifications must take into account recommendations made by UAF's Division of Design and Construction.
4. Standard recommendations of the Master Planning Committee include the following:
• Proper signage to announce that this is a UAF facility. This must be visible from the Dalton Highway. This can be accommodated through the Dalton Highway wayside interpretative center, as planned by the BLM.
• Restoration of the landscape is to follow the removal of any existing structure or road.
• The overall look of the field station is to be maintained or enhanced by the addition of new facilities. That includes the color of buildings.

Recommendations directory

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Tanana Valley Campus
PO Box 8040-UAF

Phone: +1 907 474 7920
Fax:    +1 907 474 6725
fndlm5@uaf.edu