Originally BLOG #13 – 04 May 2020 from davescoldwarcanada.com.
What were the Primary Agencies Responsible for the 1959-61/62 Design and Construction of the Underground Nuclear-Bomb Resistant Experimental Army Signals Establishment (E.A.S.E.) Site, (the ‘Diefenbunker’ / Central Emergency Government HQ – CEGHQ) at Carp, Ont?
Background
Over sixty years ago on August 21, 1958 Prime Minister Diefenbaker announced in the House of Commons the establishment of what became the basis for the Continuity of Government Program (see Hansard of that date for more specifics).
“There is therefore a need, in our opinion, for the development of a decentralized federal system of emergency government with central, regional and some zonal elements. We intend to provide for a suitable central authority and to establish provincial, regional and zonal organizations through which a large amount of the work of the federal government could be carried on in time of war by the necessary delegation of authority to federal officers.”
Construction of the Carp facility (then designated by the deliberately misleading title Experimental Army Signals Establishment or Project EASE for security reasons) began in 1959. The Cold War was heating up at the time and there was a great deal of urgency to expedite completion of this project. Thus the usual somewhat ponderous government processes had to be sped up in order to ‘get on with it’.
There were three primary agencies involved in this massive defence construction effort. The Department of National Defence (DND) was the funding and requirements definition authority, On DND’s behalf Defence Construction (1951) Limited (DCL) was the contracting authority and the Foundation Company of Canada was the actual engineering design and construction contractor. Note that DCL (1951) has become DCC – Defence Construction Canada.
Overall Management
Lt Col Ed Churchill (right)
DND’s designated Project Manager was a no-nonsense Royal Canadian Engineer “Works” officer, Lt. Col. Ed Churchill (who during WWII had constructed forward battlefield airfields up the length of Italy). He went on to be the Project Manager for EXPO 67 after completing the then very hush-hush EASE project. Lt Col Churchill appears having a discussion at a meeting shown in the film produced for Foundation Company about its construction, “The Nuclear Roof”.
Contracting
The Crown corporation DCL was selected as the contracting agency as it had already done well on a number of government / defence projects. It had been created in 1951 to help build massive defence infrastructure during the Cold War. DCL was notably involved in building the Distant Early Warning Line. It later became Defence Construction Canada (DCC) with essentially the same mandate. Its only client is the Department of National Defence.
The following is an extract from the history section https://www.dcc-cdc.gc.ca/english/history/of the Defence Construction Canada website where they list and describe some of the many projects that they have been responsible for contracting matters (including the bunker).:
“1961 – The Experimental Army Signals Establishment (EASE) – Commonly known as the Diefenbunker, EASE was built in Carp, Ontario between 1959 and 1961 to shelter Canada’s leaders in the event of nuclear war. It is designed to resist a 5-megaton nuclear weapon detonating 1.1 miles away, resulting in a 100,000-square-foot, four-storey structure surrounded by a layer of gravel five feet thick. Operated by DND from 1959 to 1994, the Diefenbunker is opened to the public as a museum in 1998.“
Construction
The Foundation Company of Canada was the primary design and construction agency which I believe later morphed into FENCO. Sometime in the late 60s or the 70s (?) the Company became part of Aecon, a large Canadian engineering design and construction firm.
A 23 minute video was made for the Foundation Company of the design and construction of the “Diefenbunker’. One can borrow this video from the Ottawa Public Library, however I will shortly be attempting to download a copy to this website…stay tuned!
Just a few of the major achievements involved in completing this project on-time and on-budget included: (1) the integral use of the then new Critical Path Method of project organization and work control, (2) design to resist high levels of reversing above and underground shock-waves and (3) designing to shelter and provide work and living space for a large number of people in very confined conditions while totally physically isolated from outside support for up to 30 days and while ensuring their ability to communicate externally. The engineers involved met the challenges and more so. Almost 60 years has passed since the ‘bunker’ came on line and while well maintained for the first 30 of those, it has mostly ‘coasted’ as far as serious maintenance is concerned during its time as a developing museum. Amazingly enough most of it’s essential utilities systems continue to function reasonably well to this date.
Placing the forms for the 400 level floor (Bank of Canada Vault being constructed behind the main building)
On the history page (which -wow- goes back to 1867!) of its website Aecon notes some of the various projects that they (and their predecessor companies) have been involved in over the past decades. While I believe they used to proudly mention their Foundation Company of Canada role in constructing the 1959-61 (very advanced for its time) massive nuclear bomb resistant shelter, sadly they no longer do so. From the Internet Wayback Machine record of its 2012 website: “Aecon has a rich history that spans more than a century. In fact, Aecon’s history can be traced back to 1877, when Scottish immigrant Adam Clark started a plumbing and gas fitting business in Hamilton, Ontario. Since that time, Aecon has grown into one of Canada’s largest and most diverse construction and infrastructure development companies. Throughout the years, Aecon has been involved in the building of some of Canada’s most important landmarks, including the CN Tower, St. Lawrence Seaway, Highway 407 Express Toll Route, Vancouver Sky Train, and the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, to name just a few. Aecon’s predecessor companies include some of Canada’s most renowned construction names. Over the years, companies such as The Foundation Company of Canada, Jackson Lewis, Lockerbie and Hole, Bannister Pipelines, Nicholls-Radtke, Pitts Engineering Construction, and Armbro Construction have come together to form what we now know as Aecon.”
Similarly with respect to Defence Construction Canada website they used to list and describe some of the many projects that they have been responsible for contracting matters (including the bunker). Unfortunately they also no longer do so. In 2012 DCC published a book entitled “ Breaking New Ground” https://www.dcc-cdc.gc.ca/documents/newsletter/Breaking_new_ground.pdf which had as its cover a photo of the EASE site under construction. On page 33 of that document was an article entitled “Going Underground” describing DCL’s role in construction of the ‘EASE bunker’ and the various BRIDGE Sites (regional bunkers) across the country. DCC maintains its’ corporate headquarters on Albert Street in Ottawa. This link and the subject document is no longer active or available. Pity!
