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 The U. S. Coast Guard icebreaker Westwind first arrived in Arthur Harbor on 8 January 1967. The Seabee team offloaded compressors, rock drills and explosives, and set up four Jamesways for living quarters. The John Deere 1010 tractor was brought over to the construction site from Palmer Station. A boat ramp and storage areas were prepared. The first dam was constructed for the glacier meltwater pond, which was then 40x60 feet in size and 3 feet deep. The pond was more than sufficient to provide water for both the camp and the icebreaker. On 27 January the cargo ship Wyandot arrived and offloaded 750 tons of cargo, including 2 955 tracked forklifts, a Northwest 25 crane (left), and a Universal rock crusher.
The first step was extensive drilling and blasting operations to level out the roadways and prepare the Biolab site. This was followed by pad preparation for the two 37-foot diameter fuel tanks. Additionally, a dive team carried out underwater blasting to excavate the seawater intake trench using special underwater "jet set" explosives (right)  and bangalore torpedoes (essentially pipe bombs). Tank and pier construction then proceeded. The pier (still in service today) consistes of three 27-foot diameter cylindrical shells of sheet piling arranged in a triangular pattern. These were connected with more sheet pile to form a rounded triangle with the apex pointed toward the shoreline. The sheet pile cells were filled with rock, and a 20-foot wide ramp was filled in to connect it to the shore (the photo below shows the cells in various stages of being filled in). Rough seas and wind caused difficulty--the third cell was knocked out of alignment three times before it could be successfully positioned. The pier was fitted with a wood fender system to protect docked vessels.
By 15 March, the pier had been completed, the fuel tanks were welded out and painted, and the final blasting on the Biolab site had been completed, and the foundation and subfloor erected. The subfloor work had not originally been scheduled for this season.
The three smaller photos on this page are official U. S. Coast Guard photos published in the Antarctic Journal, July/August 1967.
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