The shape of prime base

[Gelrir]

An interesting document about plans for a super-hardened command bunker deep under Arlington, VA.

https://coldwar-c4i.net/DUCC/index.html

It wasn't going to be secret, just indestructible. The "austere" command center would take at least 15 years to be in operation, and would house about 50 persons in about 10,000 square feet of floor space. The "moderate" size version would be 300 persons in 100,000 square feet of space. Cost of the austere version projected at $110 million (as of 1964 planning); the "moderate" version was projected to cost $310 million. Keep in mind that the costs relate entirely to a non-secret project.

Some quotes:

• "Almost two years is required to arrive at the 3,500 foot depth before construction of the main facility can begin."
  
• "The feasibility of maintaining a truly classified location is open to question if survivable and secure communications are to be provided."
  
• "It is not feasible, and is in fact counter to the deterrent objective, to attempt to build so extensive a facility in secret."

Of course the Morrow Project is more concerned about secrecy than protection from nuclear attacks; but it's an example on a rough scale of "big bunker planning."

--
Michael B.

[Gelrir]

$110 million and $310 million in 1964 dollars are, with inflation:

• 1980: $266 million and $824 million
• 2005: $693 million and $1,952 million

Our current campaign does feature a few fusion-powered laser-equipped TBMs, used in the creation of Prime Base and some of the larger depots. Somewhere (probably in Prime Base) are a hundred frozen mining engineers and techs who each know the location of several -- all? -- Big Bunkers.

The "central modules" of Prime Base total over 119,000 square meters = 1.2 million square feet. The area/volume of the Mission Complex is only described as "several acres" in size; there's also the 4.5 kilometer tunnel from Prime itself to the Mission Complex. 3 acres is about 131,000 square feet, plus about 221,000 square feet of access tunnel, for a total of over 1.55 million square feet -- 15 times larger than the "moderate" sized Deep Underground Command Center. So Prime Base might cost:

• 1980: $12 billion
• 2005: $30 billion

Of course construction methods, purpose, installed equipment, secrecy, salaries, etc. vary widely between a NORAD-type bunker and Prime Base, but it's a first guess.

Average labor costs, including benefits and payroll taxes, are roughly one-quarter of construction costs. Structural metal workers earned about $25,000 per year in 1980; if the base took 10 years to build, annual labor costs would be $300 million, or the salaries for 12,000 workers.* If only one-twentieth are "on-site" (which seems low, but the Project has plenty of reasons to limit exposure), that's about 600 people in an average year. Steel workers, truck drivers, electricians, concrete form builders, cooks, structural and civil engineers, crane operators, forklift operators, welders, pipefitters, safety inspectors, painters, TBM crew, etc. etc. The actual number would fluctuate depending on the phase of construction; and the mix of jobs would change. I'd guess at least 2,000 different people worked at Prime Base over a 10 year construction period.

*The Project may or may not be paying wages, taxes, etc. but the DUCC project used for comparison certainly would. We're more interested here in the size of the labor force, not the cost of labor.

--
Michael B.

[mmartin798]

The Project could probably have the 2000 workers building Prime Base be the members of a number of engineering teams that will be frozen on site and elsewhere. But this always come back to the secrecy. There are only so many ways you can hide tailings of that magnitude.

One option that would require a particular arrangement of circumstance is to hide the tailings in an existing underground hole, natural or man-made and abandoned. Case in point is the Chapin Mine in Michigan's UP in the Iron Mountain area. This mine was a very good source of iron ore until it was no longer cost effective to keep pumping water out of it. The "D" shaft alone had about 10 million cubic feet of material removed that filled with water once they stopped the pumps. If there are 10 foot ceilings in that 1.2 million sq ft base, then the tailings could be poured into this underground lake and none the wiser. But using an old mine like this would bring tourists and unwanted attention.

A natural cavern of this size that is undiscovered or unexplored for whatever reason near the construction site would be best and allow for a great reduction of the construction traffic above ground. You still have to move food and other material into the mine. Though this too could be minimized if the hydroponics area is finished early and starts supplying food for the base workers.

The some secrecy could be achieved this way, but this would still have to be an illegal mining operation to prevent a paper trail in government inspector offices.

[Father Fletch]

This thread has a link to an article about a British underground bunker system.

While not directly about the actual shape of Prime Base, it shows how a complex that was shaped to that of the local terrain was laid out.

Perhaps we are too wedded to a uniform or symmetrical shape for Prime Base? Has anyone seen any organic/conforming shape designs proposed like this one?

This link has some good pictures of the same bunker.

This (no longer updated) link has an interactive map that shows the extent of the space in Wiltshire.

[mmartin798]

There is still a degree of symmetry in the Burlington Bunker. When you think about it, there has to be. It was created in a subterranean stone quarry. Mining operation like this are not really that organic. They just follow the richest ore or best quality stone. But this still has regularly shaped tunnels and caverns that in this case were turned into offices and support facilities for the British government's continuity of operations plan. Compare the layout to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and it is similar, even though the Cheyenne Mountain Complex was specifically carved out of that granite peak.

Any base will follow the terrain to a degree. You need to have enough material above to protect it. The supporting pillars and walls need to have enough strength to support the "roof". You want to get close enough to an underground water source without it being a threat to the base. All these will have the base design make a twist here or turn there. That's just engineering.

I think the cooling tower shaped cylinders, while having a cool look, are not as practical as the branching tunnel designs that have been put forth here. The cylinder shapes need do go deep which limits structural support of the stone walls and you run a greater risk of flooding. Any mining engineer on the Prime Base project would probably want a base with more sprawl versus depth.