Clifton Point DEW Line Station

Military conversion and technological obsolescence. The Clifton Point station was part of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, a system of radar stations built to detect incoming Soviet bombers during the Cold War. In the mid-1980s, the DEW Line was replaced by the more advanced and automated North Warning System (NWS). Clifton Point was not selected for integration into the new NWS and was subsequently decommissioned along with many other original DEW Line sites. The end of the Cold War further reduced the strategic need for such extensive radar coverage.

The site is abandoned and has undergone extensive environmental remediation. After its closure, the station, like other decommissioned DEW Line sites, was found to be heavily contaminated with hazardous materials such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), lead-based paint, asbestos, and thousands of empty fuel drums. The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) undertook a massive, multi-year 'DEW Line Clean-Up Project' to remediate these sites. At Clifton Point, buildings were demolished, hazardous waste was removed, and contaminated soil was treated or excavated. Today, the site is an unoccupied, remediated landscape. The gravel airstrip may still be faintly visible from the air, but it is unmaintained and unusable. There are no remaining structures or active operations.

Clifton Point DEW Line Station, designated 'PIN-MAIN', was a crucial 'Main Station' in the DEW Line chain. Commissioned in 1957, it served as a logistical and command hub for a section of the Arctic coast. Unlike smaller auxiliary stations, Main Stations like Clifton Point were larger, had more personnel, and featured a significant gravel airstrip (approximately 5,000 feet) capable of handling large transport aircraft like the C-124 Globemaster II and later the C-130 Hercules. Its primary operation was 24/7 radar surveillance to provide early warning of an air attack over the North Pole. The airstrip was its lifeline, essential for rotating personnel, delivering fuel, food, equipment, and all other necessary supplies to this extremely remote and inaccessible location.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Clifton Point airstrip. The original military purpose for the site is obsolete. Its extremely remote location, with no nearby communities or economic activity (such as mining or tourism), provides no civilian or commercial justification for the immense cost of rebuilding, maintaining, and operating an airport. The site is expected to remain abandoned indefinitely.