Editing Muskeg (section)

==Surface strength==
[[File:muskeg D6 caterpillar.jpg|thumb|right|Heavy equipment that has broken through thawing muskeg in [[Wabasca oil field]], Alberta]]
Muskeg can be a significant impediment to transportation. Legend holds that during the 1870s, muskeg in [[Northern Ontario]] swallowed a train and a thousand feet of track whole when a track was accidentally laid on muskeg.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 June 2021|title=Building The Railroad Through The Canadian Shield|url=https://canadaehx.com/2021/06/24/building-the-railroad-through-the-canadian-shield/|website=canadaehx.com|access-date=7 May 2024|archive-date=7 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507172622/https://canadaehx.com/2021/06/24/building-the-railroad-through-the-canadian-shield/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many other instances have been reported of heavy construction equipment vanishing into muskeg in the [[Spring (season)|spring]] as the frozen muskeg beneath the vehicle thawed. Construction in muskeg-laden areas sometimes requires the complete removal of the soil and filling with gravel. If the muskeg is not completely cleared to bedrock, its high water content will cause buckling and distortion from winter freezing, much like [[permafrost]].

One method of working atop muskeg is to place large logs on the ground, covered with a thick layer of [[clay]] or other stable material. This is commonly called a [[corduroy road]]. To increase the effectiveness of the corduroy, prevent [[erosion]],<ref>[http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/686.htm Government of Alberta: Geotechnical and Erosion Control<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221080438/http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/686.htm |date=21 December 2007 }}</ref> and allow removal of material with less disturbance to the muskeg, a [[geotextile]] fabric is sometimes placed down before the logs.  However temporary winter access roads on muskeg ([[ice road]]), created by clearing the insulating snow and allowing the muskeg to freeze, are more commonly used as they are cheaper to construct and easier to decommission. Water is often sprayed on these roads to thicken the ice allowing heavy trucks and equipment to safely access remote sites in the winter.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
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