Ark II - Before its time?

Ark II, located in Ontario, is an extraordinary network of 42 old buses, welded together and buried in a pit, to create a massive survival bunker. Construction began in 1980. Creator Bruce Beach is interviewed by CANOE:

Ark II sits under farmland — 42 buried buses, all connected to form a 929-square-metre bunker. They are covered with at least 2.4 metres of earth, as well as concrete.

The site has long been a thorn in the side of provincial officials, who conduct regular raids and safety inspections. They'd like it wiped off the map.

...The floor is a patchwork of degrading linoleum and worn wood, along with concrete.

"Much like a sub," says Bruce. "A lot of people can't handle the claustrophobia."

Contractors hired to do work sometimes refuse to venture down into the vehicular cavern.

Beige paint peels and blisters from the walls of some of the buses, exposing the truer green underneath.

Dozens and dozens of bunk-beds, meant to give survivors of a nuclear war a place to try to sleep, have had to be torn out because the wood was simply rotting away.

People wrongly envision his refuge as a bright and spotless retreat, he complains.

"It's not a trip down into the subway mall in Toronto," Bruce says.

"I've heard people say, 'I couldn't live down here.' Well, it's not for living...it's for surviving."

...Bruce built his ark for 400 survivors — friends and family and those who have faith man could survive a nuclear nightmare. He also keeps a large stockpile of medicine, radiation detectors and how-to-guides on rebuilding the framework of society.

It is exhausting to keep his mission and bunker alive.

Inspirational, and also a lesson of how hard such a mission is.