City of Powell River council has unanimously awarded the contract for Powell River Airport (YPW) rehabilitation and extension of the runway to Upland Contracting of Campbell River for $6,304,598, plus GST.
At a special city council meeting on March 14, councillors heard from staff about the rehabilitation plan and had the opportunity to ask questions.
Cam Reed, city manager of transportation, said the winning bid was comfortably below the full project funding of $8,025,527 that was awarded to the city in late 2021 through the federal airports capital assistance program (ACAP). He said the project would upgrade the airport to Transport Canada’s latest and most stringent regulations.
“Our runway length will increase slightly by about 146 feet, from the current 3,620 feet to 3,769 feet,” said Reed. “As well, there will be a longitudinal slope reduction from the current 1.52 per cent to 1.50 per cent, or less.”
The project will involve a full pulverization of the runway, with resurfacing of the runway and a replaced electrical system with LED lighting.
“We’ve had issues with reliability with our old system,” said Reed. “This should take care of that.”
City councillor Trina Isakson asked if the matter could be referred to the regular council meeting next week so councillors could consider the matter or whether there was time pressure.
Reed said there is time pressure. He said design for the project took much longer than anticipated.
“Basically, all of 2023 was spent trying to get the design moving and off the ground,” said Reed. “We received the final design at the end of January this year, so basically, it went immediately to tender to try and get this moving. We are trying to get it done this spring season.
“If we shut down the runway it is never going to be a good time. Pacific Coastal Airlines, our carrier, agrees that the spring is as optimal as it is going to get for them. That’s definitely a big part of the decision. It’s ahead of the busy summer season.”
Reed said as for the federal funding, there is a time limit for completion of the project, and holding off until fall puts the project at greater risk. He said by starting as soon as possible, the window to complete the project is mid-June.
Mayor Ron Woznow asked if the project will allow bigger aircraft to land in Powell River. Reed said Pacific Coastal hasn’t indicated it would change their aircraft. He said the larger Saab 340 aircraft that Pacific Coastal flies fits within the airport’s new designation after the project is complete, which would allow for some other larger aircraft as well.
When asked by councillor Earl Almeida about the construction window, Reed said the cut-off was June 15, so it would be an eight-week closure before that date.
“Pacific Coastal has indicated that towards the end of June, it is getting very busy for them,” said Reed.
Councillor Cindy Elliott had a question about local and social procurement initiatives and how they may have been considered when looking at the bids.
Reed said the determination was low bid. He said there was some consideration of the fact that Upland is a relatively local contractor. Birtig said there are some local contractors who are part of the low bid.
“We reached out to ensure they were including local contractors,” said Birtig. “The gravel source is local, electrical looks like it is going to be local, and paving appears to be with a local outfit.”
Council unanimously supported Upland Contracting’s low bid for the runway rehabilitation project. In all, there were six bidders for the project, including BA Blacktop, which maintains a qathet region operation.
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