West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP John Weston visited Powell River Airport on Friday, August 19 to announce $1.6 million in federal funding that will go toward repairing tarmac and other upgrades.
City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard, councillors and others were on hand as Weston announced the funding, which is coming as a part of the federal ministry of transportation’s Airports Capital Assistance Program (ACAP).
Weston said that many communities applied for the money and that Powell River should feel proud to have been picked as a recipient. He added that the decision shows the government’s commitment to keeping the airport viable.
“The airport has been one of the infrastructure priorities for the city and we always acknowledge that,” said Weston. “There’s an acknowledgement that safe air travel is an essential aspect of Powell River.”
Tor Birtig, manager of operation services for the city, said that the money will go toward repairing the asphalt on the airport’s apron, where planes are boarded, and taxiway alpha, adding another 15 years of life. Some areas of asphalt have already completely failed and are unusable, according to Birtig, while other areas are also deteriorating and could severely damage an aircraft if a chunk of asphalt were to come loose.
Drainage will be upgraded as well, which currently is known to back up during heavy rainfall. The money will also go toward upgrading the lighting for the apron area and installing an automatic gate on the east side of the airport terminal.
The city applied for funding for the work once before but was not successful. Staff revamped the application and applied again in 2010. Birtig said that ideally he would like to see more asphalt repairs for taxiway bravo but that the funding will not cover that work. He said that most likely city funding will be needed to complete that work, something that they will look into during planning for the work.
“Bring us the tax money back anytime you choose to do so, we’re great recipients of that,” said Alsgard. “It’s been a very successful period of time and the federal contribution is much appreciated.”
