North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater seen taking a ride in a plane at the local airport last year. The city plans to complete the main runway upgrades this year if the province continues its support. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Support for infrastructure

City hopes for airport upgrade funding from province

Mar 12, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The airport runway in North Battleford may see more new upgrades this year if the city is successful in obtaining more funding from the province.

The project will involve completing the final work resurfacing the Cameron McIntosh Airport’s main runway.

Council authorized the city to apply to the province to fund half the cost of the project through the Community Airport Partnership (CAP) program.

The city is requesting a grant from the province for $275,000, the maximum amount allowable, for the project estimated at a total cost of roughly $550,000 for this year’s work. In turn, the city is required to dedicate at least 50 per cent of the total cost of the project for its share.

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“This has to be approved by the province if the program is continued,” Mayor Ryan Bater said on the issue following council Monday. “There are still a lot of if’s, but our fingers are crossed and we’re hopeful.”

Air ambulance and a number of businesses use the airport to access the Battlefords and the region.

Bater said the local airport has an important role to play for the area.

“That airport is our connection to corporate Canada,” he said. “It’s a means through which businesses and individuals can access our community. It’s a means through which the STARS Air Ambulance service can access our community.”

The mayor mentioned before the city started investing in upgrading the runway it received a lot of complaints from pilots that its condition was in “really rough shape.”

Bater said the last time the runway was surfaced was in the 1950s when it was first built.

“We got a lot of use out of it but it’s time to rehabilitate it,” he said.

The city decided to tackle the runway upgrades in four parts so it could work on a section each year. The work this year will be the final part of that project.

Administration recommended the city complete the Airport Pavement Rehabilitation project in 2019. City Engineer Bob Anthony stated in his written report that the project to restore the runway was planned to be completed over four years since it was started in 2016, at a total estimated cost of $2.07 million.

The remaining project to be done this year involves completing work on the outside 4.5-metre area on each side of the runway to finish the resurfacing work. Over the past three years, from 2016 to 2018, crews resurfaced a 36-metre-wide centre section of the runway’s entire 1,340 metre length.

City Planning and Development Director Jennifer Niesink confirmed during council North Battleford has already budgeted for its share of the cost in this year’s city budget.

Mayor Bater pointed out the city will now need to wait to see if the funding item is included in the provincial government’s new budget that will be delivered on March 20.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow