PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF
Construction of Charlottetown Airport runway extension going smoothly
Construction of Charlottetown Airport runway extension going smoothly
Most Island travellers would need to be taking off or landing to notice this paving work.
Crews with Souris-based Chapman Bros. Construction Ltd. have been busy this week laying asphalt on a 600-metre extension to the smaller of the Charlottetown Airport’s two runways.
The $7 million project is going smoothly, Doug Newson, CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority, told reporters Thursday morning during a tour of the site.
“Things are going well,’’ he says.
“We are on budget, on time. We’re happy with the work the contractors are doing. The weather is obviously cooperating, and things are on schedule.’’
The project is being driven by the need to do significant repair work next year on the main runway, which will have to be taken out of service.
The airport will then use its newly extended runway for all of its service during the peak summer tourist season.
The majority of the earthwork was completed in 2016, including the installation of a drainage culvert.
Asphalting should be completed early next week. Additional work will then be required before the runway is active again later in the summer or in early fall.
Jeff Chapman of Chapman Bros. Construction Ltd. says extending the runway is “the same general idea’’ to highway construction.
This is the first airport project
for the company but a comfortable fit for a business commonly involved in major construction work across the Maritimes.
“Everything is going extremely well,’’ says Chapman.
“We’re using all the latest technologies in the project.’’
“Things are going well. We are on budget, on time. We’re happy with the work the contractors are doing. The weather is obviously co-operating, and things are on schedule.’’ Doug Newson, CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority
Newson says the Charlottetown Airport has seen traffic grow roughly 60 per cent in the last 10 years. The airport is coming off a record year in 2016, where traffic grew by 12 per cent.
“We’re seeing larger aircraft,’’ he says.
“We’re seeing more flights with Air Canada and West Jet. We certainly expect that to continue moving forward. So for a little airport, we’ve seen lots of growth, which is great for everybody on P.E.I. It has large economic impacts for the province.’’