Lighting system upgrades were given the thumbs up for takeoff at the Sundre Airport earlier this month.
They will be supported by provincial grant funding. It is a $275,000 project and Mountain View County will get more than $205,000 in the form of a Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) grant from the Government of Alberta. The County will fund the remaining costs.
According to the County, “the project will replace the airport’s lighting system, parts of which date back to 1947, with a modern LED (light emitting diode) lighting solution that improves safety, reduces energy consumption, and restores night-use capabilities to the facility.”
The Sundre Airport currently cannot accommodate night flying or operations in low-visibility conditions. Reeve Angela Aalbers says “I think any improvements we do to the airport, obviously support the aviation industry but it also supports our emergency response opportunities at the Sundre Airport and we all know how important those are now for any of the firefighting that we do and anytime we need any flights for emergency services.”
She discusses the timeline for the upgrades. Reeve Aalbers says “we are hoping that we are going to have an RFP (request for proposal) out already this year, but of course a lot of this is depended on how many companies are available to do the work. So I know our administration will be looking very closely at getting this done as quickly as we can.”
Reeve Aalbers point out that maintaining the local airports is a key component of Mountain View County’s economic development strategy. She says “our aviation industry across Mountain View County is very important, both at the Olds-Didsbury Airport and at the Sundre Airport. The County has just recently subdivided and developed a couple more lots out at the Sundre Airport really to enhance the users ability at that airport and we have had great uptake from community and beyond in purchasing some of those lots. So it is always exciting to see new aviators and new users come to those facilities.”
