involved in medevac services, firefighting, and cargo operations. Additionally, the expansion is expected to stimulate regional growth by improving transportation links and attracting more tourism and corporate clients. By offering enhanced passenger services and better facilities, the airport hopes to re-establish regular scheduled passenger flights, which will bolster connectivity and regional commerce. “At present, we primarily handle charter traffic at our airport. Although we had passenger service until 2018, we are now focused on bringing it back to the area,” says Paish. “Our goal is to identify a unique opportunity that doesn’t compete with Calgary and Edmonton but instead offers a service that can thrive in our region.” The expansion project has not been without its challenges. Given the airport’s historical significance as a Second World War training base, the construction has required careful handling of environmental and Indigenous studies to ensure compliance with all regulations. These studies have caused some delays, pushing the start of Phase 2 of the Airport Drive project by a few months. Contractors, such as Pidherney’s and Carbon Earthworks, have faced logistical challenges, including the need to haul significant amounts of aggregate while dealing with road bans and weather conditions. “One of the biggest challenges with this project is that the Red Deer Regional Airport is within Red Deer County and you have a lot of secondary roads and highways that get you to the airport. One of the biggest challenges was 80,000 tons of aggregates that are required to build this apron and taxiway extension,” says Dave McLaughlin, construction manager at Pidherney’s, the general contractor for the taxiway expansion of the project. “And so in spring, you have road bans and are limited to how 78 FEB 2025 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA
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