Calgary airport west runway rebuild to get underway in April, with new budget of $200 million

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Construction is expected to begin in April on the long-awaited overhaul of the Calgary airport’s aging west runway — a project that has ballooned more than $80 million in cost since it was paused during the pandemic.

Laura Samson, director of infrastructure for the Calgary Airport Authority, said Runway 17R-35L will be closed in April, with preparatory construction work getting underway shortly thereafter.

“We were able to do some initial works over the past two years while doing some of the planning and design,” she said. “We’ll see runway closures begin in April this year with some preparatory work that will happen initially, and then we’ll be into full construction throughout the entire spring, summer and fall of this year.”

Project deemed ‘critical priority’ for Calgary’s airport

The West Runway Rehabilitation Project was first announced in 2021. The project was considered necessary as airport-led studies indicated the runway — built in 1939 — was approaching the end of its useful life cycle.

The overhaul will include full-depth structural, electrical and drainage system improvements. The project will replace the runway’s pavement structure and upgrade supporting infrastructure such as taxiways and aircraft movement surfaces.

New end safety areas will also be installed, in accordance with Transport Canada requirements.

Last month, the airport authority announced PCL Construction would lead the construction work.

The airport authority has described the project as a critical priority, and something Samson said has been “a long time coming.”

“This asset is more than 80 years old — it first went into service in 1939 — so we’ve been maintaining it to a specific standard that allows for safe operations, but we also understand no asset lasts forever,” Samson said. “Now is an appropriate time to rebuild, after COVID, as we’re starting to see traffic (rebound) and growth within the aviation sector.”

‘We’ve seen quite a bit of cost escalation’

Since being announced in 2021, the project has experienced both rising costs and a year-long delay.

Originally, the project was budgeted at $115 million. That price tag has since risen to $200 million.

Samson said a more comprehensive scope, including wider shoulders, improved drainage systems and upgrading the runway approach categories contributed to the cost escalations.

Inflation and current market conditions also led to the need for a bigger budget, she added.

“We’ve seen quite a bit of cost escalation when it comes to building materials, resources and fuel over the past few years since it was scoped out in 2019,” Samson said.

YYC continues to seek government funding

As the budget increased, the project also faced delays.

Construction was originally slated to begin last April, but Samson said the airport authority postponed the work to pursue additional government funding and finalize design details.

The federal government announced in August 2021 that it is contributing $57.5 million toward the project, with funding from the Airport Critical Infrastructure Program.

With work set to get underway in the next few months, Samson said YYC will continue to advocate for more government funding for the project, both at the federal and provincial level.

YYC will continue to maintain two runways throughout the duration of the project, which is expected to wrap up in 2025.

“We won’t see any reductions in flights during the construction, just some reconfiguration of how we’re operating our facility with full buy-in from our airline partners,” Samson said.