Archive for the ‘Airport tunnels’ Category

Months of negotiations between the Calgary Airport Authority and Calgary city officials and aldermen look like finally being laid to rest as a deadline for a decision on the Calgary Airport Tunnel project has been set for Friday 13th.

Discussions on the finer points of the airport tunnel scheme have been continuing for months now, but so far city officials have failed to come to any kind of agreement with the Calgary Airport Authority. If the project goes ahead, the city of Calgary will be expected to contribute $295 million for an extension to the Airport Trail that takes the form of a tunnel beneath the runway.

If the scheme does finally go ahead, the Calgary Airport Authority wants the city to contribute further funds towards the construction of traffic interchanges at various points along the Airport Trail, although this will be dependent on traffic increases.

Although there are many who feel that the airport tunnel scheme will help to improve access to the airport from the northeast road network, there are also many others who are concerned about the expense of the scheme and feel that the city cannot afford such a venture. There have also been comments made by some suggesting that the negotiations have dragged on unreasonably long due to unnecessary delays caused by the Calgary Airport Authority.

There have been plans to build an airport tunnel for some time now, but it was not until Mayor Nenshi worked hard to secure a funding endorsement that Calgary city officials decided to commit funds to the project in February. By this time, construction work had already begun. But although things appear to be moving forward, it remains to be seen whether the go ahead is finally given on the airport tunnel project at the end of this week.