First phase of expansion is under way.

• Position: Expansion/renovation of the Thunder Bay Airport, Ontario - Focus on Thunder Bay

$45-million project

Work is under way on the first phase of the $45-million expansion/renovation of the Thunder Bay Airport.

Early last month construction crews from Pierre Gagne Contracting Ltd. of Thunder Bay were busy installing new service systems and preparing to move Round Boulevard about 40 metres east of its current location.

In addition, the work includes the construction of the first half of the airport's new parking lot.

"We anticipate that about $2 million worth of the work will be completed before the freeze up," said airport manager Paul Conrad.

The parking lot's construction will be completed next spring, along with the construction of a parking lot for rental cars and a new access road.

Construction of a new 8,850-square-metre terminal is scheduled to commence next fall.

Preliminary designs for the building from the Winnipeg architectural firm IKOY Partnership were submitted in late September. One design was a traditional box-shaped building, while the second design resembled an airplane wing (from an end view). The final design is expected to be selected by early December.

The new terminal, which carries a price tag of $19.9 million, will be constructed east of the present building, which will be razed to accommodate an enlarged apron, the area in front of the terminal where planes are parked while passengers load and unload.

Conrad said the enlarged apron, which will be about one-third larger than the current apron, has become necessary to handle the many types of aircraft which utilize the airport.

The construction of the new building and expansion of the apron will also necessitate the demolition of the old air traffic services building and the Kelner Airways Ltd. hangar.

According to Conrad, hangar space at the airport is scare - three companies utilize the Kelner hangar - and a new hangar is expected to be built south of the present one.

While the new terminal will have a similar floor...