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Local politicians light way to airport GPS

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Nick Christianson

Power poles, which currently run along Highway 97 adjacent to South Cariboo Regional Airport (SCRA) at 108 Mile Ranch, will be relocated soon.

Cariboo Regional District (CRD) chair Al Richmond says it was an ongoing safety issue put forward by him and District of 100 Mile Mayor Mitch Campsall at the recent North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) conference.

"Mitch and I did meet with BC Hydro about the concerns about the removal of power lines for the airport," says Richmond, adding he was happy with the positive response they received.

BC Hydro Northern Community Relations manager Bob Gammer says BC Hydro will move forward on the project over the next few months, and he anticipates the work will be completed before fall.

"There is a significant amount of tree clearing on private land, so we are working with the property owners and are confident we will come to an arrangement that will mitigate the impact."

He notes 35 to 40 poles will be removed and relocated to the other side of the highway, with 16 adjacent to the airport and the rest just to the north and south of those.

SCRA manager Nick Christianson says the airport has been waiting for awhile to have the poles relocated to allow for a safer take-off and landing zone required to get NAV CANADA approval for its new Global Positioning System (GPS) approach for aircraft.

He adds the recent government action is the direct result of the combined efforts of Richmond, Campsall and Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett.

"It’s really for us completing the GPS approach to the airport. The GPS is done and has been finalized ... the last stumbling block is the BC Hydro issue and that looks like it's going to be dealt with.

"I was really happy with Donna and Al and Mitch for working towards pushing it forward, because BC Hydro wanted to stall it for another couple of years. It was a budgetary thing."

The airport recently upgraded GPS navigational equipment, but couldn't get NAV CANADA approval until all the poles identified within the airspace next to the airport were removed.

Last September, NAV CANADA issued a warning about the obstacles to airport-bound traffic, Christianson says.