Airport’s runway cleared for repair work
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The Brandon Municipal Airport plans to conduct crack repairs on the runway later this year in order to keep the tarmac safe.
Crews will work overnight for about a week as a preventative measure against potholes and other damage.
“Some cracks have developed over the last two years, and with the cracking it allows moisture into the pavement, which then when you go through a frost or freeze cycle, it will make the cracks worse and could ultimately cause damage to the pavement,” airport manager Greg Brown said on Tuesday.
Greg Brown, the City of Brandon’s airport manager, speaks to council at its June 15 meeting. (Alex Lambert/The Brandon Sun)
“It’s important that we get the cracks sealed up so that we can preserve the quality of the pavement for as long as we can.”
The work will likely be done this fall, Brown said.
City council approved the $125,000 for the repairs at last week’s meeting. The money came from an airport reserve.
Brown said the repairs are part of “a routine maintenance challenge” for the airport, as the runway can never have potholes.
The airport typically does the work itself, instead of contracting it out. But this time there is too much work that needs to be done, and there aren’t enough airport or other city staff available, he said.
Brown estimated the work will cost about $125,000, and if more work is needed, airport staff could complete it. The airport still has to send out a tender for the work.
The runway was previously resurfaced in 2024. Brown said the airport can request Airports Capital Assistance Program funding from Ottawa every 20 years, which means the Brandon airport has to make sure its runway lasts at least that long.
Crews will also be doing work at night, to ensure there is no disruption to WestJet flights, the military, first responders or others who use the airport. The airport typically sees about 40,000 to 50,000 aircraft movements per year, Brown said. Most flights happen between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
“We want to keep the runway open as much as we can because it impacts a lot of people, so if we can get the contract to do it at night, then that impacts very few people, and everyone can continue using the runway during the day,” Brown said, adding that overnight work also allows crews to work for multiple hours continuously.
» alambert@brandonsun.com