After months of meticulous preparation and construction of the concrete raft slab and nine story structure, the new Air Traffic Control Tower at 14 Wing Greenwood is ready for the pièce de résistance—a mammoth, approximately 100-tonne steel and glass cab that will parade down main street in five metre-wide sections, atop four tractor trailers, then be assembled at the job site and lifted into place by a gigantic crane.
“It’s going to be quite a day when that happens,” says DCC Coordinator, Construction Services Cyril Hiltz, who came out of retirement to help coordinate the project.
The new post-disaster designed tower will give Royal Canadian Air Force aerospace controllers a state-of-the-art perch. There will be bigger, more modern workspaces, bunks for sleeping, upgraded antennae and radar, as well as modernized IT and mechanical and electrical infrastructure. LEED Silver certification will mean better ventilation, heating and air conditioning, more energy-efficient lighting and an overall greener design for less fatigue for controllers and greater operational effectiveness.
“Our people work there 24/7, 365 days a year, and this project means a much more comfortable and effective control tower,” said 14 Wing Commander Colonel Pat Thauberger at the ground-breaking in October 2016.
“DCC can take pride in this project in terms of the team we have working here and providing the necessary checks and balances to provide wise spending of Canadian tax dollars,” says Hiltz. “I consider it a very fulfilling project.”
The construction completion is scheduled for December 2018.