Air terminal set for testing by summer

SLIDESHOW: New airport taking shape

Winnipeggers looking to escape to sun and sand for the 2010 Christmas holidays will do so via a brand spanking new air terminal building.

Barry Rempel, president of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, said everything he's been shown by contractors indicates the $585-million facility will be turned over to the WAA in July. But it's not as simple as getting the keys, cutting the ceremonial ribbon and redirecting planes to the new digs.

He said more than 1,000 volunteers will help test the baggage handling, security and other services in the new terminal building for a couple of months before it goes live sometime between early October and the beginning of the Christmas rush.

"We've been aiming to ensure all the finishing, particularly tenant setup, is completed for the fourth quarter. Our objective is to hit a typically slow period (to open), which means it's got to be before Christmas," he said.

Rempel said construction of Winnipeg's biggest-ever capital project is 84 per cent complete.

A small army of 500 hard-hat-wearing tradespeople descend on the site every day to work on a variety of finishing touches, including installing lights, flooring, security systems and information-technology infrastructure. They're also pouring concrete for the walkway linking the four-storey parkade to the terminal building and installing escalators.

The biggest difference from a tour of the construction site last fall and now is that instead of stepping around rebar and gigantic spools of wire, visitors must navigate around dozens of giant rolls of carpeting and sealed-in-plastic-wrap check-in counters.

"We think we have every electrician in the city working here right now. That's the level of activity going on," said Christine Alongi, director of communications and public affairs for the WAA.

She said the new building will be 97 per cent more efficient than the one it's replacing. That's because of unique features such as radiant floor heating, which uses pipes carrying hot liquid to heat the floors, and holes that will circulate air in passenger areas to create an "air curtain" about two metres high but which won't extend to the high ceilings.

In the summer, the same system will cool the building down.

"It's going to be a green powerhouse," she said.

The new building will encompass about 510,000 square feet, nearly 40 per cent bigger than the current 370,000-square-foot facility. Despite the significant increase in size, Alongi said the new airport isn't big enough to warrant moving sidewalks, a common feature in many of the world's largest airports.

Alongi said construction of the new terminal building has had to be flexible to adapt to unforeseen changes in the aviation industry. For example, security is currently being rejigged to accommodate Transport Canada's requirements for full-body scanners, a development springing from last month's attempted in-flight bombing of a U.S. carrier.

Built-in security on the baggage-handling side is complete. Any piece of luggage determined to be carrying drugs, weapons or explosives will be plucked from the line and dropped into an "emergency" room where it will be dealt with without putting anybody in danger, Alongi said.

The approximately 20,000 square feet dedicated to food and beverage and retail -- dubbed "The Town Hall" -- will overlook the airfield so passengers can enjoy a bite to eat before their flight and watch planes take off and land. Alongi said retailers will be invited on site in March to configure their space to their own specifications. That process should take between six and eight weeks, she said.

To the naked eye, the many bathrooms throughout the new terminal building are complete, including the installation of toilets, sinks, hand dryers and tiles. The only thing missing is running water.

Looking out the second-storey ceiling-to-floor windows towards downtown, Alongi said the new terminal building will offer perhaps the best view in the city of Winnipeg's skyline.

"Tourists will really get a sense of Winnipeg. Imagine when it's lit up at night. It will be a fantastic view," she said.

The current facility, which was built in 1964, has a date with a wrecking ball some time in 2011.

The new terminal building isn't the only construction site at the airport. The Four Points Sheraton, the hotel with the highest occupancy rate in the city, is in the finishing stages of a multimillion-dollar renovation that's adding 20 guest rooms, an expanded banquet hall, four large meeting rooms and a grand staircase connecting the first and second floors.

"Our expansion is moving full-steam ahead," said Keith Levit, Lakeview's president, noting the new space will be open in April.

He said plans are also moving ahead on Lakeview's Grand Winnipeg Airport Hotel, a five-star property which will be built nearby.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

It was only a few years ago that the site of the new air terminal building was just a field. Here's a snapshot of activity at the $585-million project:

"ö The new building is the equivalent of 26 city blocks or the size of four football fields.

"ö More than 2.2 million person-hours of construction work has been completed thus far, more than 20,000 person-hours per week.

"ö The granite flooring in the Town Hall area was mined in Lac du Bonnet.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 25, 2010 B1