If you've driven along Highway 55 west of Lac La Biche, then you may have noticed that the runway lights at the Lac La Biche Airport are brighter than they used to be.
If you've driven along Highway 55 west of Lac La Biche, then you may have noticed that the runway lights at the Lac La Biche Airport are brighter than they used to be.
A new lighting system has been installed at a cost of $355,000 to replace the aging predecessors, and meet higher safety expectations.
“The existing lighting system was antiquated and maintenance to keep it in good working order was becoming expensive,” said Lac La Biche County spokesperson Julie MacIsaac. “The system was replaced to improve safety and operational efficiency.”
The airport's runway has approximately 120 lights running along its 1.74-kilometre length, but there are also eight Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) lights that tell pilots whether or not they're on the right trajectory when coming in to land at night.
“PAPI lights glow a certain combination of white and red, indicating whether the plane's approach is correct or incorrect,” MacIsaac said. “The lights that designate the runway are white. Blue lights designate the taxi-way approaches and orange lights designate the airplane parking aprons.”
Upgrades to airport lighting are needed for safety, but the County has considered other modifications to the local airport in the past.
In 2013, the municipality commissioned a $150,000 study to gauge how the airport could be expanded or even relocated. When the study's findings were presented in 2014, councillors opted not to let it take off.
