Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 83

A Lancaster (left) and a CF-18 Hornet fly
in formation over CFB Cold Lake, Alberta,
in 1989. The Hornet was acquired as
Canada’s new fighter aircraft in the 1980s.
a ship), an extension to the Syncrolift drydock facility Project: The Hornet Programme
(which DCL had helped install some 20 years earlier) and
$18 million in improvements to Halifax’s Jetty NH and
Arguably one of the most exciting projects for Air
work on services and service tunnels in the dockyard.
Command in the 1980s—and certainly one that
captured the imagination of the public—was the
The construction of an SRU for Canada’s Pacific coast
decision to purchase the CF-18 Hornet as Canada’s
followed soon after work on its Atlantic counterpart. This
new fighter aircraft. The Hornet’s role was to carry out
included a 9,500-square-metre building for light and
sovereignty and air defence missions in Canada, and
heavy shops, as well as a jetty base, quay wall and two
air-to-air and air-to-surface missions in Europe. Approval
new finger jetties to provide increased berthing capacity
was granted for 138 aircraft and the necessary logistical
for ships. Preparation work began in 1986–87, and
support, including spares, maintenance and training.
included service relocation, demolition of older
structures and dredging for new berthing. In the late
This was definitely a case of “easier approved than
1980s, construction began in earnest, with $49 million
done.” The construction schedule was not only tight,
in contracts awarded for the SRU (Pacific) and its
but included short northern construction seasons
related jetties at Esquimalt.
at Cold Lake, Alberta and Bagotville, Quebec—so
phased design and sequential construction packages
The following year, the 1,270-square-metre Side Transfer
were essential. This was helped by early approval of
Plastic Shop was completed, while the shops and the
contracts for consultant services for building designs,
administrative building were nearing completion. The
SRU (Pacific)/C-Jetty Complex project was finished
during 1990–91 at a total cost of $51.7 million, with the
relocation of existing shops and administrative offices to
the new building taking place in early 1991.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
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