Airport tunnel plan nixed by council

City council rejected a suggestion Monday night to spend $150 million to rough in a tunnel underneath a new runway slated for the Calgary International Airport.

The proposal, put forth by Ald. Jim Stevenson, would have seen the city lay the groundwork for an underground artery linking 96th Avenue to 36th Street N.E., but finish the project at a later date.

The route would compensate for the closure of Barlow Trail between 48th Avenue and Airport Road, which will happen in April 2011 to make way for the fourth runway at the airport.

But council voted 11 to 4 against the plan, which would have been funded by shelving other infrastructure upgrades, including a new interchange on 16th Avenue at Canada Olympic Park.

"There's a new council12 weeks from tonight. And maybe a new council will have the courage to look and plan for growth. This council decided they want wait and react to growth," said Stevenson.

"It's definitely going to be an election issue. I believe that people of Calgary are going to be pretty upset about this."

The Calgary Airport Authority and the city agreed in December 2009 to jointly contribute $90-million of the tunnel's $287-million cost.

But in January the provincial and federal governments rejected a request to fund the remaining $197 million.

Building the tunnel after the runway is complete would cost $900 million, the city said earlier this year.

Without a tunnel, Deerfoot Trail would be the only route to the airport from the northeast andbusinesses in the area would be cut off from their customers, according to Grant Galpin, who speaks for the Airport Trail Access Committee.

"We're going to see traffic having no way to get around to the airport except by Deerfoot Trail. You all know, we all know what happens in a snowstorm here in Calgary," he said.

"What happens when Deerfoot backs up and you're trying to get the airport? It makes absolutely no sense."

Council's decision not to fund the tunnel will also block future LRT access to the airport for a generation, Galpin added.