Work on the new main terminal building Langley Regional Airport is just a few months away from completion.

Now that NAV Canada has relocated to the new air traffic control tower in the building, there is no need to protect the view for the old tower, so construction of three new hangars on the north side of the terminal building, in front of the old tower, is underway.

RDM Enterprises Group president Ron Madsen, the builder and manager of the building said the hangar structure is up and he expects the roof, doors and paint will take another 60 to 90 days.

“The old tower is scheduled to come down around the end of May,” Madsen told the Langley Advance Times, with crews currently doing a hazmat survey and drywall removal.

A unique, all-in-one design, the $16 million Langley facility, located in the 5300 block of 216th Street, is a 55,000 sq-ft three-storey combination building that includes the new airport control tower rising another two storeys above.

It is fully leased, with tenants ranging from the airport manager’s office, Tourism Langley, the Township of Langley, and aerospace companies and associations as well as restaurants.

READ ALSO: A look inside the new Langley Regional Airport terminal building

There were a few bumps along the way that pushed completion past the original Spring 2018 date.

Among them, an unexpected geotechnical issue that arose when an old creek bed was discovered running through the building site; the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on steel that held up deliveries; bad weather that delayed completing the concrete walls; and the COVID-19 pandemic that slowed the pace of construction because trades had to maintain social distancing.

READ ALSO: After many setbacks and delays, Adrian’s at the Airport in Langley has, finally, opened its new premises

Originally built by the federal Department of Transport in 1938, the Langley airport was controlled by the Department of National Defence and enhanced for the Royal Canadian Air Force for use as a relief field in the early 1940s.

After the Second World War, the Department of Transport resumed ownership and leased the airport to the Township of Langley. In 1954, the facility was licensed to operate as a municipal airport and in 1967 it was purchased by the Township.

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