By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The Cantons-de-l’Est Regional Airport Authority (Régie Aéroportuaire Régionale des Cantons de l’Est; RARCE) broke ground last week on a $10-million renovation of the single runway at Roland Désourdy Regional Airport in Bromont.
The airport has been in service for about 50 years and about 12,000 planes take off and land in Bromont every year, according to Simon Villeneuve, general manager of the airport. The airport is not equipped for large commercial flights, but it is used by corporate jets, private jets, “high-end tourist flights,” a flight school and an air ambulance service, Villeneuve told the BCN.
The renovations involve completely rebuilding the airport’s single runway “down to the foundation,” redoing the apron, adding two taxiways for safer and more efficient takeoff and landing and bringing the airport into compliance with provincial regulations on rainwater runoff. “As it stands now, we have a single taxiway and there’s only one way for planes to take off,” said Villeneuve. “The idea is to improve the safety and fluidity of the operation and clear the runway much faster.” He said he believed the new runway offered “potential for new revenue down the road.”
“The first [step] would be to have more secure operations [thanks to the new taxiways], and then potentially we’ll have potential for growth,” he said. “We have about 25 private owners of aircraft and they have been saying for a long time that they would like for there to be hangars … to give people a place to park their jet. We are trying to facilitate this, and then we’ll extend the Rue du Ciel.”
Half of the cost of the runway revamp will be paid by the Quebec government through the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility regional airport infrastructure assistance program (PAQIAR) The other half will be paid jointly by the cities of Bromont, Cowansville and Granby. Contracts to work on the project have gone to local companies, Villeneuve said, with Granby-based Allaire et Gince the main construction contractor, Bromont-based Eurovia Québec supplying an estimated 20,000 tons of asphalt and Sherbrooke-based Ace Electric handling the electrical systems; in total, according to Villeneuve, the project will employ about 50 local workers. “It’s a regional airport, and we have people from around the region pitching in.”
Villeneuve explained that the first phase of construction began in May and the project is expected to kick into high gear over the summer. The airport will be closed for construction from Aug. 11 to Sept. 19, and full operations are expected to resume in late September or early October, Villeneuve said.
“Regional infrastructure, such as Roland-Désourdy Airport, is an essential economic driver, particularly when connected to our industrial parks, which are home to cutting-edge sectors such as industry, science, and technology. The Innovation Zone designation has reinforced the strategic role of this airport,” said Brome-Missisquoi MNA Isabelle Charest in a statement. “We are modernizing this key infrastructure to improve safety, support its development and enhance the attractiveness of the entire region.”
“I am proud to see this structuring project take shape, the result of rigorous work carried out with dedication by the RARCE team and numerous partners. The airport is much more than an infrastructure: it is a lever for our collective future,” said Cowansville Mayor Sylvie Beauregard, who is also president of the RARCE.