The construction of a long-awaited helipad at the Fort McMurray hospital will begin later this year, Alberta Health Services says.
The helipad has been a long time coming for the oilsands capital, where residents have complained in the past that Alberta’s energy hub lacks critical health infrastructure.
Fort McMurray’s Northern Lights Regional Health Centre is the closest major hospital to several northern Alberta and Saskatchewan communities.
Currently, an air ambulance lands at the Fort McMurray International Airport and then patients are transported by road for a 21-minute trip to Fort McMurray’s hospital.
Former premier Jim Prentice announced in October 2014 that his government would invest $5.5 million for a helipad at the hospital.
Construction on the helipad was supposed to begin in spring 2015 but the province said ongoing design issues would delay the expected completion until late 2016.
Then, nearly four months later, AHS announced the helipad wouldn’t be constructed until 2017 because it wanted to co-ordinate heliport construction with planned renovations to the hospital.
In a news release issued Tuesday evening, Alberta Health spokesperson Jason Morton said construction of the helipad will start this year but did not specify the exact date.