The Nav Canada beacon in Air Ronge sits on a large plot of land. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

infrastructure

Beacon in Air Ronge to be decommissioned

Jan 30, 2024 | 2:01 PM

A large tower along Highway 2 in Air Ronge will be decommissioned this year.

That’s according to a statement sent to larongeNOW from Nav Canada, the non-profit corporation that owns the tower, as well as operates Canada’s civil air navigation system.

The tower in Air Ronge, which is a non-directional beacon (NDB) used as a radio transmitter, is not currently in operational use.

“NDBs are conventional navigational aids used by pilots that have become somewhat less prevalent due to satellite-based navigation capabilities being widely available,” the email states.

“Once the equipment has been removed and environmental considerations have been addressed, the land will eventually be released to Transport Canada.”

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In terms of the decommissioning process, Nav Canada hires contractors to remediate such sites. The method used to dismantle installations depend on a variety of contributing factors such as environmental concerns, space, type of installation and more.

The topic was brought up briefly at a regular Air Ronge council meeting earlier this month. Mayor Julie Baschuk said council was told last summer the tower would be decommissioned and torn down.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com