As a massive renovation project continues at the top of Sulphur Mountain, the gondola has reopened to the public.
The renovation, which will see the construction of an interpretive centre and a 50-seat multisensory theatre, began in September after a planning period lasting nearly two and a half years.
“It takes an awful lot of time and study to be able to engineer something of this scale at the top of the mountain particularly when one of the core things we want to achieve is to not expand our footprint at all,” said David McKenna, president of Brewster Travel Canada.
McKenna says the project has an estimated cost of roughly $26 million, a significant investment for the company.
“We’ll be able to provide an extremely sophisticated upper mountain experience for people for decades.”
According to Cole Kitchen, project manager with PCL Special Projects, the construction project’s unique location has presented obstacles.
“It’s been a very challenging and very exciting project,” said Kitchen. “We’ve had to bring up just about all the material up the gondola.”
Kitchen says more than 300 tonnes of concrete has been carted off the mountain using the gondola and a helicopter assisted with setting up a crane during the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ project.
The Banff Gondola opened in 1959 and has transported more than 21 million guests to the top of the mountain.
“For most of them, this is about as high up on a mountain as they’ll ever get in their life,” said McKenna.
The grand opening of the renovated facilities at the top of the Banff Gondola is tentatively scheduled for August 1, 2016. For more information on the project, visit Brewster Travel Canada – Banff Gondola.
With files from CTV's Kevin Fleming
