Work on the permanent memorial to the late Capt. Jenn Casey at the future Fulton Field Park by Kamloops Airport is set to get underway this year.
Located along Tranquille Road between Airport Road and Airport Way, Kamloops Capital Projects Manager, Matt Kachel, says the city will be releasing more information about the project in the not-too-distant future.
“I know there is an artist selected, but I don’t think I can reveal too much about what that looks like yet, but its going to start pretty soon here,” Kachel told RadioNL.
“We’ve got a few more things to work out with the Airport and a few other interested parties, but we’re very close to being able to proceed with that and hopefully make an announcement and show some renderings.”
The new permanent memorial will be at the future Fulton Field Park, on Tranquille Road between Airport Road and Airport Way.
Construction is set to begin in 2023 in conjunction with a beautification and road project on Tranquille. #Kamloops @RadioNLNews pic.twitter.com/9UU5p3jS9k
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) May 17, 2021
Former Mayor Ken Christian said the Memorial will be how the City of Kamloops officially remembers the tragic crash on May 17, 2020. Capt. Casey was killed when her Snowbirds Tutor jet crashed into a Brock neighbourhood moments after takeoff. The pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall was injured.
An investigation later concluded that Snowbird 11 lost power after a small bird was sucked into the engine shortly after take-off from Kamloops Airport.
“We will be adjacent to Rivers Trail. It will be a place for Kamloops residents to meet, and for some to observe aviation, some to remember military service, and for others to reflect on the life and vision of Capt. Casey,” Christian said, in May 2021. “It will be an interpretive park that will talk about the history of Fulton Field, and [Kamloops native] John ‘Moose’ Fulton, the original Commanding Officer of the 419 Squadron based in Cold Lake, Alberta.”
“It will go on to talk about the Snowbirds and their importance as a Canadian institution. Then it will go on to talk about the life of Captain Casey and also Richard MacDougall who piloted Snowbird 11 on that day.”
Paving work on Tranquille Road from Ord Road to the SPCA office – which is part of the larger project scope – is expected to be done before the Memorial Cup starts on May 26.
⚠️ Tranquille Road Paving will be under way from May 1, 2023 – May 25, 2023. Traffic will be single lane alternating between 7AM-7PM to/from @KamloopsAirport, Mon-Sat. If you are heading to #YKA, expect delays and give yourself extra travel time. pic.twitter.com/T8D5cUOpjX
— Kamloops Airport (@KamloopsAirport) April 28, 2023
Kachel says crews from BA Dawson Blacktop Ltd. will resume working on the project – which will include some active transportation work, utility work, more road paving, and Fulton Field Park itself – once the tournament wraps up on June 4.
“The park component is relatively straightforward. It’s more of the public art piece that I’m not 100 per cent sure on the timing of,” Kachel said. “Either way, once that is ready, it should be pretty easy to build on-site. It is just getting whatever is built off site into the park, which is what I’m a little unsure of at this point.”
“We haven’t solidified a construction start date yet for that. It will be this year, but I don’t have all of the details quite yet, I know the goal is to be done by the end of the year.”