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Grant McConachie Way is the main passage way to the Vancouver Airport.
Screen grab from Google Maps
Grant McConachie Way
Published 11:42 PDT, Fri August 18, 2023
Last Updated: 11:43 PDT, Fri August 18, 2023
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Grant McConachie Way is the main passage to the Vancouver airport. The three-to-six lane expressway connects Richmond to Sea Island Way. It also connects Richmond to Vancouver crossing over the Arthur Laing bridge.
Grant McConachie way was named after George William Grant McConachie. McConachie was born on April 24, 1909, in Hamilton, Ontario and grew up in the Calder area of Edmonton, Alberta. McConachie worked part time for the Canadian National Railways, he studied at the University of Alberta shortly before leaving in his freshman year to take flying lessons from Maurice (Moss) Burbidge.
After acquiring his Private Pilot’s Licence in 1929 and Commercial Pilot’s Licence in 1930, McConachie acquired his first aircraft and began his piloting career. His first job was flying fish from the northern lakes during the winter months, the remainder of that year was spent barnstorming in the prairies.
Despite many setbacks financially and physically, McConachie co-founded Independent Airways at Edmonton that then turned into United Air Transport in 1933. In 1939, McConachie pioneered the first scheduled airmail and passenger service between Edmonton and Whitehorse called the Yukon Southern Air Transport, earning him the Trans-Canada trophy. His small fleet of bush aircrafts included ski and float planes.
As the government was looking to find a route to the Alaskan border, McConachie was using a route surveyed by Dan McLean from Edmonton to the border. Given the information from McLean’s surveys, the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline Project were completed earlier.
In 1941, Canadian Pacific Railways bought a few small airlines, which included McConachie’s Yukon Southern Transport, he was named Assistant to the President of the CPR. In 1947, McConachie was named President of the Canadian Pacific Airlines (CPA). He started the first air passenger service from Vancouver, British Columbia to other major cities in the Orient. McConachie would assist in the launching of seven more international routes including cities in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and many more.
McConachie passed away on June 29, 1965, during his business trip to Long Beach, California. He was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973 and Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 1979. The McConachie peak was named after him and the 810 Grant McConachie Air Cadets in 1971.
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