A comprehensive runway and aviation facility upgrade are about to take off at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, triggering a complex logistical plan that will see manpower, materials and machinery shipped by barge overnight for three years.
Staging work is underway and by the end of June barges will be offloading at a specially built dock at the Toronto Island airport as work begins on the $36-million project.
The scope includes a shave-and-pave of the two runways and taxiways and construction of a three-sided facility to partially enclose the existing engine test area in order to contain noise.
Work will be done at night said Gene Cabral, executive vice-president PortsToronto and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport — the only available time since the busy airport has 200 flights in and out between 6:45 a.m. and 11 p.m. About 2.5-million passengers a year pass through Billy Bishop, most on Porter Airlines, the others on private aircraft.
One runway, 15-33, will also be repaved but officially retired as a runway since its north-south orientation means it’s limited to certain conditions. The runway is also not used enough to justify the expense of maintaining it. It will become a taxiway to the Ground Run-up Enclosure (GRE). The milled asphalt from all operations will be reused to pave the perimeter road.
Runway 08-26 is the primary and longest runway at the airport at 4,000 feet. The scope includes milling the 30-year-old surface and fully repaving it with asphalt. It will also see replacement of existing lighting and the addition of new centerline lights to better guide pilots.
By 2017, when the asphalt has fully cured, the surface of 08-26 will be grooved to improve water removal.
Similarly, the shorter, secondary runway 06-24 will also be milled, paved and new electrics installed.
A key component of the project is the GRE which is used to test engines. Flight regulations require all aircraft engines to be tested after maintenance which means revving them up to ensure power in flight. This creates noise and Cabral said PortsToronto has been working with the community and local councillors to come up with a solution.
The plan is for a three-walled structure some 14-metres high to contain and muffle the noise and direct it away from residences. About one test per day is carried out.
“The land for the GRE is actually on City of Toronto property,” he said. “So there will be a review, but we’ve been working with city officials and the community on this and they’ve appreciated the way we’ve followed the process. There are about 80 of these GREs in the world including Vancouver International Airport.”
BDI, based in Reno, Nev., has the contract and has built about 30 GREs around the world, Cabral said.
Aside from the challenges of working at night, there’s also the hurdle of getting materials to and from the site.
“We expect about 15,000 trucks coming and going over the life of the project,” Cabral said, noting PortsToronto’s experience with the construction of the tunnel to the airport terminal from the foot of Bathurst Street taught them the need to consider the impact on the local community.
As such it was determined that the materials, men and equipment should come over by barges from Pier 51 which is at the foot of Unwin Avenue by Cherry Street.
A temporary dock was built at the east side of the island to handle off-loading and on-loading and a lay-down yard has also been set up on the island.
The plan is also to minimize traffic impact through the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood by cutting down on the need to reverse construction equipment, cutting back-up alarms.
Dust suppression will be carried out by water trucks and lighting for the overnight operations will be directed downwards and away from neighbourhoods.
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