ASPHALTopcs | Summer 2017 | VOL 30 | NO 2

One of the four MTVs and two of the six pavers
working on the surface course on the south side
of the centreline of Runway 05-23. (Pave-Al)
scheduled for October 2017 and later
in 2018, were included in the spring
phases, which further complicated
logistics planning.
“The approach to the project
schedule initially was very
conservative, as we were uncertain
about the weather,” says Chris
Stewart, Manager, Airside and
Infrastructure Engineering, GTAA.
“We had never started a major
pavement restoration project so
early in the year; typically we don’t
start projects until mid-April. When
combined with a milder than average
spring, the concerted efforts of all
parties paid off to allow us to advance
the schedule for phase three and four
and complete the work on May 16.
This project was very important to
make sure that the busiest runway
in Canada could safely and reliably
operate into the future. Although it
resulted in some unfortunate delays
to our customers and noise impact
to our community, it was good to
12 OAPC | ASPHALTOPICS
see that we were able to significantly
mitigate the timespan of those delays
and relieve the noise impact through
our efforts to complete the project
more quickly than originally planned.”
That’s the beauty
of asphalt; you can
pave today and be
open tomorrow.
– Carinci
Efficient workmanship by experienced
heavy civil contractors was also key
in ensuring that the project was
completed on time. The 05-23 runway
and related taxiways were constructed
by Pave-Al Limited and Gazzola Paving
Ltd., who have partnered in the past
with other Toronto Pearson runway
projects. The companies’ combined
manpower, equipment and paving
materials, as well as the expertise
and work ethic of subtrades, provided
the robust workforce that was needed
to tackle such a large and time-sensitive
project.
“Both Pave-Al and Gazzola Paving
each have a plant close to the airport,
with a daily capacity of 4,000 tonnes
of asphalt for each company,” says
Albert Carinci, Contract Manager for
Pave-Al Limited. “Combined, we can
reduce the down time significantly
and can do in two days what would
normally take a week.”
While the rehabilitation project was
designed in-house, the GTAA hired
engineering firm, Englobe, for on-site
quality control of the project and
to test the integrity of the existing
runway. Heavy Weight Deflectometer
(HWD) testing assessed the efficiency
of load transfer in the concrete joints,
and through Ground Penetrating
Radar (GPR), lower density material or
voids were located. After establishing
the location of voids and weak load