ASPHALTopics | Summer 2021 | VOL 34 | NO 2

y James Careless
Miller Paving is in the second year of rehabilitating the two runways
(with intersection) and two taxiways at Timmins Victor M. Power
Airport in Timmins, Ontario. It’s an ambitious project that balances
the need to completely remove and repave the facility’s asphalt
surfaces with the airport remaining in service, compounded by
the challenges of working in a cold northern climate, safety issues
related to arriving/departing aircraft, and COVID-19.
10-28, which measures 4,907’ by 150’/1,495 m by 45.7 m
is scheduled to be rehabilitated in 2021.)
A total of 57,000 tonnes of HMA was laid down during
this phase of the contract along with some Granular A
aggregate to improve the base after Miller Paving had
excavated and pulverized 180,000 square metres of
original tarmac. The bottom lift was 75 mm in depth,
while the surface lift was 50 mm.
FINDING THE RIGHT MIX
By itself, laying down asphalt pavement in Timmins was
no big deal for Miller Paving. “We specialize in paving in
a northern climate,” says Amanda Swan, Quality Control
Technical Advisor for Northern Operations. “It is what
we do every day.”
However, the specific asphalt requirements of the
Timmins Airport job did pose some challenges. “We
conducted more than 15 lab trials to find the right
HMA composition to meet the project specifications
during the mix design phase,” Swan says. “The project’s
specifications were based on aggregate as defined by
the MTO Designated Sources for Materials (DSM) list, but
there are no approved sources near the Timmins area
because the highways in that region do not typically use
FC1 or FC2 mixes. Meanwhile, Marshall mixes are not
commonly used in that area as the municipality and
most private work in the region use Superpave.” ››
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