Billy Bishop Airport Completes Multi-Million Dollar, Three-Year Airfield Rehabilitation Program

On October 23, 2018, PortsToronto was happy to announce the completion of the Billy Bishop Airfield Rehabilitation Program. This significant three-year rehabilitation initiative included the reconstruction of runways and taxiways, the installation of new energy efficient LED lighting and the construction of a Ground Run-Up Enclosure (GRE) designed to dampen the noise associated with high-power aircraft engine ground run-up operations.

Because Billy Bishop Airport has only one main runway, construction activities for this complex project could only take place during nighttime hours, between 11:00 p.m. and 6:45 a.m., when the airport was closed to commercial and general aviation air traffic. The project modernized the airfield infrastructure—much of which was built in the 1960s.

Throughout the duration of the program, measures were implemented to avoid disrupting passengers and the surrounding airport community. These measures included an award-winning barging operation that not only eliminated noise and traffic in the surrounding community, but removed the equivalent of 6,000 trucks off the neighbouring roads, casting construction lighting downward and away from the city to avoid disturbing those in residential buildings and implementing a policy to reduce the use of vehicle back-up alarms to further reduce noise disturbances.

The project was completed 60 days ahead of schedule with minimal disruptions—and was completed on budget at a cost of $35 million, paid for by PortsToronto and not taxpayers.