Toronto (May 20, 2017) — The second year of construction activities for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport's 3-year Airfield Rehabilitation Program will be complete this week. A site inspection of the pavement, lights, signs, and paint markings for the new Taxiway Echo has been completed and the taxiway has been commissioned for use 12 days ahead of schedule.
 
Despite high water tables and above-average precipitation this summer, the rehabilitation team is pleased to report that, through some careful planning and the employment of additional measures, work was completed early. Activities that were completed in 2017 include:
 

• Ground Run-up Enclosure (GRE) – Testing and commissioning of the GRE occurred on April 5, 2017, and the facility has been accommodating ground aircraft engine run-ups since this time, resulting in successful reductions in noise to the surrounding community. In addition, marking and lighting of the area south of GRE to accommodate additional overflow parking will be completed within the next few days.

 

• Runway 08-26 Grooving – This safety feature improves the macro-texture of the pavement surface, reduces water film thicknesses during rainfall and provides an escape channel for water that may become trapped between the pavement surface and an aircraft tire. These effects reduce the potential for aircraft hydroplaning under wet conditions. Grooving may also improve aircraft braking performance on a wet runway as compared to a wet non-grooved runway. PortsToronto requested the contractor undertake these activities as soon as weather permitted and in advance of the warmer weather, when members of our neighbourhood might open their windows. The grooving proved particularly helpful over the past few months given the wet weather we’ve experienced this spring and summer.

 

• New FBO Apron 6 Construction – This work included construction of a temporary general aviation aircraft apron between Taxiways Alpha, Bravo and Echo. Additional scope of work to provide an extra 2,850 m² of paved aircraft parking for general aviation use was added to this contract earlier this year. The work activities took place during the overnight hours (11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), and are substantially complete with anticipated use by July 27, still within the 2017 construction season.

 

• Complete Conversion of Runway 15-33 to a Permanent Taxiway Echo – Runway 15-33 has been closed since 2016 and has only been used in the interim for the taxiing of aircraft. This work included full reconstruction of the old runway pavements and conversion to a new Taxiway Echo by converting 23 m of the western portion of former Runway 15-33 into new Taxiway Echo and converting the eastern portion of the former Runway 15-33 runway to 5 m wide, with a one-way service road. The work also required reconfiguration of intersection with Runway 08-26. As well, new taxiway electrical infrastructure, including edge lighting and signage, was installed. The work activities took place during the night shift from July 1 to July 21.

 

• Completion of Improvements to Perimeter Service Road – This work included constructing paved connections to Runway 08 and Runway 26 thresholds. This work commenced on May 26 and will be mostly complete on July 27. A section of the western portion of the perimeter road is still inaccessible for construction due to high water level and will be completed once water recedes. The work activities for perimeter roads construction also took place during overnight hours (11:00 p.m.to 6:00 a.m.).

 

• Electrical Infrastructure Replacement on Taxiway Alpha – This work included replacement of aging electrical infrastructure (taxiway edge lights, transformers, cabling) with new LED taxiway edge lights, transformers and cabling. This work activity started on June 1 and is anticipated to be completed by July 27. The work is taking place during the overnight hours (11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.). This work was originally planned for 2018 and was moved into the 2017 construction season to minimize the impact on the western side of the airfield in 2018.

 

• Barging Operations – In order to minimize impacts to the neighbourhood from the above-noted construction activities, the seasonal barging operation was implemented and is anticipated to be completed for this project on July 27. Barging activities may, however, continue through to the middle of August to provide access and materials for certain aspects of the Terminal improvements work being undertaken by Nieuport Aviation.

 
 
Project Website – The project website will continue to be updated with a weekly look-ahead of anticipated construction activities and photos. Please refer to http://www.billybishopairfieldproject.com/
 
Construction Activities on other projects – While the work on Airfield Rehabilitation Project is substantially complete for 2017, note that there are other construction activities that will continue at the airport for the remainder of the year, including projects such as Terminal upgrades and Non-Passenger Screening Vehicle construction.
 
On behalf of everyone at PortsToronto, Billy Bishop Airport and our construction team, we would like to thank the community and airport stakeholders for their patience over the last few months. We have and will continue to employ all means and measures possible to mitigate the effect of our operations and that includes construction on the airfield.