Construction
Runway Construction
The Ottawa International Airport Authority announced that it is ready to start construction on runway 07/25. Part two of a three-part plan, the 8,000 foot runway will be reworked and resurfaced during the summer months, commencing June 1st.
The runway was last resurfaced in 1994, when the airport was managed by Transport Canada, prior to the establishment of the Airport Authority and transfer of operational responsibility from Transport Canada to the Authority in 1997. The runway currently meets Transport Canada guidelines, however once the construction is complete, it will reach far beyond and will conform to the standards set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).
The project will include the following components:
- Removal of the surface layer of asphalt from the runway;
- Replacement of runway lighting and electrical wires;
- Construction of a Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both ends;
- Replacement of NAV CANADA’s Instrument Landing System (ILS); and
- Regrading and repaving.
Closure of the east-west runway during construction will result in the north-south runway 14/32 being used for all commercial traffic. This will mean a temporary reprieve of aircraft noise for communities in the east and west, and a temporary increase in noise for communities in the north and south. Construction is expected to last until early fall.
Fun Facts
Runway length: 8,000 ft (2,438 m)
Runway width: 200 ft (61 m)
New runway end safety area: 300 m long, 150 m wide
576,000 cubic meters of earth to be moved
75,000 tons of new asphalt
10 km of trenching for electrical cables
Portable asphalt plant on site
100 employees on site
8000 tons of gravel being added to runway per day June 12th, 13th and 14th for grading.
Some contractors:
R.W. Tomlinson Ltd: principal contractor (civil)
Black & McDonald: Electrical contracting (subcontractor to Tomlinson)
Harvey Escorts – Airport security escorts
D&H Fencing
James Landscaping, Inc.
Miller Paving
Roto – mill
Greenwood Paving
Update - June 29
Runway construction started on June 1st, 2012 and has progressed at a fast pace. The project scope involves the rehabilitation of the runway surface, including re-profiling as necessary, the construction of a 300 metre runway end safety area (RESA) at each end of the runway, grading of the runway strip to match the changing elevation of the runway edges, and the replacement of all runway lights and associated wiring.
- To date, the RESAs have been completed and are ready for grass seeding.
- The runway has been milled, pulverized, and the base asphalt is being applied.
- The runway at E (Echo) taxiway including Echo taxiway is complete. Seven crews worked on this area from initial excavation to base asphalt.
- At Charlie taxiway and the threshold of runway 07, the excavation has been completed, granular base materials have been applied and graded and the base asphalt is done.
Paving has begun and three pavers are applying the base asphalt to the runway. The asphalt is supplied by three asphalt plants, and a total of 25-30 trucks will be transporting the asphalt to the pavers. This works out to a truck entering the construction site every 75 seconds!
The runway strip (the cleared, smoothed and graded area around the paved runway) has been prepared and work has now started to re-topsoil and seed 300,000 square meters (74 acres) of this graded area.
Nav Canada is on schedule for its instrument landing system (ILS) replacement for runway 07. This includes replacement of the glide path and localizer antennas.