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AirportImprovement.com      May | June 2026
RUNWAYS 
YVR 
integrity remained, and a refurbishment, 
rather than full replacement, would 
provide the necessary improvements 
for long-term use. Working alongside 
engineering teams, airport personnel 
assessed and validated all requirements 
of the existing runway and determined 
the upgrades needed to modernize the 
infrastructure and ensure the runway 
would continue to serve its function, as 
well as meet all regulatory requirements.
Overnight Closures
With two runways, North and South, each 
is “incredibly important” to operations, and 
taking one out of service for any extended 
period of time would be an impediment, 
says Grams. 
Scheduling the rehabilitation of the 
North Runway, which is primarily used 
for arrivals, was consequently a key 
consideration. “We wanted to deliver 
the project with the least impact to our 
customers and our operation as possible, 
so we really focused in on that during the 
planning phase of the project,” Grams 
relates. The team reviewed multiple 
options for delivering the work—from 
completely closing the runway for a period 
to shortening the runway in phases and 
working on segments overnight. 
In the end, YVR elected to complete 
the work from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., when 
the North Runway is regularly closed to 
operations anyway. “We went through our 
assessment and felt we could confidently 
deliver the project effectively with the 
least amount of impact to our customers 
by completing the work in that overnight 
closure window,” says Grams.
As with all major infrastructure 
projects at the airport, officials made the 
decision with input from a wide range of 
stakeholders, including airline partners, 
other aircraft operators, NAV CANADA, 
Transport Canada and the community. 
“We have a very strong, longstanding 
partnership with Musqueam Indian Band,” 
Grams emphasizes. The airport and its 
North Runway sits on the traditional and 
unceded territory of Musqueam, and the 
airport approaches its work on the land 
through a lens of reconciliation that is 
grounded in respect, collaboration and 
friendship, he adds. 
A 30-year Friendship and Sustainability 
Agreement between the airport and the 
Musqueam Indian Band establishes the 
framework for collaboration on land use 
and environmental stewardship for mutual 
benefit. 
“From the early days of planning [the 
runway project], we had Musqueam 
Knowledge Keepers, cultural monitors 
and community members help guide us 
through the work,” Grams says. Cultural 
training was provided to crew members 
before construction began and as new 
workers joined the team.   
Stakeholder consultation—both 
internal and external—was key to ensure 
successful delivery of a project with 
this magnitude and community impact, 
Henschel agrees. “We knew that it was 
an ambitious way to tackle this work, and 
we were really motivated to do that and 
minimize disruption,” she adds. 
Preplanning 
Kiewit, the firm that originally constructed 
the North Runway, also performed the 
recent updates. “It 
was a pretty cool 
opportunity for us to 
get to be part of the 
rehabilitation 30 years 
later,” says Jeremy 
Bing, project sponsor 
with the general 
contractor. 
Well before onsite work began, the 
team from Kiewit worked to establish a 
comprehensive picture of how each nightly 
closure would proceed, including all steps 
of construction steps, backup scenarios, 
“what ifs” and check ins throughout the 
night to guarantee that the runway could 
safely return to service each morning. 
Rather than focusing on completing 
the construction planned for each 
shift, Henschel says the emphasis was 
returning the runway to operation in the 
JEREMY BING

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