31 AirportImprovement.com May | June 2026 RUNWAYS YVR “It was a very challenging project with daily return-to-service requirements and very short work windows that required precision planning,” he summarizes. Teamwork, collaboration and coordination among all stakeholders was critical to maximize progress during the limited work windows. On a typical evening, electrical crews kicked off the work by removing any lights that needed to be taken away before milling machines were mobilized. “Our team specializes in airfield electrical,” Pathmarajah notes. “Our fleet is designed solely for this purpose. We have the equipment and the process knowledge.” Given the amount of time it took to mobilize and complete return- to-service procedures, Tristar crews only had about five hours each night to work. This made it challenging to maintain momentum compared to working during a full runway closure, Pathmarajah explains. “You couldn’t start something you were unable to finish,” he adds. “We were mobilizing and demobilizing every shift.” Paving crews applied new asphalt directly on top of the existing concrete in three layers, each roughly 60- to 80-millimeters thick. After laying each segment, workers installed a ramp from the new asphalt to existing concrete so the runway could continue to be used during the day. One of the first activities on the next night shift was to mill out the temporary ramp. Once complete, paving equipment entered the site and put down approximately 80 meters of asphalt, installed another ramp and reinstalled any lights. By 5 a.m., all paving tasks had to be complete and equipment cleared from the runway. Crews with lights then walked the entire length of the runway looking for any stray construction debris to ensure nothing was left behind that could be sucked into aircraft engines. Return-to-service checks were then conducted and recorded on tablets in real-time and communicated to the appropriate personnel. The operations team and project team jointly reviewed elements of construction from the previous night, validating that all tasks were complete and that all predetermined inspections had been completed. After those conversations concluded, the operations team conducted a physical inspection of the runway before it was returned to service. An engineering representative from YVR was on site throughout the project to liaise with contractors and lead the return to service checklists. “That was quite an involved process of checklists and reports to ensure we met all the requirements to return to service,” Grams says. After airport operations signed off, the runway was returned to service each morning by 7 a.m. “Safety remains our top priority at the airport, and that was really demonstrated by all parties involved,” Henschel notes. Throughout the project, crews placed more than 150,000 tons of asphalt over the entire runway surface and connecting taxiways. In addition, 120,000 square meters of topsoil was placed around the runway perimeter and seeded with indigenous vegetation. Ready to Pivot Occasionally, certain work had to be suspended or rescheduled, such as paving or painting when it rained. “When those situations did occur, we had already worked to anticipate in advance what would proceed and what would not proceed, based on the conditions driving the go/no go decision,” Grams explains. “If there was a challenge that came up, then we pivoted and came up with some sort of solution to keep the project going.” That said, there wasn’t much slack in the schedule, and paving operations are heavily dependent on favorable weather. When conditions posed a challenge, other associated projects such as electrical and drainage work continued. “Weather was one of those things out of our control, but lots of effort was made to increase production levels so that we were still able to meet our schedule,” he elaborates, adding that such contingencies were built into the initial, comprehensive planning. However, midway through the project, the region experienced more wet weather than had been accounted for in the schedule. And crews could not simply work longer hours to compensate for lost time because the airport didn’t want to impact customers by closing the runway early in the evening or leaving it closed later into the morning. Grams compliments Kiewit for developing ways to increase tonnage paved during a given shift as crews became more experienced on the challenging jobsite. “We found that production did increase significantly through the summer, and we were able to make up for those weather days,” he advises. Clear and constant communication was leveraged to keep project partners on the same page and following the process. “The level of detailed planning that had to go behind every shift was intense,” Pathmarajah relates. Every activity, every night, had a detailed schedule to keep work on track, and there was always a “go or no go” point to determine if each task could be finished within the prescribed schedule. “We are here to ensure the successful delivery of the operation end to end,” Henschel says, “which means heavy involvement with the airlines and with our air navigation service provider, NAV CANADA, to ensure that we had anticipated all the operating conditions that could occur during the window of construction.” Preparation, contingency plans and the ability to pivot quickly when needed all proved to be crucial. Planning Engineering Environmental Industry Analysis Program Management Construction Administration Business & Financial Planning www.deltaairport.com DELTA AIRPORT CONSULTANTS, INC.
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