Engineers Canada National Award for an Engineering Project Submission
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Engineers Canada National Award for an Engineering Project Submission for Consideration Iqaluit International Airport Improvement Project Design with community in mind Engineers Canada National Award for an Engineering Project Iqaluit International Airport Improvement Project Introduction This project required Stantec, along with the other • Environmental engineering to manage areas of project stakeholders including the Government of known contamination; Nunavut and Arctic Infrastructure Limited Partners, • Runway, taxiway, and apron improvements and to create North America’s first airport Public Private rehabilitation for a paved area of 450,000 square Partnership (P3) . It is anticipated that this will serve meters; the people of Nunavut and Canada for many years to • Improvements to the airfield electrical and come. lighting system; • Extensions to the existing municipal water and The project value was $330M and consisted of sewer system to accommodate the significant advanced engineering in several disciplines for the development; design, construction, and commissioning of certain • Extension and upgrades to the municipal new facilities and the rehabilitation and upgrading of roadway network to accommodate the changes certain existing facilities. in traffic in Iqaluit; The Project included the following major capital • Large scale drainage improvements in the vicinity improvements: of the airfield to accommodate the groundside development; • A new air terminal building and associated landside elements of approximately 10,000 square meters; • A new combined services building and associated landside elements of approximately 5,000 square meters; • Thermosyphon foundations for the two large buildings; • Aircraft deicing facilities; and • New aviation fuels dispensing facilities. Commencement date for the significant project was Dec 31, 2017. Iqaluit Airport Improvement Plan | Engineers Canada Gold Medal Award 2018 Role of the Airport The Iqaluit International Airport has many functions. The special aircraft that have passed through It serves the north as a regional airport. It is a Iqaluit International Airport are the Airbus A380- transatlantic technical stop. Both NORAD and 800, 2nd largest aircraft, 2006; Antonov AN-124- Military use this airport. The airport is used for 100, fourth largest plane in the world, brought the cold weather testing. It serves medical flights as emergency generator and heavy lift helicopter well as search and rescue missions. The strategic to restore power to Pangnirtung; Sikorsky S-64F location of the Iqaluit Airport allows emergency Skycrane, brought in on the Antonov, was used to landing possibilities for all aircraft using the Polar airlift a generator from Iqaluit to Pangnirtung. Routes, the High Latitude Routes and ETOPs1 Flying Over the years, the facility been subjected to Time Limits. Air transport is one of the largest deterioration of: the buildings, the pavement, and private sector employers in Iqaluit and Nunavut. the electrical systems. The apron had massive In 2014, there were 22,250 aircraft movements congestion during flight arrivals and departures. with projected movement in 2015 of 27,500. This 50% of all commercial flights land between is up from 15,100 in 1999, a growth of 80%. 50% 12pm and 1pm. of Nunavut residents rely on Iqaluit International Airport for their perishable foodstuffs, mail and Iqaluit Airport boasts: cargo. Approximately 40% of all Nunavut travelers pass through the terminal and 25% of all Nunavut • 40% of all Nunavut travelers pass through the aircraft activity takes place at this airport. Passenger terminal movements have increased 3.5% per year for the ten • 25% of all Nunavut aircraft activity years between 2006 and 2015. Passenger movements have increased 3.5% per year for the last 10 years 1ETOPS: Extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards Iqaluit Airport Improvement Plan | Engineers Canada Gold Medal Award 2018 History The original Iqaluit airport (CYFB) was founded in 1942 as Frobisher Air Base by USAF with the original airstrip being built 8 nautical miles from the community. It was moved to its current location shortly afterward as the original location was deemed too small for the anticipated activity. It was not in active use during World War II. It was used as a hub for surveillance during the Cold War. Between 1953 and 1961, it was used as Active Early Warning Radar Station. In 1957, Canada took over ownership and responsibility of the airport. During the 1960's, the runway was expanded to 8605 feet and new taxiways were added. In 1963, it was converted to a civilian airport, Frobisher Bay. In 1986, the first terminal was built. In 1995, the Government of the Northwest Territories received ownership and responsibility for the airport and in 1999 transferred that ownership and responsibility to the newly formed Government of Nunavut. Challenges to Contracting Method The Government of Nunavut and the management of the Iqaluit airport faced ongoing funding challenges to maintain the safety levels and operational maintenance and improvements for the facility. As with other government infrastructure, there were many competing interests requiring ongoing funding. Some of the competing interests for the Government of Nunavut included Healthcare, Housing, Education, The Canadian Council for Public -Private Partnerships and smaller community demands. There was a (CCPPP) selected the Iqaluit International Airport piecemeal response to solutions at the Iqaluit Improvement Project for the 2017 GOLD AWARD for International Airport which made it difficult to INFRASTRUCTURE. maintain and to face the increasing costs.. A long- term solution was needed. The Awards Committee noted this project is “an outstanding demonstration of how vital infrastructure The GN opted to enter a Public Private in Northern Canada can be successfully delivered in a Partnership to establish long term stability in public -private partnership.” In addition, Committee financing and operations of the airport. The members took particular note of the project project is the first P3 airport in North America. proponent’s extensive and effective community engagement and the resulting incorporation of unique local considerations in the planning, design, construction and operations of this airport facility, including the reflection of cultural values. Iqaluit Airport Improvement Plan | Engineers Canada Gold Medal Award 2018 Project Description - Engineering Assignments 1. Environmental Engineering There were a number of areas of the airport property that had identified environmental contamination that required engineering and engineering management. The environmental engineering required the services to comply with ISO 14001. The specific environmental engineering services of this assignment included the following: Completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to Assumptions of Operations • Determined which activities had the highest potential for major environmental impacts • Finalization of the Environmental Management Plan Communication of the Plan to all involved parties, including GN and Facility Users Development of a comprehensive Response and Mitigation Plan • Describing emergency response procedures and mitigation strategies for activities with the highest potential for significant environmental impacts • This covered all aspects including: Erosion/Sedimentation Control, Water Quality Monitoring, Waste Management, Management of Hazardous Substances, Indoor Air Quality Management, Biodiversity Control and Energy Consumption Monitoring Iqaluit Airport Improvement Plan | Engineers Canada Gold Medal Award 2018 Development of a Continuous Improvement Process • Confirmation of compliance with, and achievement of objectives and targets including provision of auditable data • Confirmation that the Environmental Management Plan were reviewed annually • Completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment relating specifically to operations • Assessment of activities with the highest potential for major environmental impacts • Finalization of an Environmental Management Plan • Development of a comprehensive Response and Mitigation Plan which described emergency response procedures and mitigation strategies for activities with the highest potential for significant environmental impacts: Facility operations, sustainable building practices, property development, fleet management, and airfield operations Sketch of Identified Contaminated Zones 2. Airfield Planning, Engineering and Development Stantec conducted an assessment of the aircraft landing/takeoff procedures as well as the aircraft maneuvering and parking conditions and options with future traffic and aircraft type predictions. Our engineering determined that the runway was suitably capable for current and future aircraft traffic. Taxiway upgrades and the addition of new taxiways to access the middle of the runway plus future commercial lands were engineered. Apron management was reviewed and the associated necessary engineering was completed to increase the apron sizing to allow planned aircraft parking and maneuvering for current and future traffic. Key Airfield areas identified for improvement through engineering included Taxiway Alpha, Aprons I, II and III, Taxiway Charlie, Taxiway Delta and Runway 17-35, including Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs). New Taxiway Golf and new Taxiway Foxtrot were included in the project. The design aircraft for Airside infrastructure improvements are the B747-400ER and B777-300ER