A contractor in Canada, Dufferin Construction, is using three items of new equipment bought from Guntert & Zimmerman to pave the country’s longest runway. The project is extensive, featuring a new runway measuring 4.3km long by 60m wide, an apron area measuring 145,000m2 and two taxiways, each 3.8km long by 25m wide. In all, the work requires 1.5 million tonnes of base aggregate, and 200,000m2 of cement-stabilised base.
According to project superintendent Mike Cristinziano, one challenge is to place and pave the sheer volume of aggregates and concrete required. “You need to take into consideration that our construction season up here in Calgary is not as long as in other parts of the country,” said Cristinziano. “Depending on the weather, our season runs from May or June until October, and that’s it.” The weather is a major factor in the operation, with the construction team prepared to work around the clock, and seven days a week, in order to finish on time, according to John Zavarella, superintendent of concrete plants and equipment for Dufferin.
The concrete for runways and taxiways will be 435mm thick, while the apron concrete will be 415mm.
The firm bought its first G&Z paver, an S1500, in 1995 when it was working on Highway 407 in Ontario and later added an S850 to the fleet. Zavarella said, “When we were looking at the Calgary site, it called for paving 12.5m at the widest, and we have already tackled airport jobs of that width with that type of pavement.”
Cristinziano said Dufferin is using two pavers – the S1500 and the S850 – on the Calgary airport project, with the S850 handling narrower widths and shorter stretches of pavement.
Several features of the G&Z machines come in useful for Dufferin’s needs. The paver has split guillotine side gates that allow it to back onto existing slabs at the start of the day, while reducing the need for handwork. The new TeleEndXL telescopic end section allows quick width changes between 12.5m and 10m, which are frequent for this project. All three machines – the paver, the placer and the texture cure machine – have 90° steering capability, boosting their manoeuvrability. Because of this feature, each machine can turn the tracks 90° and move directly across to the next slab, reducing set up time. The PS1200 allows Dufferin to place dowel baskets well out in front of the paving train. And the placer spreader also has a 1.626m belt that slides in and out and allows Dufferin to place concrete faster and more efficiently.
