July 28, 2010

MMM GROUP

Workers are installing new deep utility mains for the Calgary airport expansion

MMM Group oversees Calgary Airport expansion

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

While not quite the beehive of activity it was last fall, the site servicing work to accommodate a major expansion of the Calgary Airport is still intensive.

MMM Group Ltd. is the project manager and consulting engineer overseeing the planning, design and implementation of the approximately $45-million project.

Started in October 2008, this preliminary phase is required to facilitate the redevelopment of 290 acres of raw land in the northwest corner of the airport, said MMM land development manager Peter Hibbert.

The lands will be integrated into the existing Deerfoot North Aviation Park and used for the construction of a number of ancillary airport buildings, such as commercial distribution centres and possibly a hotel.

“We should see some development by the spring of 2011 with a possible build out by 2013,” he said.

Some of the key components of the complicated and carefully synchronized venture include the relocation of a 400-mm high pressure gas main and a 15KV underground power main; the construction of a bio-retention storm facility.

Work also includes the installation of water, sewer, communications, power and gas lines as well as the building of a new internal road and pedestrian network system.

MMM GROUP

A storm trunk main is installed at Calgary’s airport.

Lafarge Construction Materials is the general contractor overseeing the installation of the deep utilities, plus the road and pedestrian network.

The company is also responsible for landscaping and ongoing maintenance to minimize erosion and dust around the development.

There were lots of discussions to get the project off the ground, Hibbert said.

As just one example, he cited the co-ordination with ATCO Gas Pipeline to move the high pressure gas main from the centre of the site to the west and north boundary to eliminate future conflicts with other utilities and buildings.

Another example is the design, development and placement of the underground power main in partnership with energy distributor Enmax Power and its consultant, Primary Engineering.

One of the most significant undertakings was the relocation and grading of more than 1.5 million cubic metres of earth for the utility installation and the planned roadways and buildings.

The work was performed by Kidco Construction and Contour Earthmoving.

Earthworks construction was required on both ground side and air side of the airport and required careful planning with the Calgary Airport Authority and NavCanada to eliminate any disturbance to planes landing and/or taking off.

Similarly, the installation of a large sewer was done by Blue Con Excavating.

It went from the site of the future Apron Nine Hangar on the south side of the site, through to the threshold area of the existing Runway 10. It will connect with the new internal road system and required some tight logistics.

“We only had a short window of approximately three weeks to install it,” he said.

Another key project player was WRD Borger Construction, the underground contractor responsible for the installation of a 400-metre-long, 1,500-mm diameter sewer main.

In August, it will be connected with existing city utilities underneath Airport Trail, one of the main roads leading to the airport.

Alternate detours will have to be created while that work is underway, said Hibbert.

Sometime this fall, the installation of the shallow utility lines, such as natural gas and cable, will begin.

By the end of the year, all of the roads will be in place, marking the substantial completion of site servicing.

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