A new gravel catchment zone at each end of the runway is an added safety measure in the event a plane overshoots its landing. (Nanaimo Airport)

By Alex Rawnsley

clear to land

Extensive runway upgrades nearing completion at Nanaimo Airport

Oct 28, 2022 | 5:30 AM

NANAIMO — Work is substantially complete on considerable safety and operational upgrades to the main runway and surrounding area of the Nanaimo Airport.

A $13.8 million resurfacing of the 6,600-foot runway along with the addition of several key safety features will wrap in early November and provide a long-lasting, stable place to increase flight options at the airport.

Don Goulard, vice president of operations at the Nanaimo Airport, told NanaimoNewsNOW upgrades to the airport’s main runway replace aging, crumbling areas of the takeoff and landing surface.

“There were sections of the runway that were over 31 years old, we had been crack sealing for several years and you can effectively only crack seal only so much where it just becomes a rats nest.”

Surveys of the runway condition over recent years identified a rapidly declining trend, expediting the project.

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The final bit of work needed to be done is grooving the surface, which is scheduled for the first week of November.

Grooving is a new trend at airports according to Goulard to aid in managing water on the runway.

“They groove…to help displace the water and of course us being on wet coast, getting the water to run off the runway really helps to reduce or eliminate hydroplaning and it provides increased breaking action for aircraft.”

Goulard called the added step a “significant improvement in safety” for planes landing and taking off.

Also added in the project are new safety catchment areas at both ends of the runway, similar to a truck runaway lane, which better catch aircraft overshooting their landing.

The work wrapping up adds to newly resurfaced aprons, or loading and unloading areas, which were done in 2021.

Asphalt was replaced with concrete to eliminate divots being created by planes resting on the surface for extended periods of time.

Wheel-sized valleys, upwards of two inches deep, would be occasionally left in the surface after a plane departed requiring constant maintenance and filling.

The airport also took the opportunity to change the way planes were staged while on the apron, going from a capacity of four at a time, to five.

Planes at the airport now drive in on their own power after arriving but are pushed back for departure.

“By going to a pushback environment, it improves safety because we don’t have large aircraft turning in a tight radius, potentially clipping wings. Now they’re pushed back, straight out with a tug and they fire up the engines once they push back.”

The move also increased the on-time performance of departing planes.

Nanaimo Airport extended its runway by roughly 32 per cent in 2009, taking it from 5,000 to 6,600 feet long.

None of the more recent upgrades to the runway or apron change the type of aircraft permitted to fly into Nanaimo with the Airport Commission, which owns and operates the facility, committed to additional domestic and regional travel options over long-haul flights.

A new apron was completed in 2021 and saw a more stable surface for aircraft to park, but also a better layout for arrivals and departures. (Nanaimo Airport)

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