Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 29

Safe Travels: Airports
zone in on geotextiles
From India to Canada, the U.S. and points beyond, airports
are using geotextiles for preventing erosion, protecting
against earthquakes, keeping contaminants from polluting
groundwater, and saving time and money.
By Annemarie Mannion
A
irport runways are not mere roads. They need to be built smoother and
stronger to support the loads of jet planes without buckling under the
weight, which is no small task in areas that may be swampy, dry, or subject to
heavy rains, earthquakes or myriad other challenging soil conditions.
From the Himalayas to Montana and beyond, geosynthetics are the answer to
many runway construction challenges: creating stable, flat platforms, preventing
erosion, capturing stormwater and protecting groundwater from jet fuel or other
contaminants. They go in relatively quickly, meaning less disruption, and thus
save projects time and money.
Here are a few airport projects where geosynthetics are helping ensure the
safety of cargo and the traveling public.
Big savings at Toronto Pearson Airport
A runway at Toronto's Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ont., Canada, needed
reconstruction, but it was in an area with soft and potentially contaminated soil,
which made sub-excavation and removal of these soils cost prohibitive.
At the same time, stabilization of aggregate layers over the existing subgrade
was deemed impossible without costly additional work, treatment and time.
For a solution, the airport pavement engineer turned to Tensar, a division
of CMC in Toronto. " Common practice would be to further excavate the soft
soils and replace them with better-quality materials, " says Paul Hewgill, Tensar
senior regional sales manager for Eastern Canada. " But there was nowhere on
the airport property where they could put that soil, and they can't just remove
it and ship it somewhere off-site. There are a lot of regulations around that. "
Given Canada's short construction season, time was of the essence. " Their
goal was to get this runway rebuilt in one construction season, " Hewgill says. " It
is also a very busy runway, so they had to get it done. "
Annemarie Mannion is a
freelance writer based in
Willowbrook, Ill.
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
29

http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com

Geosynthetics October/November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics October/November 2023

Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - Cover1
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - Cover2
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 1
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 2
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 3
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 4
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - 5
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Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - Cover3
Geosynthetics October/November 2023 - Cover4
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