Demolishing a Concrete Giant
Demolishing an airport terminal and a nine-story concrete parking garage could be considered quite a feat for any demolition contractor. Imagine trying to remove one located at Canada’s busiest airport and hub for international travelers, while maintaining a regular schedule of flights at the nearby terminal.That is exactly what has been happening since April at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. A fleet of compact equipment from Priestly Demolition, Inc. — an Aurora, Ontario-based company — has been tearing down the old parking facility adjacent to the previous Terminal 1, or “T1” as it has been coined by locals. Demolition of the airport parking structure is just a piece in a much larger project that involves re-constructing the airport from the ground up.
The process for demolishing this structure could probably have been done with much bigger and powerful equipment — even an implosion to bring the building to the ground. But according to Ryan Priestly, an employee of Priestly Demolition, it was not that simple.
Daily operations at the airport, coupled with security concerns, meant finding an alternative method for destroying the old structure, according to Priestly.
“Dust, noise, and vibrations are reasons why we couldn’t use a wrecking ball or implode the structure,” said Priestly, whose company has much of the larger demolition equipment used for projects of this magnitude.
Besides these obvious restrictions, Toronto airport officials have strict restrictions about operating a crane and wrecking ball — which makes a lot of sense if you are flying in and out of the airport.
Another reason why the demolition company wasn’t allowed to level the building all at once was because of asbestos located throughout the structure. Aurora Abatement Services Company Limited — a sister company to Priestly Demolition — safely removed the hazardous materials at the start of the project.
Demolition of the Parking Facility Begins
In April, the airport permanently closed the parking facility at the old T1 location and prepared it for demolition. At that point, a new terminal was built with its own parking facilities. The older, nine-story concrete parking structure was scheduled to be brought down in just six months with strict accordance to the airport’s demolition regulations. Speed was of the essence in this situation. That is when the compact equipment made its appearance.
Priestly said the project began at the top of the facility with several compact excavators. The excavators were placed on top of the structure with hoist equipment and quickly went to work, breaking up concrete floors. These excavators worked simultaneously on multiple floors of the facility — a benefit of their size and weight. Working 12 hours a day during the week and eight hours on Saturday, the demolition crew used its excavators to tear apart 100,000-sq.-ft. levels with powerful Bobcat breaker attachments. Priestly’s breaker attachments were capable of exerting up to 1,280 blows-per-minute on the concrete.
Skid-steer loaders with industrial bucket grapple attachments lifted the demolition waste and transported it to the drop spot — the edge of the parking level. The buckets were emptied over the side into a debris pit below where the materials were sorted into piles to be recycled. To keep dust to a minimum, Priestly Demolition used a water truck to spray the area regularly. It took the company just seven weeks to finish demolition on the top three stories.
Recycling was an important characteristic of this project, according to Priestly. “Ninety-eight percent of the materials in this project were recycled, including the concrete which was done on-site,” said Priestly. “The recycled concrete is being used as aggregate for construction purposes at the airport; the scrap iron was sent to a yard to be recycled, while additional garbage was sorted for recycling purposes.”
Recycling concrete not only saves the company money by keeping it out of the landfill, but it reduces the materials needed for future concrete projects, such as the roads and runways at the airport.
While all of this was going on, a fleet of Bobcat skid-steer loaders was hard at work below. Priestly said his crew used industrial grapple buckets on the skid-steer loaders because of their quick opening and closing speeds. Teeth located at the top of the bucket are controlled hydraulically and can close to handle waste material that would otherwise be difficult to control.
Additional Equipment Needed to Complete the Job
The demolition crew was so busy that Priestly Demolition bought four new skid-steer loaders from Matthews Equipment Limited in Etobicoke, Ontario, to help the company keep up with the project. “We like the Bobcat brand because our operators are familiar with the product and because they operate well in our demolition projects,” said Priestly. “I knew that my Bobcat dealer would have the four additional skid-steer loaders that I needed immediately, while the other equipment dealers would have taken weeks to get me the machines.”
Of all markets, demolition might be the worst for taking its toll on equipment, according to
Lance Mathern, a Bobcat marketing manager. “For demolition applications, Bobcat skid-steer loaders can be equipped with solid tires and Bobcat also offers a special application kit with reinforced front door, and top and rear windows,” said Mathern. “We also manufacture numerous attachments for demolition, including a new drop hammer, which is particularly effective for concrete flatwork demolition (at ground level).”
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) was responsible for selecting Priestly Demolition to complete the multi-million demolition project, which includes much more than just the parking structure. It encompasses the entire old Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 Mode K and L. The GTAA manages operations at the Toronto Airport, where approximately 25 million passengers traveled through in 2003.
As of late July, approximately one-third of the demolition project was complete and according to Scott Armstrong, corporate affairs and communications contact with the GTAA, everything was going very well. “Priestly Demolition has an excellent safety record and the demolition is right on schedule,” said Armstrong.
In addition to the standard list of requirements for a demolition project, Priestly had numerous environmental and safety regulations that were established on this sensitive jobsite. Those include airside security; fire protection; site safety; GTAA erosion and sediment control plans; traffic management; and numerous environmental considerations — simply too many to list here.
Construction Continues at the Toronto International Airport
The demolition of Terminal 1 marks the end of the first phase and beginning of the next step in creating an airport in Toronto that will handle higher capacity levels. Work on the new Terminal 1 began in 1997 and had a price tag of $3.2 billion, according to Airport Technology.com, and covers more than 120,000 sq. ft. This first phase consisted of a new terminal with 42 gates, installation of new utilities, and a new eight-level, 12,600-space parking garage.
Phase two of this airport construction project will cost $1.2 billion and add additional space for aircraft with a third terminal with 17 gates and the expansion of a ground transportation center. Partial demolition of Terminal 2 and the adjacent parking structure will take place during this process.
A third phase is in the works for future demand at this busy airport, including the possibility of adding another terminal with gates for new aircraft, new airport roads, and an enhanced aircraft fueling system.
About Priestly Demolition, Inc.
Priestly Demolition is a well-known, family construction business in Ontario, Canada. Since 1971, the company has been providing demolition, abatement, and remediation services to its diverse client base across Ontario.