Fort McMurray's new airport terminal building Contractors overcome labour shortages and challenging climate to complete $258 million project Photos courtesy of Ledcor Construction Limited Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer Northern Alberta's oilsands boom has resulted in both the need and special construction challenges for the Fort McMurray Airport Authority (FMAA), which has success- fully completed a $258 million terminal expansion. The original plans were for a $100 million, 8,400 sq. ft. terminal capable of serving one million passengers a year. Construction started in 2009, but the newly-established FMAA quickly stopped the work after determining the ex- isting plan would not be sufficient, deciding to expand it to 15,000 sq. ft. This has proven to be a wise decision, as passenger vol- ume jumped to 1.2 million in 2013. The new terminal building officially opened in May and will be able to accommodate 1.5 million passengers annu- ally. Designed by Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects + Designers, the three-level airport terminal has been con- structed by Ledcor Construction Ltd. and site work has been completed by E Construction. 34 – Fall 2014 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report Even once the new plan had been set, manpower and extreme weather continued to challenge the project. John Vu, Ledcor’s project manager for the terminal, said: “Skilled labour in the area is drawn to more lucrative and attractive industrial sector positions which created manpower shortages for the commercial sector.” To address this concern, he says trade contractors from across North America, including some from as far away as Florida, were called in to work on the project. “The northern climate of Fort Mac can reach +30C in the summer and up to -50C in the winter - an 80C temper- ature swing,” he said. “The duration of the project spanned three harsh winters.” Vu says Ledcor managed this challenge by educating crews about the importance of adequate winter gear dur- ing daily tool box talks and weekly safety meetings and by employing heating and hoarding methods to heat the building and work areas. The terminal has been constructed with cast-in-place concrete foundation, structural steel, and precast hollow core planks on the second and third level floors. Architec-