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Rehabilitating Runnymede Subway Station: Maintaining service with accelerated construction
April 25, 2013
By Sameh Salib, PhD, P.Eng., BDS, PE, and Jonathan Werner,
M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Infrastructure maintenance has been a major concern all over the world,
especially in countries with a coldwinter climate. Full or partial shutdown
of transitrelated facilities during rehabilitation imposes significant
inconvenience to the public.
The project presented in this article represents an innovative approach to
infrastructure rehabilitation in general, and for the subway sector in
Canada, in particular. The developed plan, along with the proposed
construction phasing, introduced a new structural slab for a Toronto LiveRoof Standard Vegetated Roof System
subway station’s underground structure while maintaining the existing slab
inplace.
Traditional slab removal and its associated work of rerouting wiring and All images courtesy Delcan
utilities in some heavily congested electrical/mechanical areas were
completely eliminated. Replacing the entire existing structural pavement and passengers’ platform with new concrete slabs
reinforced with advanced composite materials (glassfibrereinforced polymer [GFRP] reinforcement bars), as well as strengthening
the canopy columns with fibrereinforced polymer (FRP) fabric wrapping, were also part of the project. All construction was
completed while maintaining uninterrupted subway service and with significant savings in both time and cost.
Alumogrit® Abrasive Cast Products
Typical canopy column conditions. From
left to right, before preparation, after
fibrereinforced polymer (FRP)wrapping,
and after painting.
Structure description and existing conditions
The Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC’s) Runnymede Station has a single atgrade level and two belowgrade levels. The latter
consists of a mezzanine level just below grade with vertical access to the subway platform at the lowest level. The exterior portion
of the gradelevel structure serves as a bus terminal, accommodating a driveway and a passengers’ platform covered by a canopy.
The ceiling or roof slab for the station’s belowgrade mezzanine level is located underneath part of the driveway and platform.
FRPs versus traditional construction materials
Concrete and steel have traditionally been used for rehabilitating existing
structures. Reinforced concrete jackets, mechanically fastened steel plates,
and external posttensioning systems have been among the common
techniques. Unfortunately, significant changes in the original weight,
dimensions, and appearance of the rehabilitated components are usually
associated with such techniques. Moreover, durability problems with the
rehabilitation system itself, such as steel corrosion and concrete cracking,
frequently degrade both structural performance and appearance. DUOTACK 365 adhesive for low
temperature applications
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General view of the bus terminal (before rehabilitation).
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Recently, FRPs have been closing the gap between the structural and architectural demands regarding rehabilitation systems.
These products have superior characteristics over steel with respect to tensile strength, weight, and corrosion/chemical resistance.
At the same time, the effect of FRP systems on the original weight, dimensions, and appearance of the rehabilitated structural Outdoor Electric Snowmelting Systems:
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member can be quite minimal. Cables and Mats
Further, while conventional rehabilitation systems usually involve major construction work, FRP systems are generally installed in
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less time and with less effort. Consequently, both the direct cost of construction and the indirect costs associated with the facility
shutdown/traffic detours during the rehabilitation process can be significantly reduced.
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During the last decade, many steelreinforced concrete structures in
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Canada have been deemed appropriate for rehabilitation using FRP.
In some of these projects, significantly deteriorated elements were
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replaced with new FRPreinforced concrete elements. Currently, the
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design, fabrication, and service life performance of various FRP
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Rehabilitation requirements
For the Runnymede project, the original scope of the rehabilitation
was primarily limited to replacement of the concrete structural paving
Section through mezzanine slab showing original and new
slab for the buses and the concrete slabongrade that forms the at structural components.
grade platforms. Some patch repairs to the top surface of the below
grade reinforced concrete mezzanine slab were also expected.
However, after partial removal of the existing driveway concrete pavement and passengers’ platform from around the canopy
columns and from over the mezzanine slab, the chloride contamination and concrete delamination levels within the top part of the
slab indicated the need for replacement. It was also found the original functions of the deteriorated steel collars at the platform
column bases (i.e. structural confinement of concrete and protection from moisture and deicing salt) needed to be restored.
Investigated rehabilitation options
Both conventional and FRP systems were investigated for rehabilitation of
the structural components. Rehabilitation methods were assessed,
considering esthetics, constructability, and durability. Additionally, the
assessment addressed each method’s ability to satisfy the project time and
budget constraints not only in the short term, but also accounting for future
maintenance, repair, and replacement.
Mezzanine roof slab under the bus driveway
Typically, replacing an existing structural slab has two main steps: the first is
to remove the existing slab, and the second is to build the new one. While
this may seem to be a simple process, it would have meant a full shutdown
of subway station service for months, since removing the existing slab would
require full closure of the area below for public safety. Additionally, before
slab removal, rerouting the wiring and conduits from underneath the slab
would have required weeks of work, especially in the heavily congested
electrical/mechanical rooms. Further, after the existing slab was removed, the
General view of the new slabwest segment. At right is
before concrete placement; below is after.
construction of a new reinforced concrete slab would have required several
more weeks for formwork installation.
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As an alternative to such a traditional approach, the option of introducing a new slab while maintaining the existing one in place was
investigated. This is broken down into a few construction phases. First, the existing slab is shored and then concrete is removed
from overtop of the supporting steel beams and concrete walls. During this removal, the existing slab reinforcing steel is
maintained. New reinforcing and concrete is placed to form the bearing area for the new slab. Afterward, sheets of compressible
material (i.e. expanded polystyrene [EPS]) cover the top surface of the existing slab before placing reinforcement for the new one.
This allows use of the existing slab as formwork for placing the new concrete, while keeping the two relatively independent of one
another.
Once the new slab’s concrete has reached its specified strength and the
formwork shoring is removed, the existing slab is required to carry little
more than its own weight and that of the conduits underneath. The original
slab, in its current condition, was found to have sufficient capacity to
support such loads. Further, having the new and existing slabs relatively
structurally independent allows future demolition of the existing slab
without compromising the structure’s integrity.
Column bases
A common conventional column repair/strengthening method is to provide
a steelreinforced concrete jacket around each column within original collar
height with vertical dowels into the column footing and horizontal dowels
into the column. However, the onsite installation cost (time and labour) is
relatively high. Further, the new jacket is subject to the same durability
problems as all conventional steelreinforced concrete components (i.e.
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problems as all conventional steelreinforced concrete components (i.e.
steel corrosion, rust staining, and concrete spalling/delamination). Having
the jackets projecting from the columns above the top of the platform also
constitutes a tripping hazard within the pedestrian traffic area.
On the other hand, wrapping the column within the original collar height with FRP fabric requires much less time and labour. The
entire process for FRPwrapping involves preparing the concrete surface, applying resin to both surface and fabric, wrapping the
fabric around the column, and curing for a few hours. Then an exterior protective paint is applied with an option of colourmatching
the original collar.
Bus driveway pavement and passengers’ platform
Concrete pavements and platforms are traditionally reinforced with standard (i.e. black) steel bars as bottom reinforcement along
with an (optional) upgrade to epoxycoated bars for the top reinforcement. In practice, using epoxycoated bars delays steel
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corrosion without solving the problem itself. Over time, rust stains and concrete delamination/spalling will take place requiring
localized repair, until replacing the entire concrete pavement/platform becomes the optimal solution. Such frequent repair and
replacement cycles, mainly because of steel corrosion, can be significantly reduced through corrosionfree reinforced concrete (e.g.
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concrete reinforced with GFRP bars).
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The passengers’ platform used glassfi brereinforced The bus driveway pavement used GFRP bars and
polymer (GFRP) bars and dowels during installation. dowels during installation.
Recommended rehabilitation scheme
Based on the assessment of the investigated options, the recommended (and executed) rehabilitation scheme is outlined in the
following paragraphs.
Mezzanine roof slab under the bus driveway
The alternative of constructing a new slab while keeping the existing slab in place was accomplished by:
1. Shoring installation under the slab and concrete removal of the existing slab at designated support lines (without damaging
existing reinforcing steel bars).
2. Placing new concrete for the new slab bearing at the previously removed concrete locations (including new reinforcement).
3. Placement of EPS sheets, as a compressible separation material, over the entire top surface of the existing slab, except at the
support lines.
4. Reinforcement installation for the new slab.
5. Concrete placement and removal of shoring after concrete curing.
Column bases
It was decided the columns should be wrapped with carbon FRP (CFRP) fabric and painted to match the original collar. The
concrete’s exposed surface within the height of the original, removed, collar was sandblasted and prepared as per applicable CSA
standards and the FRP manufacturer’s specifications before fabricwrapping.
Driveway and platform
GFRP was selected for the entire concrete reinforcement (bars and dowels). Early strength concrete was specified for most of the
project’s concrete work as another tool to save time. The construction zone was reopened for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic
just a few days after the last phase of concrete placement for the bus driveway. The completed works have been in service for
about a year.
Conclusion
With much of Canadian infrastructure due for major rehabilitation, innovative options must be considered to meet schedule,
construction costs, and other criteria such as minimizing inconvenience to the public. This project demonstrates it is possible to
replace a key structural element while maintaining the original element, thereby significantly reducing service disruption. Further,
fibrereinforced polymer rehabilitation systems and reinforcement can improve the esthetics, durability, and performance of
structural components and considerably increase time to the next structural rehabilitation.
Sameh Salib, PhD, P.Eng., BDS, PE, is a senior structural engineer at Delcan Corp., in Markham, Ont. For more
than two decades, he has been working in both consulting and research on various issues of structural engineering,
including fibrereinforced polymers (FRPs) and soilstructure interaction (SSI). Salib is an adjunct professor at
Toronto’s Ryerson University, and a member of the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC) technical sub
committee for Chapter 7, “Buried Structures.” He can be reached via email at s.salib@delcan.com.
Jonathan Werner, M.A.Sc., P.Eng, is a senior principal and division manager of the Structures Group in
the Markham Office of Delcan Corp. He has more than 20 years of experience in the design and
management of infrastructure projects, including bridges and belowgrade structures. Werner can be
contacted at j.werner@delcan.com.
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