From hiring owner?s reps to initiating construction management at risk, airports and other facility owners have put various models in place to create accountability during construction projects.
When corporate customers expressed a desire to operate larger, longer-range jets at Huntingburg Regional (HNB) Airport, Manager Travis McQueen found a way to provide the extra runway length they would need.
SAN was nearing the end of a $10 million project to replace the aging engineered material arresting system (EMAS) at the departures end of its runway with a brand new model. The safety feature is a bed of crushable materials to help stop aircraft overruns. If a plane enters the bed, its tires will sink into the crushable materials to help decelerate the aircraft. The original EMAS was 'aging out' right on schedule, and airport officials were thrilled that an aircraft had never entered it.
When it came time for St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) to rehab its primary air carrier runway, closing the airfield was not an option. Officials needed a plan to keep commercial aircraft flying in and out of the Florida airport. Airport officials brainstormed with consulting engineer Kimley-Horn and other project partners to devise a way to complete most of the work during daytime hours.
O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is in the final leg of a long journey to completely reconfigure its airfield. Soon, Chicago's primary airport will have six east-west parallel runways and two crosswind runways'with far fewer intersections. Last November, ORD moved one step closer to an improved configuration when officials opened the airport's first new runway since fall 2015.
The recent rehabilitation of an aging levee will help protect Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) from flooding for decades to come. In the meantime, the $22 million project also offers a valuable lesson about the benefits of planning ahead.
After decades of continuous use by commercial and student aircraft, the taxiway parallel to the primary runway at Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) was exhibiting multiple pavement distresses. The most prominent issues were weathering and longitudinal and transverse cracking. Pavement cores revealed that many of the cracks extended completely through the asphalt.
Every time an aircraft lands on the runway at Hill Air Force Base (HIF) in northern Utah, a mountain of data is captured. More than 80 sensors collect information about pressure, temperature, moisture and other key factors for pavement engineers to parse and dissect. There are even wireless sensors shaped like pebbles mixed into the pavement that transmit data about pressure and slight movements within the pavement system. The goal of this project is to learn more about the way environmental factors and various aircraft affect runway pavements.
It's not an exaggeration to say that airfield operations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) impact the entire global aviation system. It is, the fourth-busiest airport in the world. When officials determined it was time to rehabilitate one of the critical hub's seven runways, care was given to the design, planning and phasing of the project.
The team that maintains the airfield and operates snow removal equipment at Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) worked out of a 7,000-square-foot building with modest heavy equipment storage bays. Equipment was stored in several different places across the airfield, some outside. That led leaders at the Oregon airport to invest in a larger facility.
Practice makes perfect, and everyone wants aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) teams to be as close to perfect as possible when they respond to airfield emergencies.
At a time when some airports were pressing the proverbial pause button on all construction and improvements, Fort McMurray International (YMM) in Alberta was moving ahead with plans for a major runway rehabilitation. The $15 million project was completed in May, funded entirely by the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo.
The internet is full of videos about home improvement projects that mushroom in size and scope. What starts as a simple fix all too often becomes a complete redo. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) near Knoxville, TN, experienced a similar storyline when it undertook what was initially envisioned as a simple runway rehab in 2009. Spoiler alert: TYS installed fresh concrete, but also ended up extending and completely redesigning the runway'and installing a new instrument landing system (ILS) on the parallel runway.
