Runway Improvements Pave the Way for Continued Growth at California’s Ontario Int’l

With fully loaded cargo planes regularly carrying payloads of more than 300,000 pounds, runways at major airports are designed and built to withstand intense pressures.

Facing a wholly different type of pressure, a team at Ontario International Airport (ONT) recently flexed its physical and mental muscles to finish some crucial runway and airfield improvements under the proverbial weight of several distinct and challenging deadlines.

Last October, the Los Angeles-area commercial airport completed a multiyear rehabilitation of its Runway 8R-26L. Concrete nearing the end of its service life was removed from the center “keel” sections of the 10,200-foot-long strip, and approximately 80,000 square yards of concrete was poured to replace it.

Adjacent taxiways were rehabilitated, two older taxiways were removed, and a new taxiway was added. Crews also installed new navigational aids, LED lighting and electrical components including a relocated airfield lighting vault with modern constant current regulators. An advanced stormwater mitigation system rounded out the $90 million project that was primarily funded through FAA Airport Improvement Program grants.

Was this a complicated scope of work? No question.

But the tasks were made increasingly difficult due to a pair of tightened FAA deadlines coupled with airport-imposed moratoriums that restrict scheduled airfield closures during peak traffic months. For ONT, the weight of time simply could not be ignored.

“Working within those phases was very critical,” says Michael Bishara, the airport’s director of Planning and Design. “It was a bit of a challenge; but between the design team and the FAA’s guidance and backup, we were able to do it.”

‘Tis the Season

Passenger traffic surges at ONT during the spring and summer, but Bishara says it was cargo operations that drove the project’s intricate scheduling needs. The airport houses West Coast bases for Amazon Air, FedEx and UPS. Last year, their collective volume made ONT the eighth-busiest U.S. airport by landed cargo weight, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Beyond its year-round cargo flow, ONT receives long-haul overseas flights plus diversions from southwestern U.S. airports, often arriving with low fuel reserves. Accordingly, airport leaders emphasize a readiness to accept flights regardless of weather conditions. Although Runway 8R-26L is the shorter (by 2,000 feet) of ONT’s two parallel runways, it includes an essential feature for operational stability: a Category III Instrument Landing System that helps aircraft arrive safely even when visibility is low.

What began as a three-year project timeline when designers first set to work in 2020 on the runway rehab was later reduced by FAA mandate to just 24 months, in part to maximize availability of the Cat III system. In addition, phasing had to allow passenger carriers to reach their terminals north of the runways, and also ensure year-round runway access to/from the cargo carriers’ facilities that are scattered from the northwestern corner of the airfield to the southeastern edge.

Seasonality came into play as well. Cargo peaks during the weeks between “Black Friday” in November and the Christmas season as gift giving drives retail sales and related freighter movements. That business is so vital to tenants that ONT management forbids airfield construction from mid-November to mid-January to ensure cargo flights are unimpeded.

Lastly, the team encountered a welcome, but complicating, issue when the FAA alerted ONT leaders that the airport could receive unexpected federal funding—but only if design plans could be rapidly expedited. This opportunity came on the heels of other phasing changes that unexpectedly arose after contractors had already mobilized in the field.

“We were more in a pleasant surprise after the initial shock, but the airport asked if we could do it and we said, ‘Absolutely.’ And we did,” says Renju Abraham, who helped manage ONT’s design-bid-build project on behalf of its engineer of record, Burns & McDonnell.

The Need for Speed

A willingness to overcome tough deadlines was only half the battle. Without a solid strategy, none of the project’s many hurdles would have been cleared, explains Abraham, a professional engineer who serves as Burns & McDonnell’s California Aviation Lead.

The first step was for designers to meet with representatives from the airport’s Project Management Team, Air Operations Department, tenants and other stakeholders, as well as the FAA and its air traffic controllers. From there, the group collaboratively outlined how specific tasks could occur within acceptable levels of disruption to normal airfield operations.

“We tried to involve every partner at the airport,” Bishara says. “Everybody had to say, ‘Yes, this is safe. This is clear.’ That made the operation smooth.”

Weather was an important consideration for planning purposes. In cooler periods, ONT handles additional diversions from nearby airports that are more susceptible to rainstorms and coastal fog. Recognizing this annual pattern, planners reviewed the decadelong history of local weather events to determine optimal timing for construction to begin heading into the spring.

“We pushed the start date of the rehab out until February because there were a few events over that 10-year study that happened in the latter part of January,” Bishara explains.

The group then divided the project into two packages, with taxiway improvements and other enabling work in the first year, followed by runway and airfield lighting improvements in year two. San Diego-based Coffman Specialties, which has specialized in large public and governmental construction for nearly 35 years, was awarded the first package in July 2022. Onsite construction began the following February.

After that phase was complete, ONT accepted bids for the second package and Coffman Specialties again won the contract. Following a 90-day mobilization in which phasing plans were dissected and finalized, construction resumed in February 2024.

Bishara was pleased when Coffman Specialties secured the year-two work, adding, “They viewed this as their project versus a new contractor that didn’t know the history and the challenges.”

Prior to its work at ONT, Coffman Specialties had gained expertise from work it performed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), as well as at the Naval Air Station North Island (NZY) near San Diego.

“Coffman Specialties was a great partner,” Abraham says. When grading and pouring were underway, the company had close to 70 workers onsite simultaneously.

KDG Construction Consulting, based in Glendale, CA, served as the airport’s construction management firm. Its aviation resume was also loaded, including recent roadway and utility work preceding LAX’s $335 million Landside Access Modernization Program, as well as taxiway rehabilitations at Long Beach Airport (LGB) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), both in California.

Sacramento-based Royal Electric was hired for Phase One, followed by Ensley Electric of El Cajon, CA, for Phase Two. Each handled lighting and navigational signage, including the airport’s new airfield lighting vault. Lean Technology Corp. handled the complex airfield lighting, signage and navigational aid design under the leadership of Doron Lean.

To save additional time—and nearly $5 million—ONT opted not to fully remove the runway’s existing base. After close inspections revealed it was strong enough to remain in place, the runway’s foundation was augmented with new cement to extend its life.

“We surgically analyzed how cost effectively we could do the work instead of removing the entire runway base pavement layer,” Abraham says. “Sustainability counts.”

A batch plant was erected on airport property to ensure a steady supply of concrete, as well as easy and fast delivery. What’s more, older concrete removed during year one was later crushed into an aggregate base for the new taxiway.

“There were mountains of material that we were able to recycle and reuse,” Bishara says. “All of that helped the operation go faster.”

The team identified another underground time-saver by tapping Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) to provide a system capable of safely removing stormwater, storing it or even redirecting excess water back into underground aquifers. The Ohio-based manufacturer recommended a lightweight polypropylene piping product called HP Storm, which allowed Coffman Specialties to work much more quickly than if the project had used heavier PVC or corrugated steel piping components.

Terence Zhao, engineered products manager at Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), explains that crews were able to handle and place pipe manually instead of using large cranes or heavy lifting equipment. “Lighter pipes are easier and safer to maneuver, reducing injury risk on site,” Zhao notes. “A smaller crew can accomplish more, which is especially valuable on tight schedules.”

The pipe, which meets FAA design standards for airfield use, works in conjunction with properly compacted backfill to help distribute loads from heavy aircraft around the pipe as opposed to directly onto it.

From a sustainability standpoint, the pipe is perforated, so it can capture stormwater and promote groundwater recharge, which Zhao explains is especially valuable in highly urbanized areas to support green infrastructure objectives.

In all, Coffman Specialties installed almost 5,000 linear feet of 60-inch diameter HP Storm pipe. Project Manager Jesse Proud oversaw the company’s work at ONT during year one, and later assisted with close-out duties near the end of year two. He credits his colleague, Manager Ged Woelke, for devising ingenious ways to save time when project phasing had to be revised.

“The world keeps going even though there’s construction going on at the airport,” Proud says, adding that all parties worked together to stay on schedule. “To the airport’s credit, they definitely trusted us…and we came through for them.”

Money on the Table

Year two brought different and unforeseen issues. The first occurred when the FAA indicated that $14 million of additional discretionary funding was potentially available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But there was one huge catch: The 100% design package that was initially projected to be ready in six months’ time would instead have to be completed in roughly six weeks.

During this stage, Burns & McDonnell had approximately 20 design engineers working on the ONT project—some with Abraham in the Orange County office, some at company headquarters in Kansas City, and others located in Chicago and San Diego.

“That’s a benefit of working with a company like ours,” Abraham says. “We can always reach out to another office and find talents and skillsets of people who regularly do complex airfield engineering projects across the country at similar airports and get their help in meeting a deadline.”

With phasing, updated plans and additional FAA funding in place, the project team received another curveball in early 2024. Just after contractors had mobilized and were preparing to break ground, air traffic controllers at ONT asked for a way to account for a rarely used east-to-west approach pattern. Undaunted, the project team reassembled, brainstormed and quickly delivered a phasing solution that met the new parameters.

Planning for the runway rehabilitation was heavily influenced by the need to maintain flow for cargo operators.

“We all know each other by first name,” Abraham says. “If there is a question or problem, everyone knows they can text or reach out, and we’ll work to immediately solve it.” He credits his local engineering design team led by Clinton Ingraham in helping complete the design deliverables on schedule.

For instance, relocating the batch plant between years one and two allowed concrete delivery trucks to avoid potential 20- or 30-minute delays whenever trains passed along a railway that separates the airport from the original batch plant site.

The Inland Evolution Continues

Trials, perseverance and growth are thematic elements of ONT’s history.

Located 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, Ontario, CA, takes its name from the home province of three brothers who left Canada in 1882 to establish an agricultural colony at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. Air travel arrived in 1923 at Latimer Field, a landing strip built on railroad property. Six years later, the city of Ontario purchased 30 acres of what’s now the southwestern corner of ONT and opened Ontario Municipal Airport. The field was expanded to 500 acres in March 1941, later served as a wartime Army base and was eventually returned to city ownership at the end of World War II.

Ontario was already a thriving rail and highway nexus, and city leaders envisioned aviation as an additional force for industrial growth in a region that residents had long before nicknamed the “Inland Empire” of California.

As Ontario’s post-war population took off, so did commercial air travel and investments from aviation businesses such as Lockheed Aircraft Services and General Electric. By the late 1960s, improvements were needed for ONT to continue to meet local needs, but the city lacked the money necessary to fund such development.

Aviation leaders in nearby Los Angeles had deeper pockets, however, and were intrigued by the potential at ONT, where runway approaches were unobstructed and coastal fog was far less frequent than at LAX.

In 1967, a joint powers agreement between the cities of Los Angeles and Ontario placed ONT under a regional aviation system alongside LAX, VNY and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) to the north. Full ownership of ONT was transferred to the Los Angeles Department of Airports—now known as Los Angeles World Airports, or LAWA—in July 1985.

A flurry of construction occurred at ONT following that agreement, highlighted by the 1998 debut of terminals 2 and 4. These gave the airport 26 new aircraft gates at a cost of $270 million, or $532 million in today’s dollars.

Eventually, the relationship between Ontario and LAWA deteriorated over time. Following the Great Recession, passenger volume at ONT dipped from 7.2 million in 2007 to as low as 4.2 million five years later; peak cargo volume also decreased by more than 26%. Local leaders contended that LAWA was neglecting ONT and blamed the agency for failing to sufficiently market it. Some claimed fee structures were set to drive more business toward a growing LAX.

Calls to separate ONT from LAWA grew louder, and those advocating divorce applied public pressure through a “Set ONTario Free” media campaign fronted by longtime Los Angeles Dodgers baseball manager Tommy Lasorda. In 2012, the Los Angeles City Council directed LAWA representatives to negotiate with leaders from Ontario and San Bernardino County to determine the “most effective and appropriate ownership” for ONT going forward.

When those negotiations failed, a lawsuit followed in 2013 as Ontario formally sought to sever the 1967 agreement and recoup up to $4 billion in economic damages. A pre-trial settlement was reached two years later, and ownership of ONT officially transferred from LAWA to the newly formed Ontario International Airport Authority in November 2016.

Under an FAA-approved agreement, ONT repaid approximately $60 million for outstanding bonds LAWA had issued on its behalf, plus up to $150 million in cash spread over several years. The funds were to offset LAWA’s investments at ONT, including the terminals finished in 1998.

“As we continue our revitalization of LAX to make it a world-class airport befitting our global city, we are equally committed to the excellence of Ontario in serving its own regional customer base,” then L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the time.

The late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), whose name now adorns ONT’s international terminal, said the agreement would help build air service at ONT for the benefit of passengers and the area.

The Next Phase

Since its return to local control and leadership, ONT has thrived. The airport’s 2024 passenger count topped 7 million, nearing an all-time high as well as marking a 67% increase compared to 2016, its last year under LAWA control. Likewise, nearly 800,000 tons of cargo moved through the airport in 2024, well above approximately 543,000 tons in 2016.

These days, ONT uses the tagline So Cal, So Easy to market its location and smaller size as conveniences for nearby residents and businesses. Southwest Airlines (36% market share in 2024) ranks first among its lineup of seven U.S.-based passenger air carriers. Volaris and Avianca also fly to Mexico and El Salvador, respectively; China Airlines and STARLUX each provide nonstop passenger service to Taiwan.

“We pride ourselves on strong performances month after month and delivering the first-rate, hassle-free experiences our customers expect,” said Atif Elkadi, the airport authority’s chief executive officer, when reflecting on ONT’s 2024 results.

ONT had posted 52 consecutive months of year-over-year increases in passenger volume through June 2025, when it set a new single-month record with more than 659,000 passengers served. Bishara notes that the airfield will not become a bottleneck to further growth anytime soon. Designs to improve the northernmost runway and its taxiways are already underway, with rehab work on portions of Runway 8L-26R set to begin in early 2027.

“We need both runways to be able to take the volume that goes into them,” he says.

Abraham predicts that the improvements will take ONT to “the next level” in its quest to secure more cargo flights and commercial passenger service. More global travelers will experience the airport when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Although rehabbing pavement lacks the visual satisfaction that comes with building a new terminal or control tower, Bishara says there’s a shared sense of pride among all who worked on the Runway 8R-26L project.

“It’s funny, because when you’re done, you don’t see anything. It was flat before, and it’s back to flat again,” he quips. “But when you look at your new Airport Pavement Management System report and it says you’re good for the next 30 to 40 years, well that’s a pretty nice thing.”