b'RUNWAYS POB 41The last time the asphalt was due forrock, sand, operational batch plants,gradations throughout the day, every day, replacement, spring 2020, the decisionlighting, conduit and heavy machinery. Ifto ensure technical consistency. The was made to replace the entire runwaywe didnt have that already in place, wedecision to blend the aggregates was with concrete rather than mill the surface,wouldnt have made the schedule at all,critical because that allowed the batching repave with asphalt and reset the clockBlevins advises. As soon as we droppedto occur quicker since they were only for another 10 to 15 years. Id ratherthe flag to shut down the airfield, crewsloading three bins, she adds. have a concrete runway because you canwere out there. easily get 40 yearsLuke Beach, project manager for RC120 Days and Countingout of it, explainsConstruction, notes that it was essential toOn June 15, 2021Day 1 of the closureJames Blevins,stockpile all the rawcrews began demolishing existing airfield manager atmaterials needed topavement on the south end of the runway POB.produce the concreteand worked their way north. Overall, it The increasedbefore the runwaytook about two weeks to remove the old cost of concreteclosure began. runway. Concrete was broken up and made sense whencrushed for recycling and reuse; asphalt JAMES BLEVINS It really helpedwas milled and removed. balanced againstthat we were able to all the costs associated with temporarilydo the pre-staging ofLUKE BEACH When one team completed its work, relocating units and training flights. It wasall the material andthe next followed closely behind. Various also determined that the project could behave everything standing by, especiallycrews moved through the job site like completed within a 120-day closure. Inwith such a short timeline, Blevins says.a steady train, with equipment rolling in the long run, that eliminates all the shutIf we couldnt have done that, there wasvia the south access gate and exiting to downs we would have had to redo theno way we would have met the deadline. the north. That provided a good flow to asphalt, reasons Blevins.keep all the traffic and people headed in Having materials and equipment onsitethe same direction, notes Matt Alwart, Marcia Meekins, Fort Bragg areain advance also kept the roadways free engineer with the Army Corps ofproject manager with Millstone Weber. of construction traffic throughout the Engineers, notes that the 120-day closureprocess, Beach adds. Paving operationsAfter demolition workers broke up was based solely onwere completed overnight duringthe existing concrete and milled off the the pavement work the 24/7 operation, which reducedasphalt, other crews and the minimumcongestion at the worksite and aroundcut and graded time needed tothe airport. the ground before remove the olda cement-treated runway materialThe project team installed gatesbase was applied. and replace it withstrategically on opposite ends of theSeth Mailman, new concrete, plusairfield to allow direct access to the workproject manager at adequate curingMARCIA MEEKINS site and facilitate orderly traffic. A gateRC Construction, time. Everyone knew the paving was thewas also installed near the vault on theestimates that aboutSETH MAILMANlongest pole in the tent, says Meekins.southwest side of the airfield to create20,000 cubic yards of dirt was cut and access for lighting crews. removed to accommodate the new Phase ZeroDuring Phase Zero, contractors set uppavement. Design and planning for the $82 millionthe batch plant and secured approval forThe entire runway surface was cement-project took roughly eight months, and thethe concrete mix that would be used totreated with a slurry that was pre-mixed Notice to Proceed was issued at the endrepave the runway. Meekins and Beachat an offsite plant, and then hauled to of 2020. Planners divided the project intoboth note that achieving the right mix wasthe airfield, where crews injected and four phases, and in retrospect, participantsa challenging feat. tilled it into the groundas opposed to agree that Phase Zero (pre-constructionThe pavement mix is comprised ofbroadcasting a dried cement. So we logistics) was the most important one offour aggregate sizes, but limited spacewere basically weather-proof from the all. Its really what got us ahead of theat the job site meant there was not roompoint we got the dirt work done, explains game, Blevins says.for four different storage areas. We haveAlwart. Then, we could work in any The upfront planning phase was17 acres where we were putting twoweather conditions.critical, emphasizes Meekins.batch plants and humungous stockpiles,Mailman describes slurry injection Phase Zero was when the equipmentand we really didnt have room for fouras cleaner than traditional cement and materials needed for the project werebins, Meekins explains. Instead, thestabilization. It provided an exceptionally assembled and stockpiled on site at POBcontractor pre-blended the two smalleststable platform within 24 hours for us to and Fort Bragg. The inventory includedaggregates and then checked thework off of, he explains.AirportImprovement.comOctober 2022'