b'58 FLL TERMINALSReinforcements Needed When construction started in 2018, much of the work was airside. Installing new columns and reinforcing existing ones still under load required crews to expand existing footings at least 40 feet underneath the open, active facility. Contractors built corridors on the ramp level of the terminal so crews could drive a drilling rig, roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, underneath the operating terminal to reinforce foundation piles. Reinforcement was necessary to accommodate the additional weight of the raised roof and allow the vertical expansion to withstand hurricane winds. Vertical concrete columns also had to be reinforced, which involved building a larger rebar cage around existing columns and pouring concrete from the slab above to make the columns wider. It was a very invasive, complete restructuring of the entire lateral support system of the building, all while maintaining operations, Goebel says. It was intense.Overall, crews installed 22 new columns in the expansion and reinforced 14.To increase the height of the building, the new roof was constructed over the existing one. Truss placement required careful planning and coordination with airlines and flight The airport upgraded gate areas and added new concessions to serve itsschedules. Eight trusses, each 120 feet long, were lifted growing passenger traffic.by a 275-ton crane over the terminal and met by a team of welders, who secured them in place.Montefusco notes that the three weeks it took to install the column beams and trusses was one of the trickier construction phases. PreparedWe literally shut down the facility each night and reopened each morning, she explains. It took a lot of people to make that happen.for Takeoff Issues outside the project teams control occasionally compounded the challenge. Some nights we would be ready to go, but then have to cancel because of a flight impacted by weather or a mechanical issue, she recalls. But we made it happen. And to be able to say that we did that was really incredible.Once the new roof was in place, crews installed the dance floor and removed the old roof in sections. People would come in Ross & Baruzzini and Integral Group are comingand start to see the ceiling open up every day, together to transform the built environment. little by little, Montefusco recalls. Where aviation technology innovation meetsPrioritizing Passengerssustainable design expertise to create dynamicOne of the things we made clear to our solutions and more resilient environments. construction companies is that this is an airport first, not a construction site first, Montefusco shares. We always look at the passenger introba.com experiencehow do we make this happen without impacting the passengers. November | December 2022AirportImprovement.com'