b'RUNWAYS VNY61When it becomes necessary to shut down one of your twoof the project cost was covered by a $17.37 million FAA Airport main runways for reconstruction, careful planning is critical.Improvement Program grant. The stakes are even higher when you manage one of theSince we are one of the busiest general aviation airports in the busiest general aviation airports in the United States.country, we have generally been fortunate in getting FAA funding That was the challenge Justin Erbacci, chieffor various projects, says Erbacci. But for these recent runway executive officer of Los Angeles World Airports,projects, we would have used our own capital improvement funds, faced earlier this year regarding Van Nuysif necessary. Fortunately, the FAA picked up the tab for most of our Airport (VNY).After consulting with tenantscosts.and stakeholders at the Southern CaliforniaConstruction on 16L-34R started in February 2022 and occurred airport and engaging with engineering andduring a six-month runway closure. Reconstructing the entire design consultant HNTB, it was apparent thatrunway allowed project designers to extend its lifespan by at least the time had come to reconstruct 16L-34R,JUSTIN ERBACCI another two decades. Other enhancements include high-efficiency the airports 4,000-foot runway. To do so, VNYLED lights and airfield signage, new surface markings and the closed the runway for six monthsfrom February to August 2022. addition of blast pads on either end of the runway.When planning the reconstruction, Erbacci and his team alsoThe base of Runway 16L-34R was reconstructed out of 100% opted to budget for maintenance to the airports other runway,recyclable materials by utilizing asphalt millings from the existing 16R-34L, which is twice as long. Crews applied an asphaltrunway. This environmental-friendly procedure significantly reduced slurry seal to its surface from early August to Sept. 1, during twothe need for trucks driving in and out of the airport. midweek closures and a series of night shutdowns. Crews managed to finish the reconstruction work on time, even Together, the two runway projects had repercussions throughoutthough they had to overcome challenges along the way. The the airport. VNY is expected to have more than 300,000 operationswinter of 2021 to 2022 was unusually wet, so that slowed us at this year, and is home to more than 200 tenants, including largethe start, Long recalls. There has been a lot of construction FBOs, fire and police aircraft, flight schools and private aircraftin Southern California, so we also had occasional shortages in operators. Meticulous advance planning and communication wasobtaining asphalt and paving crews. imperative to meet the needs of these customers.Our airport has significant economic impact here in Southern California, states Erbacci. Our clients realize the importance of keeping all of our facilities updated, so we did not get much pushback for this project. Most of the pilots using 16L-34R knew that this runway had reached the end of its lifecycle.Planning and FundingThe runway projects were part of a multibillion-dollar capital improvement program administered by Los Angeles World AirportsSMOOTHNESS(LAWA), which owns and operates both VNY and Los Angeles International (LAX).James Long, a project manager for HNTB, notes that the surface of Runway 16L-34R hadJAMES LONGbeen declining for several years. After working with LAWA on many projects for the past 35 years, HNTB had completed a pavement condition survey in 2009 to identify areas on VNYs runways and taxiways that needed work.One of the identified projects was improving taxiways A and B. While we were working on Taxiway B in 2018, Runway 16L-34R was used as a temporary bypass taxiway, and the additional use exacerbated the already poor pavement, Long explains. It became clear that the runway had to be reconstructed fairly soon.Design work for the reconstruction of 16L-34R occurred duringSince 1993, APR has provided smoothness evaluation services 2020 and 2021. LAWA established a $19.1 million budget, and thefor the largest A&E firms and the smallest, local contractors. Experts at P-401 and P-501, APR can also produce an effective main contractor, Sully-Miller, received $13.1 million. The rest of the and efficient corrective action plan if needed.money was used for planning,design, construction management, inspection and other miscellaneous expenses. The vast majorityContact APR Today for Your Next Paving Projectwww.aprconsultants.com937-849-6795AirportImprovement.comNovember | December 2022'