b'94 GEG CARGO This specialty material contains the same basic ingredients as conventional concretecement, water and aggregate materialsbut is a drier mix and doesnt require steel reinforcing bars. At the transload construction site, crews mix roller-compacted concrete and loaded it into a paver to form an 8-inch-thick mat. Construction-grade rollers followed the paver, and within an hour, another 8-inch mat was laid. Layer by layer, contractors created 16-inch-thick pavement. Krauter reports that using roller-compacted concrete saved the airport 40% over conventional concrete. Moreover, installation took less than half the time because it cures much faster. It was interesting, because roller-compacted The project team saved time and money by using roller-compacted concrete to pave the largeconcrete hasnt been used much in this staging area.part of the world, he says. We bid the project both ways, and the roller-experience in the rail industry, which wasNot Your Fathers Concretecompacted concrete was more attractive helpful for project planning and execution.With Hayden on board, the project teamthan sticking with the traditional concrete We had incredible synergy, becauseemployed some novel strategies. Theplacement process. A lot of people Colin already knew how to run these kindsmost notable was using roller-compactedcame out to watch what was going on, of projects, Krauter remarks.concrete for nearly 200,000 square feet ofbecause this has great applications for staging area.other projects in our community. It was amazing how much time and cost savings it afforded us. He also notes that the roller-compacted concrete provides an exceptional working surface, even with Spokanes frequent snow and ice. From an aesthetic perspective, the mat surpassed Kingsleys expectations, and Hayden describes it as strong and stable. Because roller-compacted concrete doesnt require rebar, it eliminated the labor needed to lay steel. The biggest challenge was definitely the pavement, Kingsley reflects. One of the key things we did that made this financially viable and possible within the plan was to use this alternative pavement process. The decision to do that helped the airport realize cost savings, but it required us to find a contractor with experience laying roller-compacted concrete. There were quite a few challenges with the schedule, but it enabled us to meet the budget and timeline. The Business Case The vast majority of the $14.3 million project was funded with an $11.3 million BUILD grant (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) from the U.S. May | June 2023AirportImprovement.com'