b'CARGODTW15County Airport Authority, Wilson comments. FedEx is deeplyCommunication with each party was required appreciative of the collaboration with the Wayne County Airportto align these goals and deliver a successful Authority and the city of Romulus throughout this project.project. Successful efforts like this require strong collaborationThe design teams used a construction among all stakeholders, each bringing unique expertise andproject management platform to help. We needs, Jackson notes. When teams work together, diverseheavily relied on Procore to make sure that priorities can be aligned and achieved. You really do have toeverybody was getting the most up-to-dateMATT HADARhave a partnership with everyone to make a project like thisset of drawings amongst all the various successful, he comments. We even had the support of Waynedesign teams, as well as issuing RFIs and submittal responses, County Executive Warren Cleage Evans and the Wayne Countyrecalls Matt Hadar, landside civil engineer and Kimley-Horns Commission, which made our goals easier to attain. designer for the project. Thomson emphasizes the collaborative nature of the projectSite drainage was a complex design challenge due to the and the teams ability to solve any issues that arose. A projectsignificant amount of impervious surface area that was added of this magnitude has daily challenges that had to be overcomeand the need to accommodate aircraft deicing operations. The to make this project happen, he remarks. Everyones effortsteam installed a substantial underground stormwater storage allowed us to turn over a high-quality, on-time project to thesystem beneath the new airfield pavement, along with a deicing owner. This was truly a team effort, and I am very proud of themanagement system that diverts contaminated runoff during team we put together. winter months for offsite disposal, while directing clean water to existing airport detention ponds. Local Economic Impact, Broader Significance During site preparation, design changes were made to maintain Large FedEx locations like the new facility at DTW generatebalance. After test pits revealed unsuitable soils, the team quickly significant economic benefits for their surrounding communities,reacted to raise the finished floor elevation of the sort facility and strengthening the regional supply chain and supporting broaderregraded apron and parking areas to avoid importing or exporting economic growth across the area.large volumes of material. In addition to minimizing costs, this also Currently, FedEx employs nearly 3,500 people in the Detroitreduced truck traffic, associated fuel burn and emissions.region and more than 6,500 statewide, with plans to grow the workforce as demand dictates. Cities like Detroit that house significant FedEx facilities experience the direct impact of its capital expenditures, purchases with local suppliers and economic activity indirectly generated by the companys extensive shipping, logistics and business services, Wilson notes.The facility not only increases FedExs capacity but also reflects a larger shift in air cargo operations toward automation, sustainability and scalability. DTW is now home to one of the most modernized ramp facilities in the FedEx network.Project ChallengesCoordinating with multiple stakeholders while ensuring that operations for UPS and SkyWest remained unaffected was a feat in and of itself. Managing communication, safety protocols and phasing plans across such a large and diverse team required careful planning and consistent oversight. The diversity of stakeholder goals required unique solutions, commentsThe Global Standard inTony Esposito, project manager with Kimley-Horn.TONY ESPOSITO FOD Collectionwww.fodboss.comAirportImprovement.comSeptember 2025'