14
RUNWAYS  
October 2026      AirportImprovement.com
VNY
Rebuilding 11 taxiways at 
Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in 
Southern California went well 
beyond replacing aging pavement. The 
project’s complex choreography included 
shortening the primary runway, a series of 
80-hour closures, nighttime work, tenant 
relocations, weather decisions, complicated 
construction sequencing and funding 
constraints—all while keeping the active 
airport operating safely.
And “active” is not just standard industry 
boilerplate. VNY, located just 15 miles 
north of Los Angeles International Airport 
(LAX), is one of the 10 busiest general 
aviation airports in the United States.
Rebuilding From the Ground Up
The $33.8 million project grew out of 
a straightforward need: VNY’s taxiway 
pavement had reached the end of its 
useful life.
Phillip Leung, 
RS&H principal 
engineer, Aviation, 
and engineer of 
record for the project, 
explains that the best 
solution was full-depth 
reconstruction, plus 
upgrades to taxiway 
geometry, electrical systems, lighting 
and markings. The work was ultimately 
scheduled and completed across two 
years: Taxiways D, E (east and west), F 
(east and west) and Q in the first year, 
followed by C, H, M, N and P in the 
second.
Byron Chavez, 
RS&H vice president 
and senior project 
manager, Aviation, 
says the project team 
worked to make the 
case that accepting the 
greater disruption of a 
full reconstruction up 
front would produce a longer-lasting result.
“We knew this was going to be very 
impactful in one way or another,” Chavez 
says. “And, sure, it would be a lot quicker 
for us to just do a little bit of a Band-Aid 
patch. But then they’d have to just keep 
fixing it and fixing it and fixing it and fixing it.”
Instead, the team advocated for taking 
the pavement all the way down to the 
subgrade and rebuilding it properly. “Our 
argument was that if you let us get in here 
and do what really needs to be done, we’ll 
be out of your hair for the next 20 years,” 
Chavez relates.
Phase 1: Shortening the Runway
The original plan called for the project to be 
treated as one large package. But because 
it was funded primarily with federal grants, 
the work had to align with two FAA grant 
cycles: one for 2025 and one for 2026. 
“Because of the timing of those FAA grants, 
we had to strategically prioritize which 
taxiways would be 
reconstructed during 
each year,” explains 
Laurel Soriano, the 
airport engineer that 
oversaw the VNY 
project for Los Angeles 
World Airports (LAWA). 
The solution was a 
detailed phasing plan, with the first phase 
of construction relying on the airport 
shortening its primary runway. 
Under normal conditions, Runway 16R 
is approximately 8,000 feet long. During 
the project, the team first shortened it 
to about 6,700 feet and later reduced it 
further, to approximately 5,824 feet, for 
about 30 days. 
The first adjustment removed the portion 
of runway used for takeoffs but retained 
the existing landing threshold and vertical 
instrument guidance. That allowed the 
Phase 1 prime contractor, Griffith, to test 
its paving materials on Taxiway D and 
get them approved before starting full 
production on the other taxiways. 
When the runway was shortened further in 
April 2025, the team had to make additional 
changes to lighting and signage and install 
temporary vertical guidance. Throughout 
this process, VNY worked to keep as many 
crossing taxiways open as possible so 
aircraft would have alternative routes to 
access points for the remaining runway. 
Van Nuys Airport Structures Major Taxiway 
Project to be Less Taxing on Tenants 
BY JENNIFER DAACK WOOLSON
BYRON CHAVEZ
LAUREL SORIANO
PHILLIP LEUNG

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