Runway 17L/35R and Associated Taxiways Pavement Rehabilitiation - Denver International Airport
Project Focus
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This 12.9 million project at Denver International Airport (DIA) provided 100,463sy of airfield pavement rehabilitation in one Runway and adjacent Taxiways. In addition to the traditional construction processes involved with panel replacement, the project included over 450 in-pavement lights with 8 miles of conduit, 1,030 square yards of Cement Treated Base Repair, 37,900 drilled and grouted dowel bars, spall repairs around light cans, installation of 3,500 feet of 6” and 8” drainage pipe, 10 acres of seed and mulch, crushing of all removed concrete and 70,000 square yards of pavement grooving. DIA maintenance self-performed the pavement marking.
Project Details
Schedule & Complexity
With a 150 calendar day (inclusive of a 90 day runway closure), 11 milestone project, scheduling was exacting. To accommodate the updated requirements for material “Buy American” certification, a 30 day pre-construction Notice-to-Proceed was issued, allowing documentation processing and eradicating delays during the runway closure. This time was also used to plan the coordination required between this project, DIA for pavement marking and the FAA for maintenance activities, as well as three other simultaneous contracts. At the construction peak, more than 300 people were working on this runway closure. All planned activities were successfully coordinated for timely completion, avoiding any delays or accidents for any of the parties involved. 72 additional panels were added after the start of construction, and were completed within the 90-day closure schedule. Removal operations revealed large areas of subgrade material requiring evaluation and testing prior to pavement replacement.
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Construction & Innovation
The time required for deep sawing was optimized by utilizing a rock saw machine to deep cut the panel perimeters. The existing concrete removal was performed using one 325 backhoe with breaker attachment and one 460 backhoe with thumb to load trucks. As the removal of concrete took place, the Cement Treated Base (CTB) was inspected, and if deemed unsuitable, removed and replaced with lean concrete. Concurrent with removal work, crushing operations began at the waste area to make Class 6 road base. The panel replacements varied in thickness, including 17”and 21” at thickened edges. 6095sy of replacement panels were low production (4 panels or less); 90,187sy were high production and 4183sy were reinforced.
Safety
The 17L/35R Runway complex was closed for 90 days of the project. The haul route was designed to avoid closing any live taxiway and minimize any potential incursions. All traffic was monitored to and from the construction site to the access gate. Spotters, flaggers and foreign object debris watchers were positioned throughout the route. Plastic low profile lighted barricades were placed to close taxiways leading to the work area. Weekly progress meetings with airport operations personnel re-insured the safe route to and from the project site. The large number of people with the FAA, City and other contractors performing work on the Runway complex mandated that “keeping an eye for each other” was an every day reminder.
Quality Control
The Quality Control plan was a cooperative effort between IHC’s Quality Control Program and the Owner’s Quality Assurance Program. Split samples were used for all PCCP strength determinations. For Lean Concrete, an independent certified lab ran the tests for acceptance, which were verified by the Owner’s program on a one in ten basis. This project required a 100% Quality Control
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Public Relations
The Contractor worked closely with DIA Management and Operations to avoid all conflicts with airport operations, Airlines and the FAA control tower. Completion of the project within schedule was essential to return the runway to full operation before the demanding Fall and Holiday season at DIA.