2006-2007 Concrete Restoration - Denver International Airport

Project Focus
This $10.6 million Concrete Pavement Restoration (CPR) project at Denver International Airport provided 35,753 sy of airfield pavement in seven different areas, including concourse gate ramp areas, airfield taxiways and runways. The twelve milestones of this project were divided into two schedules, one FAA funded. Also included in this project were Ponding Water Mitigation, Soil Investigation and Densification, Storm Drop Inlet Reconstruction, and Trench Drain Reconstruction around airline gate areas.

Project Details
Schedule & Complexity
The schedule was carefully prepared with input from DIA Operations and implemented without problems, despite the several major closures required for construction. Logistics of traffic flow before, during and after peak hours of traffic were carefully reviewed and approved by Airport Operations. Major closures affecting parts of the airfield included closing access to the eastside of the airfield from north of concourse C, the main east-west runway and RW 16L/37R, the longest runway at DIA. Other smaller closure areas were required to allow for spall repairs, miscellaneous panel removal and replacement, inlet and drain reconstruction, soil and ponding water work.

Safety Management was critical and required that all personnel on site were familiar with the aircraft operations at all times. Often, moving aircraft were only a few feet from the work zone. The haul route for incoming materials and concrete spoil removal required temporary crossing of up to 7 active taxiways. All personnel, especially drivers, were instructed and monitored on a daily basis, and weekly safety meetings emphasized the haul route procedures. This resulted in the project being completed accident and injury free.

All targeted dates for completions of each milestone were met, sometimes exceeded. After all major milestones were completed, change orders for additional work were issued by the Owner. This extra work consisted of building 4 new inlets and 550 lf of 24” RCP to carry fluid from new snow melting machines into the drain system between concourses B and C. The additional 1804 sy PCCP removal and replacement was expedited to ensure completion prior to snow removal operations.

Construction & Innovation
The panel replacements varied in thickness, including 15”, 17”, 19” and 21”. 3,096 SY of replacement panels were reinforced. The Contractor optimized the time required for the removal of the existing PCCP using two 325 backhoes with breaker attachments, and one 980 loader. As the removal of concrete took place, the cement treated base was inspected, and if deemed unsuitable, removed and replaced with lean concrete. This helped maintain the schedule and minimize the impact for these conditions.

New and improved frames for the Inlet Restoration were utilized to increase the durability of the existing inlets. During work on the Snow Melters, the Contractor proposed the work be done using an open cut in lieu of boring a pipe, as it was originally designed. This substantially reduced the time period required for work, disruption to United Airlines gate operations, traffic flow between Concourses B & C, and most importantly, cost.

Quality
The Quality Control plan was a cooperative effort between the Contractor Quality Control Program and the Owner’s Quality Assurance program. All PCCP was jointly sampled and samples were split for strength determinations. Lean concrete was tested by QC and verified by QA on a one in ten basis. All QC testing was logged in a database and compiled in weekly QC reports that were transmitted to the Owner’s QA department for review. This project required a 100% QC Inspection by the contractor and a QA monitored random inspection.

Public Relations
Weekly meeting were held with the Manager and DIA Operations to forecast future problems and conflict with the operations of the airport and the FAA control tower, as well as weekly meetings with United Airlines representatives and all other airlines. CCD and the Contractor developed a plan to expedite the closure of the runways and minimize the impact on the traveling public.