New Airport Runway is Paved - Video

Well folks, it won’t be long now before you’ll be flying into our new airport on a low-cost carrier for a quick weekend get-a-way.  The new airport is just 15 months away from completion and is finishing up paving the first 8,400 feet of the main runway.  The main runway will be 10,000 feet when it is complete and is awaiting final approval from the FAA, expected in March.  As soon as they get approval, it will take just under 14 days to pave the final 1,600 feet as the prep work has already been complete.

Onsite, they have the capability to produce concrete at the pace of filling a new mixing truck every 2.5 minutes so the actual paving goes pretty quick.  The concrete layer is 15 inches thick and it lays on top of 4 inches of asphalt.  The density is also much greater than the stuff you use to to pour your home’s foundation.

January Airport Construction Update from Jason Koertge on Vimeo.

The terminal barely resembles a frame right now but is coming along.  Construction time on the terminal will last almost the duration of the project, along with te air traffic control tower.  The air traffic control tower has 72 piles already installed that reach 45 feet into the earth.  Instead of using pre-cast piles, they used auger-cast piles said Roy Willett, Senior Project Manager of KBR.  Auger-cast piles are set by drilling into the ground, and as the dirt comes up, it is replaced with concrete, all the while placing a steel rebar pole down the middle for reinforcement.  In the video, you can see where the earth movers are digging around the rebar to clear out the top of the pilings.

In my interview with Dr. Ed Wright, stand-in director of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, it was mentioned that he wasn’t sure if the new airport would need any modifications with regards to turn-radius/taxiway requirements to accommodate the large Airbus A380 or other large cargo aircraft.  Willett confirmed that short of the largest of the Antonov and the largest of the Airforce’s cargo planes, the new airport will be able to accommodate it all with the 10,000 foot runway - turning radii and all.  Awesome, just flat-out awesome.!

Also, you can see more pictures here.