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Runway makeover
 Watch
this video clip (Real Media) Length: 7:29
Watch this video clip (Windows Media) Length:
7:29
Narrator says:
The resurfacing of the main runway at King County International Airport
was a race against time. The last time the main runway was resurfaced
was in 1985. But this job was bigger, because it included taxiway
connectors and upgrading the electrical and lighting systems.
Fortunately the weather wasn’t a problem. In the middle of a warm, dry
summer, some 300 trucks a day were able to haul asphalt and other
materials onto the airport property. The truck and vehicle traffic was a
carefully coordinated, non-stop effort.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
A lot of activity out there, a lot of equipment a lot of people, but
it's well orchestrated, in between airport operations, URS who's our
construction manager, and ICON who is a prime contractor, and it worked
pretty well it's run very, very smooth for as much activity as we had in
a confined space here.
Narrator Says:
It wasn’t just the number of vehicles and people working on the project
that was impressive, it was the speed at which they were moving. They
had a lot of ground to cover. 10-thousand feet long and some 200 feet
wide, it’s one of the longest runways in the state, the equivalent of
trying to pave about two miles of a six to eight lane highway. It had to
be completely shutdown during the paving, and everyone was conscious of
the cost to the county and the airport businesses.
KCIA Assistant Director Mike Colmant Says:
The pace of the paving is really quite something to watch, it's
continuous, it's non-stop, just when you thought it couldn't get any
more hectic, or any busier, it's ramped up even further, contractors
added a 5th crew from out of town so, we currently have 3 paving crews
on day shift and two on night shift, who essentially are working around
the clock to make it happen.
Narrator Says:
The job didn’t slow down after the sun went down, crews worked in
shifts, 24 hours a day at the same pace. The runway took on an almost
surreal atmosphere as the darkness blended into the freshly laid
asphalt. Construction and vehicle lights illuminated the way, it was the
only way to stay on schedule.
KCIA Senior Engineer Rick Renaud:
A lot of the paving has taken place at night, and that was just really
required to minimize that construction period, and the ultimate impact
to our tenants.
KCIA Assistant Director Mike Colmant Says:
It adds another dimension to the project but the overall schedule
requires it and the contractor's skilled at paving an night and working
at night, but so far so good, they're performing well.
Narrator Says:
As the days ticked off, just to the east of the construction work, the
airports smaller 37-hundred foot runway remained open, allowing general
aviation and some charter flights to continue operation. The unknown
came into play when asphalt over taxiway bravo 3 was ripped up, exposing
liquefaction more serious than previously believed. Tons of material had
to be trucked in and compacted to form a solid base before the paving
could continue, a time delay that would have to be made up somewhere
else.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
When they brought the machines in to compact the soil, it wouldn't take,
it turned into mud, so we had to de-water it, excavate, de-water and
bring in several tons of concrete, not brick-a-brack but it would be
material that would just act as a base, a stable base, so we did that on
bravo 3 we did that on alpha 4, 2 taxi ways which are across from each
other, we solved that problem.
Meeting challenges as they popped up, crews paved on. Eventually more
than 100-thousand tons of asphalt would be laid down. By August 24th, 17
days into the project, the airport was given clearance to open more than
half the runway, and this Boeing jet was the first to christen the new
asphalt, taking off in a southerly direction and sending a clear signal
that the end was close at hand.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
Right now we’re on schedule, we do have some problems but we're
resolving those, and it looks pretty good.
Narrator Says:
Pretty good turned out to be an understatement, because crews wrapped up
quickly, opening runway 13/right-31-left on August 28th, one day earlier
than scheduled. An accomplishment recognized by all the major media in
western Washington.
KING 5's Dennis Bounds Says:
Boeing Field is taking steps to make sure tragedies like the one in
Kentucky don't happen here, it's all part of a new construction project
that just wrapped up, KING 5' Alyssa Haun has more on the crucial repair
job, and the safety improvements every pilot can appreciate.
Alyssa Haun Says:
Tonight after removing the barricades and making the last few test runs,
the main runway at Boeing Field reopened, a massive construction project
finished a day early, and under budget.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
I've been doing this for about 24 years, and I got to say this is one of
the best, projects I've seen.
Alyssa Haun Says:
Businesses operating out of Boeing Field couldn't be happier,
Kenmore Air's Thomas Tilson Says:
Runway projects are notorious for going long, and over budget, and this
particular one I think was handled extremely well.
Alyssa Haun Says:
The main runway suffered substantial damage during the 2001 Nisqually
Earthquake, the 6.8 tumbler liquefied the ground leaving cracks running
1000's of feet.
Unidentified Woman Says:
This is very sobering, this is not what we expected.
Alyssa Haun Says:
In just 20 days, construction crews laid 100,000 tons of asphalt, the
equivalent of 2 miles of I-5, that along with miles of new cable and
conduit, and the new guard lights to help prevent accidents like last
weekend's crash in Lexington, Kentucky. Despite all the improvements, as
far as future earthquakes are concerned, the liquefaction problem in the
soil still exists.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
There's essentially a new runway, for all practical purposes so I think
we could withstand it pretty well, but there's no guarantee.
Alyssa Haun Says:
Alyssa Haun, KING-5 News.
KING 5's Dennis Bounds Says:
During the construction project, only the short runway was open, so
shipping businesses with the bigger cargo planes like Fed-Ex and DHL had
to move over to Sea-Tac, they'll move back here to Boeing Field
tomorrow.
Q13's Christine Chen Says:
Tonight the main runway at Boeing Field just got something it's needed
since the Nisqually Quake hit 5 years ago, it just reopened about 2
hours ago with a brand new surface, crews worked 20 days, around the
clock to pave the equivalent of 2 miles of I-5, it took 4,200 truckloads
of asphalt to make a new runway surface, Boeing field handles billions
of dollars in traffic a year, it supports 500 aircraft and 150
businesses, Boeing Field really needed that upgrade, the last it got an
overhaul was back in 1985, too long ago.
Narrator says:
It took just 20 days to reopen the full runway, and strengthen king
county international airport’s reputation as one of the most important
airports in the country, in position now to grow with the aviation
industry for decades to come.
KCIA Director Bob Burke Says:
A year from now we’re told we're going to see the first 787's flight
tested here, and we're looking forward to that and we're proud we're
being able to offer a brand new 10.000 by 200 foot piece of pavement for
them to test and certify their new generation of aircraft.
<<Sounds of plane starting up>>
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