Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Runway Upgrades

OHLA USA’s subsidiary, Community Asphalt, was awarded this time-sensitive $11.7 million contract to perform civil upgrades to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Major contract features included earthwork, paving, and drainage on Runway 9L-27R and Taxiway B. In addition to the site work, the project team constructed two Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS), which are beds of engineered material that prevent aircraft overruns.

Work was carried out in ten major phases during the 180-day construction period, all of which had challenging time restrictions. The majority of the phasing occurred in continuous shifts, 24 hours per day. During construction, the project team provided manned security access gates and personnel at different locations throughout the airport to allow construction forces and materials to enter the worksite. Direct access and egress to the site were vital since they prevented interruption to the normal daily traffic flow within the airport.

Continuous day and night shifts of maintenance of traffic, drainage, clearing and grubbing, excavation, and milling and paving were run to complete the tight schedule set by the Owner in time for runway and taxiway usage. Extensive management was provided to rotate the various crews throughout the project, keeping several shifts of earthwork crews continuously rotating to maintain the schedule.