Runway Rubblization Saves 5,600 Truck Trips

Thu July 11, 2024
Chuck MacDonald – CEG CORRESPONDENT

Replacing a worn-out runway at an airport used to be a tedious business. The concrete pavement would be broken and removed, then hauled off to a landfill or used as a base material in a new pavement. That's old school. At Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Va., engineers decided to take a different approach and rubblize the old concrete that was at least 40 years old.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Paving

Instead of removing the worn-out runway, a team led by Virginia Paving used rubblizing equipment to fracture the existing concrete pavement into a course base material for the new flexible pavement section. The asphalt for the new runway will be laid on top of the rubblized concrete, serving as an excellent base for a revitalized airstrip.

Anthony Rondeau is the executive vice president of the Norfolk Airport Authority. He said the rubblizing process resulted in significant construction cost and environmental savings for the airport.

"The process saved approximately 33,000 cubic yards of waste material from having to be hauled off site," he said. "It also meant 33,000 cubic yards of fill/base material did not need to be hauled onto the site. That means we saved approximately 5,600 truck trips and 523,000 gallons of fuel, which eliminated 460 tons of carbon dioxide emissions."

The two-year runway project will be completed in 2024 at a construction cost of $35 million. The new pavement will be 8-12 in. of FAA Specified P-401 asphalt over 17 in. of rubblized concrete pavement.

In addition to a new runway, the airport will feature other new looks including Concourse A expansion, a new airport hotel, a consolidated rental car facility and new U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility. The work will cost nearly $1 billion. The airport also hopes to add more airlines and international service.

New Projects

• Construction of Concourse A is under way and will add three more gates;
• The new Courtyard by Marriott will have 168 rooms, a rooftop bar and restaurants;
• The new border protection facility is where cargo and baggage from international travelers will be inspected; and
• The two concourses and the parking garages also will also be connected by a new moving walkway.

Virginia Paving has worked on projects before at the airport and was prepared for some stringent requirements. Virginia Paving has completed work on the north end of the commercial runway and is now working on the south end. However, because of the airport's nearly around-the-clock scheduling, work could be done only during a five-hour window each day. Work, including cleanup, had to be complete each morning by 5 a.m.

Construction Challenges

The construction team led by Virginia Paving had worked on the Norfolk airport before with this daunting schedule. Lonnie Minson, senior area manager of Virginia Paving, worked closely with Nick Vendetti and a close-knit team of subcontractors.

"We regularly had 70 to 80 people each night on the runway working on the project, so coordination between the subcontractors was vital," said Minson. "We also had a dynamic relationship with the airport authority. We worked together closely to solve problems."

Because of the thickness of the existing concrete being rubblized, equipment operators first broke the concrete with heavy, single-hammer, guillotine-style Badger breakers to produce fractures through the full depth of the concrete. Workers further fractured the concrete with a multiple hammer Badger breaker. Finally, the construction team ran a vibratory grid roller over the surface several times to further fracture the particles at the surface and to settle and seat the rubblized concrete material.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Paving

The paving team laid approximately 48,000 tons of asphalt over the rubblized section. The paving team used a material transfer vehicle to keep segregation of the new material to a minimum.

"Another advantage to the rubblizing was the prevention of reflective cracking," said Minson. "If we had just laid new asphalt over the old runway, the cracks from the old runway would have eventually appeared in the new pavement."

The paving team used 3D Trimble Siteworks Positioning Systems in its paving.

"The Total Positioning System with GPS enabled us to place the material at exactly the grade we needed," said Minson. "It largely eliminated human error."

The aggressive schedule the team faced meant back-ups were essential.

"We had a contingency plan for just about everything we could think of — equipment, electrical and material," said Minson. "We even had a crane on hand in case we had to lift a piece of equipment off the runway and replace it with the back up."

In addition to paving work, the construction team had to replace the centerline lights. This was no easy task as the lights were set in the foundations 42 in. deep. Workers used a coring device run by an excavator to dig out the old lights. The new centerline lights were set in cans 16 in. deep.

Despite the fast pace, the team accomplished the early work with zero incidents.

The team is scheduled to complete the runway work by the end of the 2024 paving season.

"We have enjoyed a special camaraderie, from the head of the airport authority through the team of subcontractors," said Minson. "We could not have accomplished what we have done without it." CEG