IX Returns to Cleveland Hopkins Int'l Airport for the Continuation of the Taxiway Q and Hold Pad Project

On April 15, 2010, Independence Excavating (IX) remobilized to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) for the continuation of the Taxiway (TW) Q and Hold Pad Project that had begun last fall and is scheduled for a late September 2010 completion.

The continuation of the project began with a flurry of activity due to the aggressive schedule. In order to minimize construction activity within the Air Operations Area (AOA), approximately 4,400 linear feet (lf) of temporary fence was installed to isolate the project in the first seven days of work. During the same period, IX and our subcontractors commenced with pavement removal including 36,000 square yards of asphalt milling, over 11,000 cubic yards (cy) of slag subbase removal and nearly 30,000 cy of concrete pavement breaking and removal from 10" to 18" thick.

The 55,000 tons of concrete removed in this phase of the project was crushed by our own work forces and is being recycled back into the project as aggregate in the concrete stabilized base course as well as backfill. After the pavement was removed and topsoil stripped, removal of an extensive network of existing underground utilities and structures was necessary to clear the area for new utilities and pavement.

To prepare the site for paving operations, IX moved approximately 40,000 cy of dirt, installed 3,700 lf of sewers from 18" to 48" diameter, installed 6,300 lf of underdrains and set pre-cast manholes and constructed cast in place concrete manholes up to depths of 27 ft.

The paving portion of the project includes 15+ acres of 6" stabilized subgrade fine graded the site to tolerances of less than - inch, a 6" thick permeable asphalt drainage course, 8" of econocrete stabilized base and 16" of full strength concrete with 35 ft wide x 5" depth asphalt shoulders at the outside edges.

Several unique features are included in our scope of work. There is 1,500 lf of jet blast fence of which 1,125 lf is completed along Postal Road - east of the site. The west side of the site is the location of the first large scale storm water management system at CLE. It includes 650 lf of 12 ft diameter corrugated steel pipe (CSP) for storm water storage and 345 lf of 10 ft -6 inch diameter CSP for a sediment chamber and sand filter system to manage the sediment runoff from the airport. In all, the system has 94,000 cubic feet of capacity, or about 700,000 gallons and has been completed.

Another integral part of the project is the installation of 500 taxiway lights and 20 aircraft guidance signs to direct aircraft. In addition to these electrical elements, the project entails installation of duct banks and equipment to feed new facilities.

The asphalt drainage course has begun with the concrete paving and electrical items to follow shortly. The next major milestone will be the removal and reconstruction of TW K, which intersects the new TW Q and K1. This work requires the complete shutdown of a key taxiway and must be reopened in a mere 45 calendar days. After this is completed, the balance of existing concrete paving will be removed and hauled off site, remaining embankment will be constructed, and all finish work will be completed, such as seeding, sodding, pavement striping and markings.

IX hit the ground running on this project to maintain the aggressive schedule with our hard-working crews and some of our largest iron including 385 & 345 excavators, D9-D8 and D6 Dozers, two graders, off and on road trucks and stabilization equipment. This job also gave our new fuel efficient D7E with electric drive its most utilization to date with high marks on performance provided by the operators. Some of our key subcontractors are Ballast Fence, Hi-Lite Maintenance, Kokosing Construction, North Electric, Royal Landscaping, WL Harper Company and Zenith Systems (formerly Doan Pyramid). We thank all of our team members including the City of Cleveland Department of Port Control and design team for the efforts put forth toward the successful completion of this high profile project at CLE.