Skip to main content

Runway rebuild for Detroit airport

A US contractor has employed equipment from Guntert & Zimmerman to help carry out a runway rebuild at Detroit Metro Airport The busy airport handles around 30 million passengers/year and the project had to be carried out in a tight timeframe as a result, with the paving crew working 16 hours/day to meet the schedule. Ajax Construction has been using its G&Z S850 paver for the work, which was needed as the existing concrete surface on runway 4L/22R had suffered from an alkali silica reaction (ASR). The
January 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Equipment from G&Z has been used to rebuild a runway suffering from alkali silica reaction
A US contractor has employed equipment from 225 Guntert & Zimmerman to help carry out a runway rebuild at Detroit Metro Airport

The busy airport handles around 30 million passengers/year and the project had to be carried out in a tight timeframe as a result, with the paving crew working 16 hours/day to meet the schedule.

Ajax Construction has been using its G&Z S850 paver for the work, which was needed as the existing concrete surface on runway 4L/22R had suffered from an alkali silica reaction (ASR). The 3km long by 46m wide runway had to be replaced, using a total of 170,438m3 of PCC concrete. The 457mm of crushed aggregate base for the concrete runway was retained however as the base for the new concrete surface. The paver was used along with texture cure equipment from 218 GOMACO and Guntert & Zimmerman for the project as well as 2122 Trimble stringless machine control technology, so as to ensure the surface would meet the tight specifications of the runway project.

The runway was closed for the work and the old concrete was milled out to a depth of 432mm, along with 75mm of the 228m bituminous base underneath, leaving the 457mm crushed aggregate base untouched. Paving was carried out in multiple passes to a width of 5.7m, with 510mm dowel bars also being used. The project also called for full depth reclamation of the asphalt shoulders and their aggregate base structures, and their replacement with new layers. New 127mm deep asphalt shoulders were constructed on top of 228mm aggregate base structures on either side of the runway, along with underdrain improvements to optimise water removal after heavy rain showers.

Other work included installing new, high efficiency LED runway lighting for the resurfaced runway as well as new markings and security fencing.

There is still a portion of the work for the airport to be carried out in 2017 and this will involve additional paving for some taxiways and parking areas.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Concrete paving in Iceland
    October 3, 2022
    High-quality concrete paving has been achieved at an airport in Iceland by specialist contractor, HIB Iceland.
  • Smoother highway achieved in Florida
    June 16, 2016
    The busy I-10 in Florida is now benefiting from a smoother surface, following very necessary reconstruction work. There were no completed sections of I-10 until 1961 when the 59km Sanderson to Jacksonville stretch was first finished. In the years since, section by section have been constructed, culminating in the complete stretch of I-10 in Florida, running 579km through the state. The interstate stretches west well beyond the Florida border making I-10 one of three coast-to-coast interstates, along with
  • Achieving a smooth road surface
    September 28, 2015
    Achieving a smooth road surface has helped a US contractor gain a bonus payment of US$605,000 on a paving job in Montana. A recently renovated 16km section of I-90, starting in Alberton, Mont., which is located on the Western part of the state near the Idaho border, and stretching East, received sterling commendations, beat target IRI scores, and earned the general contractor quality bonuses. The project also won the 2014 MCA Excellence Award for Best Paving Smoothness from the Montana Contractors Associat
  • Race track rebuild in Italy
    May 15, 2019
    A motor racing circuit in Italy has benefited from a new asphalt surface, with the paving work carried out by machines from Sumitomo.