Flight status
Alexandria airport terminal tops list of aviation projects

By Sam Barnes

Structural steel will soon begin shaping Louisiana's largest aviation project, a new $23.9 million, 75,000-sq.-ft. passenger terminal at Alexandria International Airport.

The terminal is also the state's only grassroots airport project, with other projects aimed primarily at runway maintenance.

Airport manager Scott Gammel said the three-level terminal is the second phase of a four-phase, $33 million initiative that kicked off in 2002 with construction of a terminal access road. Future phases will include parking and aircraft apron construction, which should all be completed by fourth quarter 2005.

England Air Force Base, shuttered in 1992, previously operated the airport.

Jobsite superintendent Danny "Radar" Wiley of general contractor Ratcliff Construction Co. Inc., the project's general contractor, said the terminal's June groundbreaking was followed by "a month of rain," but six-day work weeks have made up for lost time.

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Demolition of existing structures at the old air base had been performed long before Alexandria-based Ratcliff began the project.

"We had to relocate some existing utilities and perform some capping of water and gas lines, then haul in about 20,000 cu. yds. of dirt for the building pad," Wiley said.

Boh Bros. Construction LLC of New Orleans drove about 1,100, 45-ft.-long wood piles as support for the new building, followed by pile caps, grade beams and the first-floor slab.

In December, Ranger Erectors of Monroe will begin the erection of more than 1,200 tons of steel supplied by Steel Fabricators of Monroe.

"After the steel is up, we'll begin exterior walls and masonry, then move inside," Wiley said.

The terminal building's centerpiece will be an air traffic control tower that will extend vertically from the middle of the building.

"The control tower will eventually reach about 137 ft. tall from the bottom floor slab to the top of the structure," said project manager Ed Bell.

Bell said the terminal's 53,200-sq.-ft. first level will include ticketing, baggage return and car rental counters and the 34,600-sq.-ft. second level will have four passenger loading gates, restrooms and administrative offices.

"Design-wise, the first level is the most interesting," Bell added. "Half of the level is enclosed, while the other half is exposed to the elements. That's where they'll have the luggage conveyor system for loading and unloading baggage." A mechanical room will also be located on the first level.

The second level will have jet ways that will assist with the loading and unloading of passengers at the four gates.

"The third level will be significantly smaller than the lower levels, at 7,700 sq. ft.," Bell said. "It will essentially be used as an observation deck."

Four elevator shafts will be also be constructed, although only three will have elevators installed as part of the current project. URS Corp. of Baton Rouge designed the terminal.

Terminal/cargo apron improvements, Lafayette Regional Airport. Bigger jets will find the Lafayette Regional Airport more functional now that the realignment of an existing taxiway and "beefing up" of a cargo apron are complete.

H&S Construction Co. of Lafayette finished the two projects, totaling about $8 million, in September.

Shannon Elliott, vice president of H&S, said half of the 3,500-ft.-long taxiway was moved about 200 ft. farther away from existing hangers and facilities.

"The larger jets needed to have proper clearance from existing buildings," Elliott said. The remaining half of the taxiway received a 6-in. layer of asphalt on top of existing pavement.

The relocated section required "major excavation and subsurface drainage installation," he added.

About 24,000 tons of asphalt were needed for the refurbished, realigned taxiway, all produced by H&S's asphalt plant adjacent to the airport.

"We placed about 12 in. of soil cement for the realigned section, then followed with 13 in. of asphalt," Elliott said. "The FAA mix has smaller aggregate and more liquid asphalt, which gives it higher strength than roadway pavement."

Now complete, the realigned taxiway will reduce taxiway time for commercial airlines traveling to and from the terminal.

At the cargo apron site, an H&S crew removed existing asphalt pavement and came back with 6 in. of cement-treated base and 12 in. of 800-psi flexural strength concrete. About 30,000 sq. yds. of concrete were necessary for the beefed-up apron.

Achieving the strong mix design has been difficult, Elliott said.

"We had to have the aggregates just right," he added. "There's also a lot of cement in the mix, and when you have something with high cement content it creates heat. That means work time is a lot shorter because it cures faster."

The airport hopes the high flexural strength will support heavier jet traffic.

"It should allow carriers to bring in heavier cargo aircraft, as well as load and offload cargo that would have previously been impossible," Elliott said.

Other work required the replacement of existing concrete drainage pipe to improve drainage.

Baton Rouge Metro Airport runway reconstruction. Head Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, recently completed the $5.8 million reconstruction of one of Baton Rouge Metro Airport's two main runways.

Runway 4L/22R was completely demolished down to the base, then reconstructed with 15 in. of new concrete pavement. The project was completed in early October.

Joe Levraea, program manager with project engineer URS Corp. of Baton Rouge, said James Construction Group reconstructed half of the 8,000-ft.-long runway earlier in the year.

"Head Inc. had the northern half, which will be followed by the installation of new runway lights (by E. P. Breaux Electrical of New Iberia) before being re-opened in January," Levraea said.

The old runway "had realized its useful life of about 20 years," he added. "It was starting to become a maintenance issue. The new pavement will essentially use the same design."

The first step for the Head crew was to demolish the existing pavement with a guillotine breaker, then haul the demolished concrete offsite.

"They removed the base only where there was a failure," Levraea said. "Otherwise, they just patched it."

A new cement-treated base was followed with about 66,600 sq. yds. of 650-psi flexural strength concrete.

Another 8,000 sq. yds. of concrete was placed in a 12- to 14-in. layer for turnarounds connecting to the runway. None of the concrete is reinforced.

"The runway, which measures about 150 ft. wide, will have a 20-year life expectancy just like its predecessor," Levraea said.

Other work. Head Inc. has another Louisiana project at the Naval Air Station in New Orleans, where it is building a 2,000-ft.-long concrete and asphalt extension to a primary runway.

The $13.1 million project also requires a concrete and asphalt extension to an adjacent taxiway, new runway/taxiway lighting, drainage installation and soil stabilization.

The project will be completed by the end of the year.

Useful Source:

For more information about the new Alexandria International Airport, go to: http://www.englandairpark.org/