A project Mead & Hunt assisted with won the 2020 Outstanding Airport Construction Award—the Reconstruct & Extend Runway 7L/25R & Taxiway A Project at the Kenosha Regional Airport. The Prime Contractor was Michels Corporation. This award honors airport construction projects that go above and beyond to better the airports and communities they serve.
The large, $19 million project – originally anticipated to span two construction seasons – was instead completed in just one, under budget, and with exceptional quality. The Kenosha Regional Airport was experiencing rapid deterioration in the pavement conditions of its primary Runway 7L/25R and Taxiway A. Originally constructed in 1988, these nine-inch thick pavements had exceeded their design life and were no longer sufficient.
Given the large scale of the project, it needed to be broken into multiple work areas, bid alternates and phases. Not all the project’s funding was available heading into the start of the 2020 construction season. The COVID-19 pandemic also introduced elements of uncertainty during the project’s construction. Excellent communication throughout the process allowed all parties to stay informed and ready to advance the construction as possible.
To enhance sustainability, the project strived to make the existing concrete pavement available for reuse as subbase. This recycling of the existing pavement materials greatly reduced the cost, duration and impacts of the project’s construction. In addition, the use of new technologies and equipment allowed stringless trimming and paving, which significantly reduced human error and increased speed and accuracy.
The success of this project was a result of several factors, but none more important than the teamwork that was exhibited by all parties throughout. This needed project dramatically reduced the impact to the airport users while simultaneously bringing the project in ahead of schedule, under budget, and with high quality. Congratulations to everyone involved.
