Tilcon Connecticut Provides 24/7 Coverage on Airport Runway Projects
Resurfacing a runway would not be too different from paving a highway if semi-tractor trailers weighed 100 tons, as some airplanes loaded with passengers do.
"When they opened the runway at midnight and tested the lighting system, it looked like its own little city down on that runway," Birge says. "They had us add many more duct banks to incorporate future lighting systems.
"The duct banks are eight, four-inch diameter pipes crossing the runway in four different areas with a concrete structure on each end," Birge explains. "We trenched across in seven different locations. It was open cut, backfilled with concrete and the pavement repaired for the full depth of the 16 inches."
Subcontractors were used for the milling of the runway, safety markings, electrical work, traffic control for escorts, and trucking. "We could have had eight to 10 different subcontractors every day," Birge estimates. "For the most part, we self-performed all the rest of the work."
The price of oil affected the cost of the bituminous paving material used on the runways. "It fluctuated quite a bit but leveled off," he says about oil prices.
Late Night With Tilcon
Tilcon's crews are used to working nights during highway jobs, but the company tries to rotate crews through shifts. "For the most part, if a guy goes on nights, he likes to stay there for a month or two," Birge says, noting, "There are a few guys who do enjoy working nights." he estimates 95 percent of the company's work is state and municipal highways.
Tilcon Connecticut was founded by Angelo Tomasso Sr. in 1923 as Angelo Tomasso Inc. with one piece of equipment, a steam shovel. The company also supplies crushed stone, hot mix asphalt and ready mix concrete throughout Connecticut.
Tilcon Connecticut won the airport repaving jobs from the Connecticut Department of Transportation by offering the lowest responsible bid. "As soon as we closed the first runway and they opened it back up, we were lucky to be the low bidder on the second runway, and we just rolled over to the second one," Birge declares, adding the company's philosophy: "Work safe and work smart."
