ForConstructionPros.com

Having worked on projects at Boston-Logan International Airport for more than 30 years, Aggregate Industries Northeast Region is very familiar with the demands associated with airport work. As one of the most heavily used airports in the United States, Logan's runways are subject to significant wear and tear from temperature extremes and continual take-offs and landings.

As a result, time and quality are critical issues for any runway work at the airport: time, because the airport can't afford to be without one of it's five major runways for any significant period of time; quality, because of the pressures placed on the airport's five major runways by approximately 400,000 take-offs and landings per year.

But even for Logan's always-challenging requirements, Runway 4L 22R was especially demanding. The $11 million project, under General Contractor McCourt Construction, called for resurfacing the 8,000-foot-long, 250-foot-wide runway and nine intersecting taxiways. Aggregate Industries was responsible for milling 8 to 10 inches of the existing runway and replacing it with 85,000 tons of asphalt — in less than a month.

"The project was unique in that it called for a 28-day closure of the runway, which was unprecedented and required a very aggressive schedule," says Bob Andersson, vice president and general manager — asphalt, for Aggregate Industries Northeast Region. "It was also a high-profile job that was being watched by all of the airports up and down the East Coast."

While time was critical, so was quality. All grades had to be within 1/4 inch of elevation, and compaction levels had to be consistent and within a range of 93 to 97 percent.