Gary Chicago International Airport Runway Rehabilitation

The Work

Phases 1-2: Superior worked closely with the Airport, FAA, the design engineer, and all subcontractors and vendors to eliminate disruptions to ongoing airport operations as we rebuilt the east side of the main runway in phases one and two.

Due to the extremely aggressive schedule, Superior partnered with concrete supplier Ozinga to utilize a portable batch plant. Leveraging this batch plant allowed for 30,000 CY of concrete placement in just 12 pouring days, decreasing the project schedule by two days and decreasing waste and overall project footprint.

Superior used stringless paving methods by leveraging Leica TS16 robotic total stations and a Leica Machine Control SP84 Paver. This made continuous paving and transmission of real-time information possible for both our team and our milling subcontractor. Utilizing this state-of-the-art technology ensured concrete thickness control and finish grades, while eliminating milling inconsistencies.

Phase 3: Again using a portable concrete batch through our partners at Ozinga, we completed the runway’s transition from asphalt to concrete through more than 100 million pounds of construction materials. Work included runway repaving, raising the runway grade 13 inches, raising edge lighting, and raising centerline lights — accomplished despite inclement weather 14 out of the 19 days allotted. These improvements reduced pooling water, ultimately increasing the lifespan and decreasing maintenance needs and downtimes for repairs. They also provide aviators with better access points to and from the runways.