Ranger Construction recently completed an $8.6 million runway resurfacing and expansion project at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Ranger milled and repaved Runway 9L-27R, the airport’s main east-west corridor, as well as added 2,000 feet to its overall length – 1,200 feet on the west end and 800 on the east.
The extension brings the runway’s length to 10,000 feet, accommodating the longer takeoff requirements of heavier airplanes.
Ranger also constructed three taxiways, one on the west end and two on the east.
The project involved a total of 106,000 tons of limerock base and 64,000 tons of P-401 asphalt, the coarser, stiffer mix used for airport paving per FAA specifications.
For the extensions, Ranger crews graded and compacted the limerock base in three layers totaling 16”, while the asphalt specs called for three lifts compacted to a depth of 5.5 inches.
Extreme consistency was a very important factor on this job, noted Project Manager Bob Schafer. Payments were based on “PWL”s (percent within limits), meaning that revenues were tied directly to consistent density results for both the base and asphalt.
Extremely high consistency wasn’t the only challenge on the job. While the new taxiways could be paved during the day, the runway and extensions had to be done at night to keep runway downtime to a minimum.
With a nightly goal of 800 tons, crews efficiently milled, paved, compacted, striped, cleaned and removed all equipment by 6 am in accordance with the contract terms.
Jerry Clark served as Project Superintendent, Steve Edwards was Paving Superintendent, and Steve Brown was Project Foreman.
Ranger Construction has worked at PBIA on several occasions over the years, producing superior quality results on each project.
