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11/6/2008

CH2M HILL/IHC Joint Venture Completes Mission-Critical Runway Construction 3 Months Ahead of Schedule

Edwards Air Force Base has a reconstructed 15,000-foot-long runway to support military aircraft testing—and potential Space Shuttle landings

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News Summary

  • A joint-venture team of CH2M HILL and Interstate Highway Construction completed design and construction of the 300-foot-wide, 15,000-foot-long main runway at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Calif., three months ahead of schedule.
  • New runway is capable of handling 800,000 pound aircraft with aircraft tire pressures of more than 400 psi.
  • Temporary runway includes four inches of asphalt on top of a 10-inch crushed aggregated base on a silty sand compacted subgrade soil.
  • The team mixed 36 trial mixes of concrete to find the formula capable of meeting the specified performance and constructability requirements for slipform paving. This high-quality, consistent mix allowed the team to reduce paving thicknesses by one half of an inch to one inch resulting in a reduction of approximately 12,700 cubic yards of concrete for the entire project; enough to fill nearly four Olympic-size swimming pools.
  • Home to the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), the runway is used to flight test all military and combat aircraft and serves as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle.
  • The mission-ready capabilities of the base could not be compromised even during the demolition and reconstruction of the main runway.
  • U.S. Air Force selected a design-build delivery method to shorten the project schedule while allowing the design to accommodate challenges that arose during construction.
  • Continued flight operations were ensured by constructing a fully-mission capable, 12,000-foot by 200-foot temporary runway, taxiways and parking pads. When the runway was certified in May 2008, reconstruction began on the main runway.
  • Key project accomplishments include:
    • Trained more than 1,500 workers through the project's safety program; resulting in the team logging more than 400,000 hours without a lost-time accident
    • Built two runways in less then two years
    • Moved 44,000 truck loads of rock, sand and asphalt and more than 800,000 cubic yards of earthwork
    • Placed 28 miles of concrete; 33 feet wide and 16 to 20 inches thick
    • Demolished 445,000 square yards of concrete in 9 weeks
  • The runway celebrated its opening during an Oct. 31 ribbon cutting ceremony.
  • NASA operations will commence on Dec. 12.

Quotes

Attributed to James Judkins, 95th Civil Engineering and Transportation Directorate base engineer:

  • "With the main runway back, it restores full mission capability, allowing us to conduct flight operations that weren't possible without the 15,000-foot runway. I'm extremely happy that we got the runway done as quickly as we did, but I'm not really surprised. I know the project team, and I expected nothing less from them."

Attributed to Maj. Gen. David Eichhorn, Air Force Flight Test Center commander:

  • "When Edwards' first paved runway was poured more than 50 years ago, people could not have imaged the rich history and flight test heritage that would follow. Today, it's inspiring to know, we can only imagine what this runway will see from hypersonic vehicles and beyond."

Attributed to John Stephens, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program manager:

  • "The JV team of CH2MHILL and IHC put together an incredible effort to get this project completed ahead of schedule with virtually no impact to the AFFTC Flight Test Mission."

Attributed to Mike Kennedy, CH2M HILL Transportation Business Group president:

  • "CH2M HILL is honored to be involved in this first-of-a-kind design-build airfield project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Air Force. We're confident that this new runway will serve this historic Air Force Base for many, many years to come and we're extremely proud of our contribution to our nation's great military heritage."

Attributed to Ken Schaeffer, IHC president:

  • "Our people at IHC feel privileged to have been involved in this successful Design-Build effort to restore the serviceability of the key runway at Edwards AFB. This was indeed a team effort. Throughout the project's design and construction phases our joint venture team worked closely and cooperatively with the military construction professionals, the base operations people, subcontractors, suppliers and community concerns to quickly and effectively address issues and to meet safety, environmental, quality, schedule and budget objectives."

Attributed to David Bird, CH2M HILL project manager:

  • "We in the Joint Venture are proud to be part of this effort to improve and construct a runway on this national asset of Edwards AFB. Many helped in making this a successful project from the partnering by the USACE and USAF to our suppliers and subcontractors who are were all part of this high performing team."

Please contact Tessa Anderson (tessa.anderson@ch2m.com) for additional quotes or to arrange an interview

Multimedia

Official ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 31

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The first flight on the main reconstructed runway at Edwards AFB

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Main runway during construction

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Boilerplate Statements

Headquartered near Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction, management and operations for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With $5.8 billion in revenue and more than 25,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2008). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of energy, water, transportation, environmental, nuclear and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer, including being named by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For and one of America's Most Admired Companies (2008). Visit www.ch2mhill.com.

IHC's corporate office is in Centennial Colorado. For over sixty years, IHC has focused on quality and customer satisfaction, and with operating divisions in Colorado, Michigan and Texas has delivered many award winning highway and airfield projects throughout the United States. IHC is consistently ranked in the top 400 ENR contractors. Visit www.IHCQuality.com.