Runway 34 Safety Area and Environmental Improvements

TF Green Airport is a major airport serving the greater Rhode Island area. The airport is undergoing several safety and efficiency projects to ensure airfield facilities are in compliance with current FAA standards. Among these improvements are the Runway 16-34 Runway Safety Areas. The project includes the assembly of an Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) Runway Safety Area, reconstruction of approximately 1,650-feet of runway, drainage improvements, installation of a new blast fence, security fencing, miscellaneous improvements to navigational aids (NAVAIDs), and reconfiguration of a taxi lane.  

As part of the improvements, a new stormwater detention system was needed to control the quantity of stormwater discharged into a swamp and a river at the foot of Runway 34. The system had to be large enough to provide 3.41 acre-ft of storage. The system also had to be designed to handle high axle loading from a series of large aircraft, including the Boeing 757.

Engineers at AECOM specified a CON/SPAN^® O-Series^® modular concrete detention system because it could provide the required storage volume while also being able to handle the very high loading requirements. This is due to the structurally efficient shape of the CON/SPAN O-Series.

Another consideration was the small amount of cover over the top of the system to dissipate that load. This led to large stresses in the CON/SPAN units. Contech thickened the units to compensate for these greater stresses.

Also used on the project was EXPRESS^® Foundations, a precast foundation system that blends the speed of precast with the economy of cast-in-place. The system was on a tight timeline, and up to five units were cast a day to meet the delivery schedule. A total of 432 units were installed over a period of two and a half months.