Rehabilitating a runway and upgrading electrical components

Portland International Jetport (PWM) Runway 11-29 Reconstruction

Aging infrastructure meant that the City of Portland in Maine needed to reconstruct the Portland International Jetport’s (PWM’s) primary Runway 11-29. Runway pavements and electrical components required refreshing to meet certain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, so the City engaged us to do the work.

We rehabilitated the runway pavement and upgraded select electrical components, including the high-intensity runway lights, touchdown zone lights, and wiring for the 150-foot (46-metre) wide by 7,200-foot-long (2,195-metre-long) runway. The project also included replacing the in-pavement taxiway centerline lights at the intersections of Taxiways A and C. With the primary Runway 11-29 closed for two months during the project, only the shorter, crosswind Runway 18-36 was available, creating the need for temporary airline fleet mix adjustments. And with increased noise over neighborhoods east of the airport under the flight paths for the crosswind runway, our team knew that completing the project as soon as possible was a key factor for success.

Speedy completion of the project kept noise intrusion to neighboring communities at a minimum—with efficient operations, diligent collaboration, and teamwork, the project was completed under budget and faster than initially planned.