Runway 8L/26R - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, GA

As part of its on-call services, the Aviation Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) Joint Venture was tasked to design the reconstruction of Runway 8L/26R and two of its high-speed taxiways. Pond and other members of the JV team, along with Atlanta Department of Aviation staff, conducted an initial pavement evaluation to ascertain the exact condition of the 9,000 foot-long runway. Results of the pavement evaluation revealed that the outer panels of the runway were still in good shape, and only the keel or center portion of the runway needed to be replaced. This approach significantly reduced construction costs and compressed the schedule for construction.

While planning the repaving project, the airport decided to use this opportunity to take advantage of new developments in airfield lighting technology by converting a significant portion of the northern airfield from the common incandescent lamps to new LED lamps. Electrical engineers coordinated closely with the rest of the team.

The design team set forth an aggressive 29-day schedule in order to minimize downtime at the busy airport. To meet that schedule, AIS engineers were onsite a minimum of 20 hours per day throughout the construction process so they could handle issues immediately as they arose. Thanks to thoughtful planning and coordinated execution with the other engineers, contractors and construction teams, the project was finished early, within budget and without injuries.

This project was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2015 ACEC Georgia Engineering Excellence Awards.