Innovative Taxiway Design - ACConline.org

ACC MEMBERS
And the Winner Is…
INNOVATIVE continued from page 1
AECOM has been awarded an $85 million construction management contract for the
new Midfield Terminal Complex at Abu Dhabi International Airport. AECOM will
work with Hill International as the prime sub-consultant and take on responsibility
for many aspects of the construction of the 7.5-million-square-foot Midfield Terminal
Building as well as the required associated airside and landside infrastructure. The
terminal, which will be able to handle more than 30 million passengers and will have
sufficient piers to accommodate 65 aircraft including the Airbus A380, is scheduled to
open during 2017.
C&S COMPANIES received a platinum 2012 Engineering Excellence Award from the
ITHACA
TOMPKINS REGIONAL AIRPORT sustainable master plan that was featured as a case
study in the Fall 2009 issue of AirportConsulting. C&S was the consultant for the country’s
first FAA-funded master plan that integrates sustainability principles throughout
the planning process. Because this project still had to meet the requirements of the
FAA for master plans, the team had to create a new model for airport master planning
that maintained requirements, while also integrating sustainability elements. One new
aspect on the project was a baseline assessment of 11 sustainability categories. Data
was gathered and analyzed for each category, and areas of weakness and strength were
identified. The results were used to set goals and objectives to guide decisions about
how to meet upcoming facility needs. This project was responsible for the FAA’s initiation
of a sustainability planning pilot program at 10 airports nationwide.
HNTB CORP. was awarded $7 million to complete a series of safety improvements
to one of the south airfield’s runways and a pair of taxiways at Los Angeles
International Airport. The arrangement, approved by the Los Angeles Board of
Airport Commissioners, also calls for making improvements to the eastern cargo apron
of the Century Cargo Complex, according to an LAX report. The Federal Aviation
Administration called for the airfield improvements at LAX so that the airport can meet
a new set of safety standards set to go into effect in 2015.
LANDRUM & BROWN has been selected to partner with the Civil Aviation Management
Institute of China (CAMIC) to provide five years of Executive Management Training
for mid-level airport managers from China. The partnership was announced at a ceremony
officiated by Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) Deputy Administrator
Xia Xinghua and attended by Director General Qin Zhanggao of the CAAC Airport
The three week overseas training will follow a 10-week domestic training curriculum,
and will focus on various aspects of airport planning, air traffic operations and strategic
management issues, including sustainability, security, safety, and customer service
quality. The training will take place twice a year and will involve participation by various
member companies of the ACP, and tours of airport facilities and operations. As
members of the US-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), L&B will also include
other industry experts on key topics of safety, security and IT management to ensure
that the most current methods and technology are represented.
airport design literature. To compensate
for the overall elimination of judgmental
over-steering (which is basically a way to
reduce fillet pavement), the turning radii
for each design group have been decreased
significantly, i.e. the old ADG-VI fillet
radius of 170 feet has been reduced and
changed in designation to “TDG-7” with
only 130-feet of radius. And yes, that
smaller radius works just fine, even for
such critical long wheel-based aircraft as
the Airbus A340 and A380.
However, those seeing the drawings for
the first time may think the new TDG
fillet schematic designs look quite “funny.”
In reality, when testing the new radii with
simulation software, the new taxiway fillet
only does it work from an operational
point of view, but it also saves on the
amount of fillet pavement required by as
much as 5-15 percent, depending on which
TDG is being used. And, as we all know,
less pavement equals less cost.
COST SAVINGS THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY
As noted above, the FAA seems to
have taken a new and positive stance
on the further allowance of pavement
reduction and cost saving beyond its
new TDG concept. But there is another
important aspect to the AC: “The use of
Computer Aided Design (CAD) in lieu
of Table 4-3 through Table 4-8 to model
aircraft movements is acceptable and
may be necessary for intersections with
nonstandard angles.” (Tables 4-3 through
4-8 are all of the new TDG tables with
16 Consulting, Fall 2012