Nashville begins to re-open runways

11/20/2008

By Candy McCampbell

Nashville International Airport will reopen one of its four runways in mid-December and just reopened another after $16.2 million in runway and taxiway safety construction work.

Hinkle Contracting Corp. of Paris, Ky., had the contract to remove and replace old concrete on more than half of the 11,030-ft runway 13-31 and parts of runway 8,000-ft 2R-20L as needed, says Christine Vitt, airport director of construction. About 29,000 cu yds of concrete was used.

The runways and taxiways also got asphalt shoulders – 35 ft wide for runways and 25 ft for taxiways, Vitt says.

Runway 13-31, the crosswind runway and the longest at Nashville International, was closed in March. Runway 2R-20L, the eastern-most of three parallel runways, closed in April and reopened Nov. 13.

Concrete removed for the job will be stockpiled for fill and asphalt milled up will be stockpiled for airport road maintenance use, says Bryan Barton, project engineer.

Meanwhile, ground traffic is getting some re-routing of its own as Nashville International reconfigures the access road to the terminal and short- and long-term parking lots.

Austin Commercial of Dallas won the $13 million contract. The project involves re-diverting some of the airport access roads to solve merging issues as traffic moves onto the property from entrances from Interstate 40 and Donelson Pike and must merge to get into proper lanes for passenger arrival, departure, short- or long-term parking, cell phone waiting and rental car return.

It is scheduled for completion in September 2009.

A related consolidated rental car agency complex has been delayed until the economy improves, airport officials said.

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