Project Planning
Planning for an offpeak construction project can involve additional details beyond a typical airport paving project. Projects need to be carefully selected for offpeak work and special consideration needs to be given to cost, staging and work hours.
Projects Suitable for Offpeak Construction
Advisory Circular 150/5370-13 states that offpeak construction is recommended “…at airports where closure of a pavement would create significant adverse impacts”. While the term “significant adverse impacts” is open to broad interpretation, use of offpeak (nighttime) construction should meet the following two criteria:
- An analysis of user costs associated with pavement closure show that there is a savings with offpeak construction. Any time an airport pavement is closed for construction there is a cost associated with it not being available for use by airport tenants. In the case of runways, this can be a straightforward measurement: number of take offs and landings cancelled or number of flights cancelled or rerouted. In the case of taxiways and aprons the user costs can be more elusive. Additionally, if the work required is extensive it could be that an alternative such as nighttime construction is not warranted because it ties up a contractor’s resources for too long or it cannot be completed in one paving season (where paving seasons exist).
- Offpeak construction will not significantly affect the quality of the final product. The product of any one night should not be affected, however, there will generally be more joints (especially transverse joints). The tradeoff between quality (e.g., more joints) and user cost savings is somewhat subjective.
The two case studies listed to the right may better illustrate factors to consider when determining suitability for offpeak construction.
