Reconstruction of Runway 10–28 and Taxiway "H" at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, Carolina, Puerto Rico: Fid-Bau Portal

Reconstruction of Runway 10–28 and Taxiway "H" at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, Carolina, Puerto Rico

Arboleda-Osorio, Carlos J.

Runway 10–28, which runs parallel to Taxiway H, and connector taxiways at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMMIA) were originally constructed in 1971. The rehabilitation of Runway 10–28 and associated taxiway system involved upgrading the capacity of the pavement system to handle the growing traffic volume at LMMIA. The existing runway and taxiway pavements were significantly past the original 20-year design life and were showing extensive signs of overstress due to growing traffic volume and to an increasing number of wide-body aircrafts operating at the airport. Following the pavement design analysis, the Owner accepted the total reconstruction alternative instead of partial rehabilitation (slab by slab) of the pavement. The total reconstruction of the pavement system included the rubblization of Runway 10–28 and parts of Taxiway H, a leveling course and a new 16-inch (406 mm) Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) overlay. All the connector taxiways and the middle portion of Taxiway H included full depth repair with a combination of permeable drainage layer placed over a 4-inch (101 mm) P-401 asphalt base course and an underdrain system installed on the outer edges. Transition from the new taxiway elevations to the surrounding apron areas took place through full-depth reconstruction in those segments. This alternative removed the causes of the distresses, provided a stable construction platform (rubblized PCC), and provided a full 20-year life to the project pavements.