Whitetopping of Runway 15R-33L and New Taxiway: Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas

The existing Runway 15R-33L at the Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston (BLAH), Texas is 1,840-m. (6,038-ft.) long and 30.5-m. (100-ft.) wide and is constructed of 38-cm. (15-in.) full depth asphalt on 15-cm. (6-in.) of lime stabilized subgrade. It was designed for a DC-9 aircraft with a weight of 54,886-kgs. (121,000-lbs.). The proposed runway upgrade will include a lengthening to 3,048-m. (10,000-ft.) and widening to 45.7-m. (150-ft.), to accommodate Boeing 747 and similar aircraft with weights upwards of 396,900-kgs. (875,000-lbs.). The proposed improvements will be in the form of a whitetopping with a 48-cm. (19-in.) concrete overlay after milling 20-cm. (8-in.) of asphalt in the keel section to cater to existing adjacent taxiway and proposed taxiway elevations. A new parallel taxiway will be constructed with a 36-cm. (14-in.) concrete pavement on a 1.9-cm. (3/4-in.) Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer (SAMI), 46-cm. (18-in.) lime/cement/fly ash crushed concrete stabilized base (LCF), and 20-cm. (8-in.) lime, lime/fly ash stabilized subgrade. This $100 million project will include the largest whitetopping project on a runway among the airports in the U.S.A. This will also be the first time in the world that an LCF base is used under a portland cement concrete (PCC) surface.