Providing a Durable Airfield Concrete Specification at Kansas City International

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) airfield pavements were constructed during the 1990’s through the early 2000’s and consist primarily of portland cement concrete (PCC). The existing PCC pavements were originally constructed using locally available aggregate materials. Freeze-thaw durability distresses (D-cracking) forming within the surface of the existing PCC pavements have required repair and rehabilitation to prevent continuous generation of foreign object debris (FOD) on a daily basis. Stop-gap maintenance projects from 2008 to 2011 were not enough to extend the functional life of the pavements. In 2011, Runway 1L-19R was milled and overlaid using hot mix asphalt prior to meeting its 20 year design life and in 2012 Taxiway A was identified for the same rehabilitation requirement and completed in 2014. In 2014, the airport identified another major rehabilitation for Runway 1R-19L. A petrographic study to determine the underlying cause(s) of the deterioration in the PCC surface identified material related issues that would need to be addressed within the concrete pavement specification to alleviate the problem. During 2014 timeframe, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5370-10G (Draft) “Standards for Specifying Construction of Airports” with changes contained in the “P-501 Portland Cement Concrete Pavement” specification. Through coordination with the FAA, Kansas City Aviation Department (KCAD), Kansas City Metro Materials Board (KCMMB) and the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA), proposed updates and additions to the draft P-501 specification were vetted and accepted for use. This paper will discuss the various changes that were to establish a viable modified airfield PCC specification to produce a durable long lasting concrete mixture and how those changes were determined.