Sully-Miller Contracting Co. rehabilitates Ramps A & B and Taxiway at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
Bob Hope Airport has been known by many names over the years including: Angeles Mesa Drive Airport (1928-1930), United Airport (1930-1934), Union Air Terminal (1934-1940), Lockheed Air Terminal (1940-1967), Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967-1978), Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978-2003) and the Bob Hope Airport (2003-Present). Bob Hope kept his own personal plane at the airfield and was also a longtime resident of the area. Interestingly, the new name was unveiled on December 17, 2003, which just happens to be on the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight and also the year that Bob Hope was born. After officially opening on Memorial Day Weekend in 1930, United Airport quickly became the primary airport for the greater Los Angeles area. Lockheed then purchased it in 1940 to build fighters and bombers in support of the imminent war effort. The airport, however continued to serve the general public and passengers would fly out for business or to see their family and friends amongst B-17's, and P-38 fighters that were rolling off the Lockheed assembly line. After the war, the major carriers moved to what today is known as LAX, but the airline industry soon returned to Burbank in 1960, as jet airliners were now capable of taking off and landing on the short airstrips. Back in the beginning, the planes that landed in Burbank, had tailskids instead of a wheel, few had brakes and consequently runways were not usually paved. The first landing strips were made of a 5" mixture of oil and sand and originally there were no taxi strips. Today the Bob Hope Airport has two asphalt-paved runways that sit on approximately 610 acres of land. In 2010, around 4.5 million passengers and 96.2 million pounds of cargo took off from Bob Hope Airport. This type of traffic obviously puts constant strain on the pavement surface and regular maintenance is necessary to keep the airport up and running safely and efficiently.
Sully-Miller Contracting Co. was recently called on to rehabilitate Ramps A and B at the Bob Hope Airport. The $6.6 million project began in January of 2011 and was completed on May 16, 2011. The asphalt and concrete were first removed from both ramp areas, which is the portion where commercial planes land and passengers board and disembark. In all, 9 inches of asphalt and 19" of concrete were removed from both ramp A and B, which covers an approximate 247,500 sq. ft. area. Sully-Miller also removed and replaced the entire 225,000 sq. ft. taxiway, made up of 8" thick asphalt. Blue Diamond Materials in Irwindale provided the 27,000 tons of P401 FAA asphalt mix, which is built for heavier traffic with 1 1/4" minus aggregate. In addition, 2,400 yards of concrete was placed and screeded mostly by hand.
Travis Clausen was the Project Manager for Sully-Miller Contracting on this project and comments, "The construction of Ramp A and B was organized into seven phases. Each phase had to be completed within a 2-week period. This broke down to 2 or 3 days of removal, 2 to 3 days for the installation of an electrical power station, 3-days for concrete and 3 or 4 days to install the asphalt. We worked around the clock with both a day and night crew, and were required to have the live taxiways open by 6:00 am. This meant that we had to cease construction activity at 5:00 am. During the day we continued to work in the ramp areas, with active planes being parked and utilized on both sides of our work area. The job had a few other challenges, including having to work around unknown underground utilities. The job sits on the old Northrop aircraft facility and old utilities had to be removed or worked around. This included railroad and hanger rails that were
located throughout the site, including under the new terminal building. With the help of our Foreman, Steve Gomez and our Project Engineer, Trent LeClaire, we were able to complete the job on time and on budget."
Professionalism has been Sully-Miller's primary aim since George W. Sully and Earl B. Miller started the company back in 1923. Today, as part of the Colas Group, Sully-Miller has gained the technical and financial strength needed to build infrastructure ranging from road construction and heavy highway to airports and commercial private work. Travis Clausen concludes, "As it says on our website, "We strive everyday to continue to build the confidence of our customers, with the following 10 core values embedded in our work: Safety, Quality, Respect, Trust, Integrity, Enjoyment, Innovation, Teamwork, Social Responsibility, and Continuous
Learning."
For more information on Sully-Miller Contracting Co.,
visit www.sully-miller.com, call 714-578-9600 or
visit their corporate office at 135 S. State College
Blvd, Ste 400, Brea CA 92821
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