The Challenge

The Draper Approach

Results Realized

The Challenge

Prior to the start of the new millennium, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (HJIA) came to the realization that in order to successfully accommodate the projected 121 million passengers arriving and departing from its facility by 2015, the time to expand had arrived. In 1999, airport planners and managers completed a 10-year capital improvement master plan called the Hartsfield Development Program. The plan established the airport's blue print for growth and was specifically designed to reduce delays, accommodate forecast demand, increase customer service and address the challenges of the "new aviation environment." With an estimated cost of $5.4 billion, the Hartsfield Development Program is the largest public works project in the history of Georgia and currently the largest in the U.S.

Against a backdrop of economic expansion and population increases, Atlanta 's HJIA determined that the Hartsfield Development Program should comprise five major elements, including:

These additions and renovations are expected to increase HJIA's business revenue by more than $32 billion annually by 2015, create more than 400,000 jobs and undertake numerous logistical projects, some of which Draper & Associates' has had a key role in.

The Draper Approach

In 2000, the Hartsfield Development Program selected a joint venture team, operating under the name of Hartsfield Construction Management (now Hartsfield-Jackson Construction Management), for a 5-year contract to guide the construction of the Fifth Runway project. Having previously held a key role in the major construction projects at HJIA, in preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games, Draper & Associates was asked to assist in creating the Hartsfield-Jackson Construction Management Team (HJCM). The joint venture included DMJM Aviation, Bovis Lend Lease, Louis Berger, the Thacker Operating Company and Luster Construction Management, as well as several sub-consultants including Draper. The Team's scope of construction management services include resident engineering, cost and schedule monitoring, inspection, safety observation, contract management, and change order control.

The most important element of the Hartsfield Development Program is the Fifth Runway Project. When completed, the estimated $1.25 billion runway will be 9,000 feet long, 130 feet wide and located 4,200 feet south of HJIA's southernmost runway. The new runway will have a full length parallel taxiway and dual north/south taxiways to connect to the existing airfield.

Requiring more than just laying a long strip of pavement to reduce flight delays, many logistical tasks laid ahead for the HJCM Team as they began preparing for the mammoth task of building the runway. The first steps of the project included plans for clearing the land acquired by HJIA for the runway. The HJCM Team began conveyance of more than 27 million cubic yards of dirt, as well as developing plans for removing existing pavement and fencing, demolishing foundations, constructing underground utilities and storm drainage collection systems, relocating infrastructure and building an 1,100 foot runway structure tunnel spanning up to 18-lanes of Interstate 285 traffic.

The HJCM Team began by assigning key projects under three resident engineers. One Resident Engineer team to oversee the conveyance of $360 million worth of construction dirt, the second Resident Engineer team to oversee the development of the I-285 bridge, creating the only tunnel on the Georgia Highway system, and the third Resident Engineer team to oversee the construction of underground facilities and relocation of key roadways running through the footprint of the runway, as well as renovation projects at the Central Passenger Terminal Complex and existing Taxiway and Runway upgrades.

Setting the foundation for the Hartsfield Development Program's 10-year capital improvement plan and marking the beginning of construction for the HJCM Team was the Fifth Runway: Trunk Drainage and Sewer Project. Beginning in April 2001, the $27 million project included the relocation of an existing College Park sanitary sewer line, Georgia Power transmission lines and putting existing Sullivan Creek into two square shaped pipes. When Draper & Associates' Senior Consultant Kelly Smith, P.E. began working at HJCM in October 2001, she was a member of the Resident Engineer team overseeing this project and assisted in the management of the placement of two 12 x 10 foot concrete pipes, 1900 feet long under the fifth runway and taxiway footprints. Completed in May 2003, this project required the use of both 3-foot caissons and an H-pile foundations system to support the square shaped pipes and the 80 feet of dirt that would eventually be placed on top of it to accommodate the development of the runway.

In conjunction with the Trunk Drainage and Sewer project in spring 2002, the same Resident Engineer's team began overseeing key repair and upgrade projects within designated areas of the airport's Central Passenger Terminal Complex. Due to the rising number of travelers passing through HJIA, major cosmetic repairs and enhancements were designed to accommodate the airport's future needs. Expected to be completed by 2010, more than $800 million in major projects upgrades will be completed to curbside services, security checkpoints, ticket counters, interior finishes, baggage, concessions, the baggage claim area, restroom facilities, vertical transportation, moving sidewalks and expansion of existing concourses. Further modification plans include Taxiway enhancements as well as the expansion of air cargo and aircraft maintenance facilities.

In April of 2002, the same Resident Engineer's team received a notice to proceed with the $12 million relocation of Riverdale Road . This road ran directly through the footprint of the Fifth Runway. To accommodate the development of the runway, the road was realigned around the western end of the new runway.

Coinciding with the construction of Riverdale Road , as Resident Engineer, Kelly's team began work on the first phase of the relocation of Sullivan Road in the spring of 2003. Sullivan Road also crossed the footprint of the runway and its taxiway system and had to be rerouted from a point south of I-285 so it could run parallel to the runway and intersect with Riverdale Road . Two lanes of the $11.5 million Sullivan Road relocation project opened ahead of schedule in November 2003, allowing motorists accessibility to main roads surrounding HJIA. The relocated portion of Sullivan Road was completed in 2004 and stretches 1.25 miles long and was expanded to a four lane urban section divided roadway. The new roadway includes new safety features such as streetlights and a sidewalk along the road's southern edge.

Additional roadway enhancements included a new entrance to a residential housing sub-division and the widening of Riverdale Road to provide duel left turns at the intersection of Sullivan Road and Phoenix Road .

Work on the bridge/tunnel of I-285 was completed for the first traffic shift in February 2004. The westbound lanes of I-285 were shifted onto the newly constructed temporary roadway to make room to build the rest of the bridge/tunnel. Upon completion of the Sullivan and Riverdale Road relocation projects, Kelly's team moved onto the upgrades of existing airport roadways.

Results Realized

Draper's role at HJIA is but the latest chapter in Draper & Associates' support of this facility. In 1973, Gary Draper developed and managed the schedule for the construction of the HJIA Mid-Field Terminal in its current location. In 1995, Managing Principal John Orrison was the Principal-in-Charge of the total renovation of all terminals and concourses leading up to the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Currently, Senior Consultant Paul Schendl is providing scheduling and contract support for the modernization of the Airport Parking Fee Collection System.

It has been said many times that HJIA is, indisputably, the catalyst that sparks the entire economy of the Southeast. The growth and success of Atlanta have been linked with a successful transportation center. International air transportation and commerce are of paramount importance to the economic development of cities and regions. Atlanta is one of the few major cities in the U.S. not connected to a major waterway. Instead, Atlanta 's success in recent years is owed to its airport. Because of HJIA's dedication to providing "world-class" customer service, and building superior facilities, its vision for Atlanta will continue to be a vital link in national and international air transportation systems. We at Draper & Associates are proud of our role in bringing that vision to life.