Runways 1-19 & 15-33 Pavement and Lighting Replacement at Washington National Airport

Abstract: This presentation will describe the design development and construction execution of a two-year project to reconstruct and improve the pavement structure and in-pavement lighting system of Runway 1-19 and Runway 15-33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - two of the busiest runways in the world – all during overnight closures. The existing asphalt pavement had last been milled and overlaid in 2010 and was showing signs of distress. A thorough pavement investigation revealed the asphalt at depths of 3” to 7” below the surface (which hadn’t been replaced for ~40 years) was cracked, stripped and disintegrated in many locations. Therefore, the pavement rehabilitation approach required complete removal and replacement of asphalt to 8” depth, followed by a later 2” surface course to provide a total of 10” new asphalt pavement on the deeper, stable asphalt base layers of the runways. The next challenge for the design team was to determine a process for removal and replacement during short overnight closure windows. In addition, a process was needed for complete replacement of the runway centerline light system (conduits and base cans) during the same overnight closures, but integrated with the paving process. Designers will explain the considerations and processes used to develop the paving approach and will provide details on the implementation of the construction plan, spanning from mobilization in January 2023 to project completion in November 2024. Lastly, the presentation will cover several lessons learned during the successful pavement and lighting rehabilitation project.