Why DFW Airport, for the second time in two years, is closing one of its runways
Good thing DFW Airport has seven runways.
The airport jointly owned by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth soon will be closing one of its runways for major repairs — and it’s the second such project in about the past two years.
Runway 18R-36L, which runs north-south on the western side of the vast airfield, was built in 1984 and is overdue for a makeover, officials said.
The airport’s board of directors on Thursday is expected to approve a $130 million reconstruction of the runway, including the hiring of Austin Bridge and Road LP of Irving to oversee the project as the main contractor. Austin Bridge and Road also oversaw the rehabilitation of a previous DFW runway project, officials said.
The runway will probably close at least partially beginning in mid-August, and re-open in May 2021, Rusty Hodapp, DFW vice president of design, code and construction, told board members Tuesday during a committee meeting.
“The runway has experienced a number of pavement surface and sub-surface distresses, and is in need of a comprehensive rehabilitation,” Hodapp said.
The work will include pavement reconstruction, asphalt overlay, reconstruction of shoulders and blast pads, drainage improvements and a new electrical infrastructure and lighting system. Some taxiways adjacent to the runway — including taxiways D2, WR, WQ and E — also will be extended as part of the project.
Airport officials say that during periods when runway 18R-36L is closed, they will be able to use the other six runways to handle arriving and departing traffic with minimal disruptions for travelers.
The project will be very similar to the rehabilitation of runway 17C-35C, another $130 million project that was completed less than a year ago.
Hodapp said DFW learned from its mistakes in the 17C-35C project and apply that new knowledge to the runway 18R-36L project.
For example, during the first runway rehab project, DFW officials found it difficult and unnecessarily time-consuming for contractors to get their workers and equipment through security and onto the airfield. For the upcoming runway project, Hodapp says that fences around the airfield may be moved in, so that a majority of the runway work can take place on the unsecured side of the airport, making it easier for people and goods to move back and forth without passing through a checkpoint.
DFW Airport board member Vernon Evans of Fort Worth noted that Austin Bridge and Road was the lone bidder for the project, and asked airport staff for an explanation.
Hodapp said his department had made some inquiries of other contractors about why they weren’t interested in the runway project, and generally the most common response they got was that those firms are too busy with other big-scale projects elsewhere in North Texas — including work for the Texas Department of Transportation, area cities and the North Texas Tollway Authority.
