Located close to New York City, Newark Liberty International Airport ranks as one of the busiest airports in the world.
Newark’s Terminal A, which opened in 1973, was originally built to handle 9 million passengers per year. However, as passenger numbers grew, the airport strained to meet the demand, putting it among the most reputable in the US for flight delays.
Newark turned to CRH company Tilcon New York (NY) to support the initial stages of its $2.7 billion renovation of Terminal A to upgrade the airport’s capacity.
Renovating Terminal A Without Disrupting Daily Operations
A key challenge of this project was that Terminal A would have to remain fully operational during the four months of renovations to avoid impacting air traffic or passenger experiences at this critical transportation hub. In addition to its ability to offer paving and related utility infrastructure solutions, Tilcon NY was selected for its track record of completing complex projects on time with minimal impact.
Tilcon NY began by removing existing terminal and taxiway infrastructure, including paving as well as lighting, and drainage systems. It then put in place new asphalt and concrete paving as part of an efficient new layout capable of handling higher aircraft and passenger traffic. Tilcon NY also installed new and upgraded infrastructure to accommodate Terminal A’s critical utilities including electrical and drainage systems. The Tilcon NY team leveraged its engineering expertise, project management and execution capability to allow the airport to stay running without interruption.
As one of the largest recyclers of any material in North America, CRH has unique capabilities that are accelerating the transition to a built environment that is both higher performing and more sustainable. During the airport terminal’s renovation, Tilcon NY recycled thousands of tons of concrete from the airport’s existing surfaces by crushing the material on-site and then installing it on the project. This eliminated the need for 1,800 outbound and inbound truckloads of material, thereby reducing construction costs, minimising traffic disruption for airport users and lowering carbon emissions.