Sully-Miller Provides Paving Expertise For New, Expanded Mercury
Air Terminal at LAX By Tammy Boone
(Above) Sully-Miller paving new terminal parking lot. For a number of years now Sully-Miller Contracting Company has been involved with a variety of construction projects at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). One that is nearing completion is paving work for the new Mercury Air
Terminal, an expanded, higher tech version of the terminal being
constructed next to the old terminal, which has been bulldozed. The private terminal is typically used by corporate executives,
government officials, foreign heads of state, and movie stars, such as
John Travolta, who either fly their own planes or just want to board
their private jet out of view of the crowds at LAX. Sully-Miller has been working for general contractor The RMS Group on
this project since November 2006 and expects to be completed in March of
this year. Sully-Miller's scope on this project doesn't involve
any demolition or export. On the land side of the terminal, the
company's 11-man crew poured the concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks
for the parking area, and completed the asphalt paving and striping as
well. The parking lot has an area of 50,000 square feet, and
Sully-Miller poured 3,200 feet of curb, curb and gutter and sidewalk. The company also had a 4-5 man crew complete the fine grading for the
parking lot prior to paving.
On the air side of the terminal, the entire ramp area—or tarmac—has been reconfigured. Prior to Sully-Miller completing the asphalt paving, the old pavement was removed, new storm drains and utilities were installed, and the ramp was graded. Complicating the paving process somewhat was that different sections of the ramp had different sub-grade conditions, depending on the use for the are. For instance, Sully-Miller placed asphalt pavement over existing concrete in some areas, but in others they placed FAA approved P401 asphalt paving. Over the period of the project, there were some problems with the sub-grade in areas, and when the specifications changed calling for parts of the sub-grade to be cement-treated, Sully-Miller completed that portion of the job.
(Above) Roller compacting newly paved parking lot. According to Bill Grider, Senior Estimator/Project Manager, a more
recent challenge on the project has been the weather. In order for
Sully-Miller to complete the next section of paving, they need to wait
for the sub-grade to dry out. Bill says that since Christmas, the
area has experienced quite a bit of rain, with more in the weather
forecast. Once the next section is dry enough to pave over,
Sully-Miller crews will place 4 inches of P401 over a 9-inch CalTrans
mix base course. Another challenge on this project has been
coordinating the phasing with the airport security. The RMS Group
has installed k-rail perimeter fence that is tied down to create a
secure area for the terminal. The terminal has been active the
entire time during the construction process, so the perimeter is
constantly being moved to accommodate the construction process. Bill says that the phasing on this project has meant that Sully-Miller
hasn't had to work any nights.
 
(Above left)
Sully-Miller paving new parking lot at the Mercury Air Terminal. (Above right)
Perimeter fence relocation between phases one and two. In
phase one of the asphalt paving, Sully-Miller's crew of 12 placed 25,000
square feet of P401. In the second phase, which is nearing
completion, the crew is placing 75,000 square feet of P401.
Paving equipment on the project includes: a Terex Cedarapids 551
Paver; a 10-12 Ton Ingersoll-Rand Vibratory Roller; an Ingersoll-Rand DD
110 Vibratory Roller; a 10-12 Ton Caterpillar RTR, and a Massey-Ferguson
4-Wheel Drive Skip Loader.
One of the issues contributing to the length of this project is that
the owner replaced the design engineer early on in the project. Sully-Miller's contract on the project is about $3.5 million.
Pouring curb for new terminal
parking lot. Besides Bill, others leading the
work for Sully-Miller on this project are: Mike Love, General
Superintendent; Donald Barba, Paving Superintendent, John
Flores, Concrete Superintendent; Chuck Piper, Grade Forman, and
Jose Rios, Grade Foreman. Bill oversees projects for
private sector clients, one of which is The RMS Group. "We do a
fair amount of work with them and follow them around to where
that work is," Bill says. Those projects are typically in
Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties.
Bill Grider is currently overseeing jobs for private sector clients in
Malibu, LA based movie studios, and projects at Long Beach Airport. Much
of what he oversees is for companies with "B" Permits in the Los Angeles Basin.
(Above, Left to Right) Tim Owens, Greg Barba,
David Gutierrez, Alfredo Haro, Harold McDonald, Gilbert Alvarez, Joe
Fierro, Donald Barba, Juan Valadez.
(Above) New Mercury air terminal from the air side ramp.
Sully-Miller Contracting Company is part of the
world's leader in road construction, the Colas group, and has been
servicing Southern California since 1923 and is celebrating their 85th
anniversary this year. Sully-Miller has the capability to offer
its customers a complete range of materials and services suitable for
infrastructure construction and maintenance. For additional information
look online at www.sully-miller.com
or call (714) 578-9600
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Sunday, July 06, 2008
