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Granite Construction Company is wrapping up a major project at the Palm Springs Airport. The company completed a major overhaul on the airport’s Taxiway C as well as 10 adjoining taxiways. Sara Howard was the project engineer on the project. “There were many different issues we had to deal with on the project that doesn’t come up on other jobs,” said Howard. “Security was a major issue we had to address because it is an airport.” All of Granite Construction personnel working on the project had to be fingerprinted and attend an airport security training session.
Work on the Palm Springs Airport project began in November of last year. By the time the project is completed this April, Granite Construction will have installed 28,000 tons of asphalt. 150,000 sq. yards of existing material was ground to make a 3” fill. The length of the taxiways varied generally from 50ft. – 150 ft, although work on one of the adjoining taxiways measured out to 650ft. The company completed 8,500 ft. of installation work on Taxiway C. One section of an adjoining taxiway had to be completely reconstructed due to the soil subsiding and water retention. 4,200 sq. yards of the taxiway were excavated and then re-compacted for the asphalt installation. Granite Construction also installed 3,500 tons of rock around the perimeter of the new asphalt.
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In addition to the asphalt work on the airport project, Granite Construction also installed 800 new LED blue lights and put in 6,000 ft. of new wiring. Work also called for the company to remove and replace a number of pilot location indicator signs on the taxiways. Strict security procedures on the project weren’t the only challenges Granite Construction faced with a project of this scope.
The airport did not have wide enough roadways, so Granite Construction had to construct their own haul roads. Guards
and plenty of flagmen were also called for on the project. “Working at the airport we had to be constantly aware of what areas were in operation because quite often our work was going on right next to an area that had planes coming in and taking off,” Howard explained. Also because the airport had to stay totally operational while work was being completed, Granite Construction had to take into consideration limited periods when work could be completed in certain areas. Any work that required the main runway to be closed was limited to a brief four hour period between 1AM and 5AM. “There was a tremendous amount of coordination required on this type of project,” said Howard. |
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| Sara Howard has only been with Granite Construction for ten months. Previously Howard worked as project engineer in Arizona for a firm that specialized in the construction of hospitals. “Working for Granite Construction is new and exciting. It is an educational process with each project. My previous work was in vertical construction and now I am working in horizontal construction.” In addition to the differences in construction the airport project also used a different type of oil than used in typical asphalt construction. Due to the high stress the taxiways undergo, a different type of oil is used in the process. “ Dealing with the challenges of supply and demand for this higher grade along with staging and security issues made this a challenging project,” said Howard. Sara didn’t shy away from the challenge. In fact it was one of the things she enjoys about working for Granite Construction. “The Palm Springs Airport project was a great learning experience.” Other key |
company personnel on the Palm Springs Airport project were Project Manager James Marsolino, Curtis Dunlap was the General Foreman and Dale McDaniel was Paving Foreman. Howard readily acknowledged that these individuals along with their crews were responsible for the project’s success. “We had a great team working on this job. Everyone gave 100% which ensured that the project was completed successfully and on time.”
Granite Construction Company was founded in 1922. The company has provided construction services throughout the United States for over eight decades through 12 Branch Offices and has many locations in 18 states overall. It is one of the country’s largest civil contractors and construction materials producers. Granite Construction serves both private and public sector clients. |
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The company is best known for transportation infrastructure projects that include roads, highways, bridges and tunnels. Granite Construction also owns and operates their own aggregate, asphalt concrete and ready-mixed concrete facilities, which readily enable them to better serve their clients through the company’s vertical integration.
Granite Construction stresses a community and environmentally conscious philosophy. The company aspires to create a sense of pride and tradition and fosters the concept of being a Master Builder in any project they are involved with. Granite Construction has an extensive Employee Development Initiative that builds exceptional leaders. The company made Fortune magazine’s list of “Top 100 companies to work for in America” in the January 2007 issue. Granite construction’s motto is “Character Matters.”
People are chosen to work at Granite for their strength of character and their reflection of the company’s core ethical values:
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Fairness
• Accountability
• Consideration of Others
• Pursuit of Excellence
• Reliability
• Citizenship
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This pro-active philosophy can be found in all of Granite Construction’s dealings with their clients. Over the company’s long history in the construction industry, Granite Construction has forged strong partnerships with an extensive list of subcontractors, suppliers, insurance companies and banks. The foundation for all of these relationships is mutual trust and Granite Construction’s continued perseverance to employ the best in their field and maintain the highest construction standards possible. Cc
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