Published in Midwest Flyer – February/March 2017
HUTCHINSON/LITCHFIELD, MINN. – The cities of Hutchinson and Litchfield, Minnesota, and the engineering firm of Bolton & Menk, Inc., have received awards from MnDOT Office of Materials & Road Research at the 63rd Annual Asphalt Conference. Both the Hutchinson Municipal Airport and Litchfield Municipal Airport were honored with Merit Awards for Bituminous Surfacing for an intermediate airport. Both projects involved the rehabilitation of the runway, taxiway, and apron at the airports.
The process of full-depth reclamation (FDR) was applied to both airports. FDR is the process of pulverizing the existing bituminous and blending with the underlying aggregate base to create a reclaimed asphalt base course. Four inches of new bituminous was then paved over the reclaimed asphalt base. Utilizing this process resulted in recycling all the material on-site and substantially reducing the project cost.
The Hutchison Municipal Airport project was completed in the fall of 2015. The project was phased to minimize the impact to aerial sprayers during the fall months when crop spraying is at its peak. The contractor, Duininck, Inc., was able to keep the runway open while working on the taxiway and apron, allowing aerial spraying for the region to continue.
The Litchfield Airport project was completed in the summer of 2016. The contractor, Duininck, Inc., was successful in having the airport opened early enough in the summer for it to host their annual fly-in pancake breakfast. Both projects were completed on time and under budget.
Bolton & Menk, Inc., ranked among the Top 500 Engineering Firms by Engineering News Record (ENR), provides a broad range of engineering, surveying, planning, and environmental services to communities and agencies in Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota. In serving public sector and private clients of all sizes for more than 65 years, Bolton & Menk has become experts in providing quality professional services. (Bolton-Menk.com).
