Airport Business - 35

MILITARY
Though they are tasked with maintaining
infrastructure like dams, canals and flood
protection, the USACE also leads the
design and construction management of
U.S. military facilities where the armed
forces live, train, and work.
"Our office oversees construction
and inspection of critical infrastructure,"
says Morak. "We spend public money
wisely by making sure contractors deliver
projects as drawn and specified. Our job
is to ensure our military is getting the
quality they need and richly deserve."
At Fort Carson, the U.S. Army
Mountain Post in Colorado Springs,
Colo., Morak and the USACE team are
replacing Butts Airfield. Originally laid
in the 1950s, much of the airfield had
long exceeded its useful purpose and the
Army wanted a new, larger airfield along
with more modern support facilities to
service and store aircraft.
"In total, the airfield rehabilitation
covers about 14 acres of concrete," says
Morak of the sprawling scope of work.
Starting with demolishing and removing
the existing airfield, aprons and hangars
followed by compacting, leveling and
placing the concrete, Morak has overseen
the airfield's rehabilitation for most of
three years. "We have poured 72,000
yards of concrete on the airfield and
another 4,200 yards inside the Attack
Hangar; a massive job altogether."
Delivering the quality expected by
the USACE, on schedule, on budget
while working on an active military
base has been no small assignment for
infrastructure contractor Interstate
Highway Construction (IHC). IHC is a
heavy civil contractor serving much of
the mid-west from offices in Centennial,
Colo. and Denver, Owosso, Mich., and
Royse City, Texas. IHC has a long
history of projects for federal agencies
like the DOD and FAA as well as state
DOTs, counties and cities on concrete
paving projects of every sort. Cameron
Thompson is the superintendent
responsible for IHC's efforts at Butts
Airfield. Over 14 years with IHC, he
has built a foundation in the means,
methods and execution of high-stakes
civil construction, working on airfields,
highways, roadways and structures.
"I love the people, the process, the
high expectations, and seeing the results
when everything comes together," he

Buildings lose up to 50 percent of their
heat at the perimeter and slab of the
foundation, making a below-grade
thermal barrier vital to achieving thermal
comfort efficiently in the large, highceiling hangar.
IHC

says of his passion for the work he
does. Thompson earned a reputation
for meeting the USACE's exacting
expectations over a series of paving
projects at Fort Carson. Building trust
unlocks opportunity and after years of
exclusively paving exterior concrete, IHC
was invited indoors to install the concrete
floors of the new Attack Hangar.
The 142,000-SF Attack Hangar is
designed to hold six AH-64 Apache
attack helicopters, along with modern
maintenance shops that didn't exist in the
previous hangar. As the newest upgrade
to the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade
and Butts Airfield, the building also
includes secured pre-f light planning
rooms, f light operations and support
facilities. The large, open-span pre-cast
concrete building will see year-round use
as an aircraft maintenance facility where
military personnel need to be comfortable
working even with the massive hangar
doors wide open in the winter.
"Radiant heating has been built into
the hangar's concrete floor to maintain
thermal comfort during the colder
months of the year," Thompson says.
Placed before the concrete is poured,
plastic tubing circulates a hot liquid
beneath the floor. The heat within the
tubes radiates through the concrete and
warms the surrounding air via convection.
A key facet of maximizing the efficient
return on investment in radiant heating
is controlling the heat's direction of
dissipation. The USACE's design
specification called for rigid insulation
beneath the tubes and Atlas Molded
Products' 60 PSI, high-density, rigid
insulation foam was ultimately selected.
"A layer of molded polystyrene foam
acts as an insulator between the earth
and the concrete," Thompson says of
the need to efficiently control how the
heat dissipates. Buildings lose up to 50
percent of their heat at the perimeter
and slab of the foundation, making a
below-grade thermal barrier vital to
achieving thermal comfort efficiently
in the large, high-ceiling hangar.

Though it was Thompson's first time
personally using molded polystyrene as
an underslab insulation, the material is
well-known for its capacity to insulate
roofs, walls and foundations in pursuit
of high-performance building envelopes
on facilities of all sorts. Atlas' line of
architectural insulation provides owners
and builders with stable R-values between
4.2 and 4.7 per inch and high compressive
strengths ranging from 15 to 60 psi.
Molded polystyrene's ability to quickly
dry after wetting conditions facilitates
the ability of Atlas' molded polystyrene
to maintain established R-Values for the
life of the building, which translates to
more efficient operations.
"The molded polystyrene foam
insulation was a really easy product
to work with," Thompson continues.
"The soil was compacted, covered with
1-inch rock, and the rigid foam was laid
f lat on top of it. We were able to cut
penetrations, notch around pipes, and
easily fit it around every angle."
Cost is always a driver in material
selection. Savvy owners like the
USACE understand the necessity of
calculating both first costs and long-term
operations costs into decision making.
"The USACE doesn't sole source any
particular products," says Morak of
material procurement. "We do have a
Buy American Act and we use Americanmade materials wherever possible."
As the f inishing touches come
together on the Assault Hangar, Morak
and Thompson are pleased to share
success.
"IHC brought the same effective,
efficient, and exacting mentality from
their exterior concrete projects to the
interior," Morak finishes. "We can all
take pride in knowing this top-f light
facility will soon be in service. A job
well done." 

OCTOBER 2020 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 35
http://www.AVIATIONPROS.COM
Airport Business

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Airport Business
