Strategic Pavement Design on Lambert Primary Runway (12R-30L) Reconstruction

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) led the design of a two-year reconstruction project at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) to rebuild the Runway 12R-30L corridor – encompassing the center third of the airfield and the final phase of a larger program. At just over 11,000 feet, Runway 12R-30L is the airport’s longest runway. Completed in 2023, the project involved narrowing the 200-foot runway by 50 feet to meet current FAA standards for runway width for the airport’s design aircraft.

Originally programmed by the FAA back in 2010, this project coincided with a period when many of the pavements throughout the airfield were due for reconstruction. To avoid having a majority of STL’s budget taken up by one massive project, CMT developed a multi-phased program that involved strategic repairs to 12R-30L to reconstruct only the highest-need portions of the runway and strategically rehabilitate other sections. This approach bought the runway some time and allowed funds to be directed to other pavement projects. By the end of the decade, STL was in a much stronger position to take on this $87.6 million project.

The scope of the final phase also involved removing and realigning taxiways to new FAA standards, replacing a BAK-14M arresting gear system, and addressing asbestos in the old pavement. The project included almost 200,000 square yards of new PCC pavement, over 100,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 1,100 new LED runway and taxiway lights, 100 new LED airfield signs, and nearly 400,000 linear feet of airfield cable. Existing concrete pavements were recycled for use as the base under all new airfield pavements.