Tutor-Saliba, a prominent civil engineering firm headquartered in Sylmar, California, required a significant volume of infiltration boxes—445,000 cubic feet, to be exact—to construct a bioswale that spanned over 2.6 miles at the Los Angeles International Airport. Fortunately, Rainwater Solutions LLC, based in Studio City, California, was able to provide the ideal solution.
Using its special Eco Rainwater Systems infiltration boxes, Rainwater Solutions LLC collaborated with Tutor-Saliba to construct the bioswale, a crucial component of the $333-million South Airfield Improvement Project at the Los Angeles International Airport. David Guth, a distinguished independent sales representative for Rainwater Solutions, attributed the selection of his company products to its exceptional performance, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
David Guth, emphasized that the EcoRain boxes provided by his company were the optimal choice for the project, surpassing all requirements. He noted that he meticulously demonstrated how his product exceeded the specified job specifications, as anything less than excellence would not consider. Additionally, the Eco Rainwater boxes provided cost-effective benefits, further reinforcing the rationale for their selection.
According to Andrew Sulawski, a prominent project engineer at Tutor-Saliba, the bioswales were a crucial component of the South Airfield renovation project. Specifically, they were necessary to eliminate silt and surface water pollution from the newly constructed runway.
As per Andrew Sulawski, a distinguished project engineer at Tutor-Saliba, implementing bioswales has substantially reduced the volume of pipes required under the taxiways. Without bioswales, attaining comparable results would necessitate a considerably more significant quantity of excavation work. Hence, integrating bioswales were deemed necessary to mitigate the excavation requirements of this project, a feat that was only achievable with their inclusion.
A BIG CHALLENGE FOR ECO-RAINWATER SOLUTIONS
The South Airfield Improvement Program commenced in July last year and has reached a significant milestone with the late-March completion of the new Runway 25 Left/7 Right on the southern side. This crucial step in the program is to reduce the frequency and severity of runway incursions at Los Angeles International, thereby enhancing airfield safety.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, runway incursions occur when an aircraft, vehicle, or object on the ground creates a hazard or creeps too close to an airplane, landing, taking off, or intending to land. From 2000 through 2003, Los Angeles International had the highest number of runway incursions among all U.S. commercial airports. This issue has persisted, with eight runway incursions occurring at the airport in 2006, with two classified as potentially accident-inducing by the FAA.
The opening of the new runway took place eight months after the demolition of the former Runway 25L. It is now 55 feet south of its previous location, retaining the exact dimensions as its predecessor at 11,095 feet long and 200 feet wide. However, its new location enables Los Angeles International to more effectively accommodate larger, modern aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Construction work has begun on the next phase of the South Airfield Improvement Project, which includes the construction of a new center taxiway that runs parallel between the two south runways. Once completed, construction crews will link the two runways to the newly built center taxiway with taxiways of their own.
This project phase also involves installing two long bioswales on both sides of the new center taxiway. A large-diameter concrete drainpipe will run up the center of the bioswales. Crews are installing the EcoRain System infiltration boxes as double boxes, and once complete, the bioswales will contain 445,000 cubic feet of EcoRain boxes.
Elevated inlet boxes to the center concrete drainpipe, surrounded by filtration logs, will rest every few hundred feet along the bioswales. If water accumulates on the bioswales, it will enter the storm drainpipe before it impacts the runways. Crews are placing five EcoRain double boxes on each side of the drainpipe, meaning that each running foot of bioswale will include 32.18 cubic feet of EcoRain boxes. As a result, each linear foot of bioswale will hold 30.57 cubic feet of water.
PROJECT ADVANTAGES
Tutor-Saliba’s bioswale installation is part of a much more significant improvement project at one of the world’s busiest airports.
Due to their unique composition, Guth noted that EcoRain boxes have the edge over competitor products. Competing products typically require the installation of geogrid both below and above the boxes to provide support. In contrast, EcoRain boxes are pre-fabricated to be rigid and therefore do not require geogrid, resulting in significant time and money savings.
“In a shallow installation such as this, where depths only reach three feet, the elimination of geogrid saved a dollar per foot in project costs,” Guth emphasized. “Moreover, the time-consuming process of installing geogrid was also eliminated, resulting in considerable savings on labor costs.
Construction crews can assemble EcoRain infiltration boxes on-site, significantly reducing transportation and cost. A greater quantity of the product can be transported with fewer trips, saving on transportation expenses.
“Cost is a crucial factor for our customers,” Guth acknowledged. “If we did not offer a cost-effective solution, why would a contractor take the risk of working with us? If issues arise, everyone will blame the contractor for choosing our product. Therefore, a contractor always requires a good reason to opt for an untested product, and the primary reason is cost.”
