Earlier this year, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) revealed plans to repave its shortest runway, 1L-19R, with new asphalt. That’s not unusual, because the airport regularly performs minor routine maintenance on its four runways combined with a full repaving every 10 to 12 years based on usage. It was simply 1L-19R’s turn in the rotation. The unusual part is that this time, the airport was planning to complete the work in eight short weeks.

The following excerpt was republished with permission from Airport Improvement Magazine, October 2023 – read the full article here.
Author:  Kristin V. Shaw

The eight week timeline meant crews had just over two months to repave the equivalent of 23 football fields, lay more than six miles of electrical cabling, install nearly 300 light fixtures and stripe the runway with 1,000 gallons of paint. The compressed timeline was dependent on dry weather and less airfield traffic, so the airport team and its project partners scheduled work between the hectic winter holidays and busy summer travel season.

New LED Fixtures

Golden Gate Constructors, a joint venture between DeSilva Gates Construction and Graniterock, was general contractor for the project, and it tapped Royal Electric Company for the lighting portion. Having worked at SFO for a dozen years, Royal was already familiar with the airport’s preferred process for installing ductwork, conduit and light fixtures.

“The project was very, very tight, with an aggressive schedule,” says Lakshmi Bandaru, senior project manager for Royal Electric Company. “We had been pre-planning at least six months in advance and had less than seven weeks for a complete turnaround.”

The company turned to ADB SAFEGATE for new light fixtures in short order. Due to the existing strong relationship between the two companies, the needed lights were ready on time. Hundreds of LED light fixtures, plus additional runway signage, were manufactured in four weeks.

“Usually, ‘really quick’ means about a month, so this was really, really quick,” says Jim Taylor, Western Region sales director for ADB SAFEGATE.

The company installed its new AXON lights, which have a reinforced top cover design with backwards compatibility to numerous ADB SAFEGATE legacy inset fixtures. The fixtures also feature “bullnose” protection of the prism window to minimize damage from aircraft and snowplows. These same fixtures offer an optional sensor package to utilize ADB SAFEGATE’s LINC 360 power line carrier method to monitor the real-time health and status of the fixture.

“They’re not simply a light in a special housing, but a smarter fixture that can provide feedback to the airport,” says Taylor.

The new LED fixtures replace incandescent runway lights that required more energy and labor hours for maintenance. Airport leaders look forward to reaping the associated benefits.

As soon as the new lights were available from ADB SAFEGATE’s plant in Columbus, OH, it was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Crews from Royal Electric installed all 350 runway and taxiway lights, 20 airfield signs and wind cones in just seven days. Bandaru notes that it typically takes a week or two for engineers to respond to questions from the field. In this case, answers were immediate and on target. They had to be, she adds.

Crews finished the $48.5 million project just before Memorial Day, with three days to spare before the May 25 target date. You can read the full article here. 

ADB SAFEGATE  is a company that provides integrated solutions to airports, airlines, and ANSPs.  We are proud to be leading the way with innovative and smart Airside 4.0 solutions that turn airports into smart airports, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the passenger experience. Solutions include airfield lighting, power and control systems, airport and tower software, docking automation, apron management, and aftermarket services.  With over 1,400 employees and over 2,700 airports in over 175 countries, from the busiest and largest to the fastest-growing airports, ADB SAFEGATE is dedicated to making air travel safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly.