Story

Description: The Turner-Trotter-Nubian Team provided construction management services for the landside construction activities at the New Indianapolis Airport. The Team managed all of the construction beyond the limits of the terminal and apron which included the mass earthwork, roads, bridges, utility construction, de-icing and fueling systems, surface parking, rental car facilities and the massive parking garage.

In sheer volume, 2.5 million square feet, the garage is twice as large as the terminal. With ten elevators, eight escalators, and four moving walkways, the garage has been built with maximum customer convenience, comfort, accessibility, and mobility in mind. The spacious new parking garage is tripled in size from its predecessor and is located a short walk from the terminal. It is connected to the terminal via an enclosed pedestrian bridge, which features moving sidewalks and a unique overhead art display.

The pedestrian bridge transports travelers from the terminal to the garage where pedestrians have the option of proceeding to a large lobby where eight kiosks greet passengers wishing to pay for parking prior to getting into their cars, or they may proceed to the Ground Transportation Center where rental cars, buses and shuttle services are available. Beyond the lobby is a large atrium that bisects the garage at every level and showcases a kinetic art display. The ceiling of the atrium is a Teflon-coated, translucent fabric. A cast-in-place concrete structure the garage features decorative precast panels with aluminum and steel accents at its perimeter.

In addition to more than 5,900 public parking spaces which are accessed via speed and helical ramps, the new garage also includes on-site rental car services. The garage's first level houses the airport's rental car operations and about 1,200 rental-car spaces. By contrast, rental cars at the old airport were spread out over several remote parking lots and were accessible only by the tiresome process of catching a shuttle. The other four floors (each of which measures 10 acres) are for public parking. Even these are an improvement over the current garage, with ceilings painted white to improve visibility and background music piped throughout.

Coordination was paramount in delivering a successful project. The Turner-Trotter-Nubian Team coordinated the work of 50 different trade packages with a large number of other groups. Since this work was being performed in the middle of an active airport, the Team also coordinated daily with the existing Airport operations staff. A significant portion of the work managed occurred in the Airport Operating Area and had to be scheduled around moratorium periods and other construction within the Airport confines as well as the daily take offs and landings. Additionally, Indianapolis is the second largest cargo facility for FedEx and much of the work had to be interfaced with the FedEx operation to minimize impact to their tightly scheduled operation in Indianapolis. Finally, the Team coordinated their activities with many other public agencies that provide services to the Airport such as the local power and water providers, the regulatory groups that control water and sewer run-off, Indiana Department of Transportation, FAA, TSA and Department of Environmental Management.

Uniqueness: The construction of the Garage and Ground Transportation Center is surrounded in unique aspects. For instance, the project was built from 120,000 cubic yards of micro-slica cast-in-place, post tensioned concrete, a mix design that provides a high degree of durability, and a reinforcing scheme consisting of miles of PT cabling. The garage also features extra long bay spacing of the columns in both directions to allow flexible parking configurations. The large volume of concrete required multiple weekly concrete pours on a sustained basis throughout two Indiana winters. This resulted in wet curing the concrete pours for 14 days on elevated decks through those winters.

Another unique aspect of the Garage and other landside components was the implementation of processes to receive LEED certification. From the very beginning (removal of an old runway) LEED principles were put into place. The concrete and asphalt removal totaled 80,000 square yards. The asphalt was milled off the runway and hauled to another location for stockpiling. The concrete was then rubblized and recycled for use as construction roads and staging areas throughout the project. Specific LEED credits for the parking garage include: light pollution reduction; water use 30% less than code; energy use 25% less than code; recyclables collected and stored; construction waste recycling; recycled and local content; sustainability harvested wood; low-emitting finishes, adhesives and sealants; and daylighting of major occupied spaces.

Impact: The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) determined the city’s new airport should be designed, constructed, and operated in an environmentally sound manner. Because LEED® goals were conceived early in the planning process, incorporating sustainable activities in the airport’s design, planning, and construction has been cost-effective.

Additionally, the new airport’s business deal and development strategy were set before September 11, 2001, but the design of the project didn’t happen in earnest until after 9/11, so the team was able to design to the new FAA and Department of Homeland Security requirements, such as positioning the garage 300 feet from the terminal with blast control setbacks.

The IAA’s goal was to build an economical, efficient, 21st Century airport that would help grow local businesses through a variety of new airport contracting opportunities. Through extensive communication programs, the Turner-Trotter-Nubian team was able to assist local small businesses with the information they needed to grow and succeed. Through championing economic opportunities for MBE and WBE firms, 22 different minority and women owned firms were awarded contracts for construction work on the parking garage, resulting in a participation level of 10.4%MBE and 5.9% WBE.