Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

[ftlauddude]

The day has come: Airport runway breaks ground today at FLL

By Brittany Wallman January 23, 2012 07:00 AM


Decades in the making, the $791 million new runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport breaks ground today.

We'll see the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood; the state Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Richard Biter, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Michael Heurta; U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, (whose district includes part of south Broward), and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston this morning at the ground breaking, in addition to Broward Mayor John Rodstrom.

The project will be an engineering spectacle, rising six stories over U.S. 1 and the FEC railroad tracks to the east of FLL airport.

Drivers will pass under it, with planes landing or taking off on top, on the sloped surface.

The runway project is easily one of the most controversial public works effort the county has ever undertaken, and the fighting could continue. But county commissioners put to rest the long-running scrap with adjacent Dania Beach in a historic settlement over noise, just months ago. It still has to be approved by the FAA.

We'll give you more coverage, later today.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news...ort_runwa.html

[FTL Beach Bum]

Ahh, thanks for posting!

I don't have a link, but from what I've been hearing, the structure over US1 and FEC will require massive(!) amounts of rock, which could end up being railed in a few times a week with a temporary FEC spur.

I still haven't heard anything finalized on the Hilton/boat yard buyout at Griffin/I95.

[ftlauddude]

Yes. I've heard the same thing. We'll see how it goes...

Also, have you seen the changes that are being made to the airport/port loop from I-595?! That's the first step for the re-organization of the area to ease cargo movement. The plan is to build a cargo yard for PE.

[HavanaMiami1977]

Originally Posted by ftlauddude

The day has come: Airport runway breaks ground today at FLL

By Brittany Wallman January 23, 2012 07:00 AM


Decades in the making, the $791 million new runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport breaks ground today.

We'll see the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood; the state Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Richard Biter, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Michael Heurta; U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, (whose district includes part of south Broward), and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston this morning at the ground breaking, in addition to Broward Mayor John Rodstrom.

The project will be an engineering spectacle, rising six stories over U.S. 1 and the FEC railroad tracks to the east of FLL airport.

Drivers will pass under it, with planes landing or taking off on top, on the sloped surface.

The runway project is easily one of the most controversial public works effort the county has ever undertaken, and the fighting could continue. But county commissioners put to rest the long-running scrap with adjacent Dania Beach in a historic settlement over noise, just months ago. It still has to be approved by the FAA.

We'll give you more coverage, later today.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news...ort_runwa.html

That's great news, Two great airport in the area.

[FTL Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by ftlauddude

Yes. I've heard the same thing. We'll see how it goes...

Also, have you seen the changes that are being made to the airport/port loop from I-595?! That's the first step for the re-organization of the area to ease cargo movement. The plan is to build a cargo yard for PE.

Yep. Won't have to block SR84 when building trains anymore.

08/23/2011 - Broward County Commission Approves MOU with Florida East Coast Railway for Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF)





There's also been some rumblings about FEC sending down more rail, but it's probably for continuance of the Port of Miami line rejuvenation project. As far as I know they've been doing work on the Port Everglades spur immediately east of the mainline (possibly in preparation for the Eller Dr project), but I don't believe they've begun the ICTF project yet.

They HAVE been working on the mainline at FLL in preparation for the expanded runway though...They're currently extending the Airport siding to past the Dania Cutoff Canal and south of Old Griffin Rd (the southern end of the siding and the turnout switch presently sit right where the runway/taxiway flyover will be), and they've already sent down a new turnout switch which, as far as I know, is still sitting adjacent to the track next to Old Griffin Rd. The current rail bridge over the Dania Cutoff Canal is wide enough to handle double tracks and has in the past (the entire mainline was from Jacksonville to Miami, believe it or not, a long, LONG time ago), and they're moving to get that second track re-strung across it. Not sure when (new) Griffin Rd will get the same treatment.

[FTL Beach Bum]

Video of Groundbreaking

[ftlauddude]

Construction has started already! All the area south of the Cell Phone Lot has been cleared out. Access through Perimeter Rd has been blocked. This $700+million project is going to be interesting....

[HeartofFlorida]

Forgive me but for anyone familiar with the runway project, what is the reason for the 6-story incline over US1? I'm just curious.

[ftlauddude]

Originally Posted by HeartofFlorida

Forgive me but for anyone familiar with the runway project, what is the reason for the 6-story incline over US1? I'm just curious.

'cause the runway extends passing the current limts of FLL. It needs to go beyond US1 so It could allow for planes to land safely

[FTL Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by HeartofFlorida

Forgive me but for anyone familiar with the runway project, what is the reason for the 6-story incline over US1? I'm just curious.

This "6-story" figure tends to be thrown around, but doesn't appear to match anything released in the official documents.

In the Final Environmental Impact Statement, quoting data from the chart depicting the County and FAA's selected runway alternative (Alternative "B1c"), the runway's western elevation is shown to be 8.1' above Mean Sea Level (MSL), and the eastern elevation will be 45.4' MSL...That's only a gain of 37.3'.

Once you subtract out the quoted clearance for the FEC railway at 23' (which will have more clearance than any of the roadways), you'll only have 14.3' of superstructure thickness to take the full brunt of west-landing transport-category jets pounding on it in the touchdown zone for years to come.

[FTL Beach Bum]

This might also help to get a perspective of why it needs to be elevated:

[Paul305]

I talked to one of my civil engineering friends about this and he said that the overpass design includes a fire extinguishing system that is rated for the most extreme fires. That system, along with the support structure needed for an airport runway, probably takes up a lot of space. Plus, the 14.3' estimate by FTL Beach Bum seems about right when compared to this rendering:

[FTL Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by Paul305

I talked to one of my civil engineering friends about this and he said that the overpass design includes a fire extinguishing system that is rated for the most extreme fires. That system, along with the support structure needed for an airport runway, probably takes up a lot of space. Plus, the 14.3' estimate by FTL Beach Bum seems about right when compared to this rendering:

The 14.3' thickness estimate referred to the section above the FEC railway, where clearance was listed at 23'. The roadway clearance, on the other hand, was listed at 17', thereby giving a structure thickness above road sections at an estimated 20.3'. That still matches the above rendering, IMO, as if you follow each of the sidewalls up from the road surface to the runway surface, the structure portion appears to be just slightly thicker than the "clearance" portion...perhaps by 3.3'.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by ftlauddude

'cause the runway extends passing the current limts of FLL. It needs to go beyond US1 so It could allow for planes to land safely

Originally Posted by FTL Beach Bum

This "6-story" figure tends to be thrown around, but doesn't appear to match anything released in the official documents.

In the Final Environmental Impact Statement, quoting data from the chart depicting the County and FAA's selected runway alternative (Alternative "B1c"), the runway's western elevation is shown to be 8.1' above Mean Sea Level (MSL), and the eastern elevation will be 45.4' MSL...That's only a gain of 37.3'.

Once you subtract out the quoted clearance for the FEC railway at 23' (which will have more clearance than any of the roadways), you'll only have 14.3' of superstructure thickness to take the full brunt of west-landing transport-category jets pounding on it in the touchdown zone for years to come.

Originally Posted by FTL Beach Bum

This might also help to get a perspective of why it needs to be elevated:

Originally Posted by Paul305

I talked to one of my civil engineering friends about this and he said that the overpass design includes a fire extinguishing system that is rated for the most extreme fires. That system, along with the support structure needed for an airport runway, probably takes up a lot of space. Plus, the 14.3' estimate by FTL Beach Bum seems about right when compared to this rendering:

Thank you for clearing that up.

[LexISguy]

With the expanded runway FLL will entice larger aircraft hence more passengers equals more money.

[South Florida]

^ Any Plans for New or Renevated Terminals in the short term.

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by LexISguy

With the expanded runway FLL will entice larger aircraft hence more passengers equals more money.

You're mistaken. The south runway expansion will still be shorter than the existing north runway. They'd need to be extended an additional 2,000+ to 4,000+ feet and widened to accommodate the larger aircraft that currently fly into MIA.

[ftlauddude]

Originally Posted by South Florida

^ Any Plans for New or Renevated Terminals in the short term.

Yes! Terminal 4 is being expanded and connected to Terminal 3.

The area around FLL is about to get pretty busy... Has anyone driven around Griffin Rd and seen how different the area looks now? Just by clearing and grubbing the area has changed a lot; and now it's kinda difficult to reach the cell phone waiting lot

U.S. 1 ramp closures to I-595 and port cause backups
By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel

6:55 p.m. EDT, July 13, 2012
DANIA BEACH—
For the next year, drivers coming from the south on U.S. 1 will face a major hassle getting to Interstate 595 or Port Everglades.

And those trying to go south on U.S. 1 from the airport will have to go north first.

Two separate construction projects – the Eller Drive overpass and the runway expansion over U.S. 1 – have closed ramps from U.S. 1 to I-595 and the port, and from the airport to southbound U.S. 1.

Drivers on Friday reported huge morning backups on U.S. 1 from Griffin Road into Dania Beach.

If you're coming north on U.S. 1 and want to get on I-595, you have to turn left on Griffin and head west to I-95, then take I-95 north to I-595.

If you want to go to the port, follow U.S. 1 north to Southeast 30th Street, then go to Southeast Sixth Avenue and follow the detour to the Eller Drive Extension. Traffic exiting the airport terminal roadway to the port must follow the same detour.

To get to southbound U.S. 1 from the airport, follow U.S. 1 north and make a U-turn at Southeast 30th Street or State Road 84. Or take I-595 west to I-95 south.

The ramps from U.S. 1 and the airport to the port should re-open next summer. The state is building an overpass above Eller Drive and a new railroad spur that will lead to a new container yard at the port.

The ramp from U.S. 1 to I-595 and the ramp from the airport to southbound U.S. 1 are set to re-open in about 15 to 18 months. Work began in February on the runway, which will slope eastward until it's six stories tall, crossing over the Florida East Coast Railway tracks and U.S. 1.

The $42.5 million Eller Drive project and the $791 million runway are scheduled to be completed in 2014.

mturnbell@tribune.com, Twitter @MikeTurnpike

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,4632394.story

[jtpmedic]

Originally Posted by ftlauddude

Yes! Terminal 4 is being expanded and connected to Terminal 3.

I heard T4 construction starts at the end of the month...

[ftlauddude]

Runway project pigs out on dirt

Talk about a gut-busting weight gain: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is about to bulk up by 17.5 billion pounds, as silty soil is brought in to help build the new south runway.

Starting on July 23, and for at least the next year, two special daily 80-car freight trains and a parade of trucks will start delivering a veritable mountain of fill — 7 million cubic yards weighing 8.75 million tons — to the airport grounds. "It's a massive undertaking," Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom said.

South Florida hasn't seen this much dirt fly since the Kardashians' last visit. Or since Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's last deposition.

The end goal: A new, gently inclined 8,000-foot commercial runway at FLL by September 2014.

How massive is the job? Consider:

• The dirt would do a better job packing the new Marlins Park than the underperforming Marlins (41-44), able to fill the joint to the roof more than 2.5 times.

• The soil will weigh the equivalent of 39 fully loaded Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas (buffets included), one of the largest ships in the world and a frequent caller at Port Everglades.

• So many rail-car loads will be needed that if you lined them up end-to-end, they would stretch almost 900 miles, about the distance from Fort Lauderdale to Nashville, Tenn.

• Once the dirt is packed, 535,000 square yards of concrete will be poured on top of it to create the new runway. That's enough concrete to lay a 38-mile two-lane highway, a little longer than Dan Marino's NFL career passing total (34.86 miles, or 61,361 yards).

• Total projected cost, including transportation, construction, land acquisition and reconfiguration of Terminal 4: $1.24 billion. For that price, all 19 million people in Florida could be treated to 11 Big Mac extra value meals apiece. A hefty weight gain, indeed.

Until the project is done, airport officials say Dania Beach residents living south and west of the construction area should expect extra noise and dust.

— Ken Kaye and Mike Mayo

Copyright © 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,7986330.story