Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest, sees nearly 300,000 people daily and is within a 2-hour flight of about 80% of the U.S. population. The D concourse, originally constructed in 1980, featured narrow corridors just over 5 meters (18 feet) wide and required an upgrade to accommodate the increasing demands of daily travel.
Given the critical nature of the hub, shutting down any part of the concourse was not an option. Mammoet collaborated early on with Holder-Moody-Bryson-Sovereign, JV to find a solution that minimized impact on daily operations. The chosen solution involved modernizing and widening the concourse using prefabricated modules installed with Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) overnight.
According to the multi-phased construction schedule, each module would be transported on the same day each week between one and four o’clock in the morning. During the second phase of the project, teams enhanced efficiency by transporting two modules per week.
The integrated approach involved loading the modules onto SPMTs and transporting them over a mile-long journey to the site. The heaviest module weighed 694.45 tons and was positioned on top of 92 axle-lines of SPMT.
To position the modules at their final location, eighteen 300t climbing jacks were used. These jacks are designed to elevate by placing jacking timbers beneath them and then lowering onto the newly placed layer of jacking timbers, allowing the jack to “climb”.
Since the modules needed to be set at a lower elevation than where they were initially received, the climbing jacks enabled crews to lower the modules beyond the stroke capacity of the SPMTs.
Constructing airport components like modular buildings, sections, and bridges offsite and securely transporting them to their designated locations allows regular airport activities to continue smoothly, ensuring an efficient process and providing scheduling benefits.
Once complete, this overhaul will increase the overall concourse length by over 87 meters (288 feet), resulting in additional room for passengers and concessions, while also allowing for larger-capacity jets.
Mammoet’s team has extensive knowledge and expertise relating to airports worldwide, including a terminal expansion at PDX, installing a skybridge in Hong Kong, and transporting four new gates in Dallas.
Mammoet
Mammoet helps clients with Smarter, Safer and Stronger solutions to any heavy lifting or transport challenge. We aim to develop long-term relationships in order to understand their businesses and challenges best, so we can realize the most efficient and cost-effective approaches. We have a unique global network and an unparalleled fleet of equipment. Through deep and longstanding engineering expertise and the highest quality and safety standards in execution we bring an intelligent and flexible approach to projects across a wide breadth of industry sectors. Clients trust us to help them achieve feats that were once considered impossible, and we have often broken records in doing so.
