The Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) East Airfield rehabilitation project has been named recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia Aviation Project Award in the March of Dimes Annual Transportation, Building and Construction awards. The project will be formally recognized in November at the organization’s annual awards event, which honors leaders and projects from the public and private sectors of the transportation, building and construction industries.
In its official notification to the airport, the March of Dimes noted: "Your project has been selected by our Volunteer Leadership Board to be honored for promoting economic development within the city of Philadelphia. This honor is richly deserved, and we are privileged to be able to highlight the positive influence this project has had in the Philadelphia area."
“This project was an important one that upgraded our airfield infrastructure, which is vital to keeping aircraft and airside operations running safely and efficiently,” said airport CEO Chellie Cameron. “I want to commend our Engineering team and everyone who worked on this project and thank the Volunteer Leadership Board for this well-earned recognition.”
PHL began rehabilitating its East Airfield in spring 2019, restoring various pavement areas on the east side of the airport to improve the serviceability of the pavement and eliminate structural deficiencies. Work areas included the South Apron and Taxiway D South, Taxiway D at Runway 8-26, North Apron and Taxiway D North, Taxiway F/K intersection, Taxiway B and Taxiway E2, Taxiway K at Runway 17-35, and Taxiway E/K intersection.
Like other PHL Capital Development projects, construction was halted in mid-March 2020 in compliance with Governor Wolf’s order to cease all non-life sustaining activities due to COVID-19. Work resumed as soon as it was deemed safe, and the project was recently completed last fall.
“Our Airport Engineering Assistant Manager Lia Sutanto and her project team did a great job keeping this important project on track by working collaboratively with the contractor and by taking swift actions to address and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19,” said Api Appulingam, Deputy Director of Aviation, Capital Development.
This rehabilitation was possible thanks to grant funds under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which identifies and prioritizes critical airport development and associated capital needs for the National Airspace System.
