North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Balfour Beatty has been awarded a contract to expand the Albert J. Ellis Airport in Jacksonville, including a new runway, taxiway extension, approach light system and highway realignment to accommodate larger aircraft.
Balfour Beatty serves as the general contractor for the airport’s new runway expansions which feature a new 900-ft. runway and taxiway extension to accommodate larger aircraft. The project team will install a new Medium-Intensity Approach Light System with Runway (MALSR) to assist pilots’ departure and arrival queues.
Also, Balfour Beatty will deliver a new entrance to the airport’s roadway and realign North Carolina Highway 111 (NC 111) to accommodate the extended runway.
“Balfour Beatty will leverage its extensive experience in the delivery of runway expansions to deliver these exciting new additions to Albert J. Ellis Airport,” Josh Taylor, Balfour Beatty project executive in North Carolina, said in a news release. “Once complete, the revitalized airport will provide a convenient travel experience for passengers and the driving public who come to and from Onslow County.”
The company has experience with complex and recognizable airports over the past 75 years including renovation and rehabilitation projects at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), and crews recently broke ground on the airport’s Runway 5L/23R Replacement Program, which involves building a new primary runway and transforming the existing runway into a taxiway.