Indianapolis International Airport has announced a major project to revamp its runways and taxiways with the use of low carbon pavement.
The technology used to make the pavement for the $190 million project is the first of its kind to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Also, the project is the first to ever receive Envision Platinum certification.
The technology that will make this possible is delivered by CarbonCure, a Canadian company that specializes in manufacturing low emissions concrete by injecting CO2 into it.
As noted by Gary Mitchell, chief of engineering and construction with the American Concrete Pavement Association, the company’s technology has been used in the vertical industry for a while now.
“To date, CarbonCure has delivered over three million truckloads of concrete with carbon mineralization. That has resulted in over 200,000 metric tons of carbon savings,” Mitchell said.
This revolutionary approach to be used at Indianapolis Airport not only reduces the CO2 emissions of what is considered to be a highly carbon-intensive material, but, in fact, has CO2 permanently embedded within it.
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Estimates say that the 22-inch top layer of concrete in the future reconstruction process will hold the CO2 equivalent of planting 1.2 million trees.
What’s more, the new runway is expected to be more durable and have a lifespan of 40 years, as opposed to 20, according to the results of an analysis that led to an 1-inch increase in pavement depth.
Walsh Construction is the company that was awarded the contract to rebuild the runway, and it is soon to finish the first phase of the project.
The remaining part of the runway project is set to be completed over the coming two construction seasons.
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