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R&L Brosamer, Inc. is playing a big part in the expansion and renovation project going on at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in preparation for the arrival of the Airbus A380 super jumbo, the world’s biggest-ever passenger plane.
The Airbus A380 can seat up to 840 passengers on its two full decks, but will generally transport 555 passengers. At 928,300 pounds, it is the heaviest ever of any commercial airliner.
Brosamer began paving last September on the new South runway. This portion of the project entails closing the existing South runway, removing it and moving it 50
feet to the south. The new runway will be
11,000 feet long when completed. After
the runway is completed, Brosamer will
build the new high-speed taxiway that
will connect the new runway to the
existing taxiway. Brosamer is a sub-contractor to Tutor-Saliba. The entire project is scheduled for completion in Spring of 2008. |
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Once the existing runway was torn out, Brosamer prepared the subgrade for the new runway with 12 inches of econo-crete—made up of weak concrete, recycled concrete
from the old runway, and asphalt millings mixed with cement. The crews are placing
19 inches of concrete on top of the subgrade for both the runway and the taxiway.
During September and mid-October, Brosamer’s crews of between 60 and 70 employees worked one shift. From mid-October to mid-January they added a second shift.
According to Mike Ostrum, Brosamer’s Paving Manager, one of the biggest challenges
of this project is its sheer size—an $81 million contract for the company. Part of the challenge is keeping the flow of aggregates and cement coming in order to keep the
project moving smoothly. One factor adding to that challenge is the restricted hours for material delivery. The airport authority prohibits deliveries between 7 and 9 a.m. and
3 and 7 p.m.
“We’re bringing in up to 50 loads of cement and 5,000 to 6,000 tons of aggregate each day,” Mike explains. “In addition to that, we bring in curing compound, dowel baskets
and many other materials.”
Brosamer is operating its own batch planton-site. The company purchased a Komatsu
WA 500-6 Wheel Loader from Shanahan Equipment to use to feed aggregate from the stockpiles on-site while making concrete. The decision to purchase the Komatsu Wheel Loader was based on the project mandate to comply with Air Resource Board (ARB)
2010 goals for all stationary, portable and mobile equipment to have Tier 3 engines. |
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“All the other Tier 3 machines we looked at weren’t able to keep up with production the way the Komatsu can,” Mike says. “This machine just outperforms other machines of its size.”
The Komatsu WA 500-6 Wheel Loader has a high performance engine with low fuel consumption, along with increased bucket capacity.
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Mike says that Brosamer has broken its own concrete production record by producing up to 670 yards of concrete
an hour at the on-site batch plant.
They will place 470,000 cubic yards of concrete for this project.
Another challenge for Brosamer on this project is working around a live taxiway even though the runway is shut down.
Leading the work for Brosamer on this project are: Larry Pizzamiglio, Project Manager; Clark Benjamin, Guy Culp
and Mike Matheny, Project Superintendents; Gabe Miranda, Project Engineer; Charles Choe and Mike
Chang, Field Engineers, John Pologar, Area Manager and Veronica Murray, Office Manager for the on-site office. |
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R&L Brosamer, Inc. is a highway,
heavy construction and engineering contractor, located in the East Bay
Area in Walnut Creek, California.
The company incorporated in 1994
and completes projects in Arizona,
California and Nevada.
R&L Brosamer, Inc. specializes in concrete paving, canal lining, bridges, overpasses, underpasses, pump plants, light rail systems infrastructure,
highway and freeway widening and resurfacing, sound walls, and
retrofitting projects. A large percentage
of the company’s work is public works projects.
...They have completed several other ....
...airport runway projects for San Jose ...International Airport, Lemoore Navel
...Air Force Station, Travis Air Force ...Base, and currently at Orange ...County’s John Wayne Airport. |
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Much of the company’s work is on highway projects. They used the same Komatsu
WA 500-6 Wheel Loader at their on-site batch plant on a project on Highway 80 from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. The challenge on this repaving project was to complete both the east- and west-bound lanes before the winter. The entire project was completed between May and late October.
Another highway project on which the company used the Komatsu Wheel Loader was Highway 198 near Visalia. The company paved five miles of highway, which included seven bridges and realigned the highway in the process.
Mike says that when Brosamer completes a heavy highway project, they are known for
not just carrying out the concrete paving, but completing all facets of the job.
The company is typically the general contractor on the projects they complete. |
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As a company, Brosamer has a goal of completing $150 million in work a year, Mike says. They have been able to reach this goal the past two years. In order to do this volume of work, they employ 250 to 300 employees during their busy seasons. For more information look online at www.brosamer.com
or call (925) 627-1700.
For more info on other
Komatsu Tier III products,
please contact Shanahan
Equipment Company,
(888) 742-6377,
or visit the website: www.shanahanequipment.com
Cc
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