Location: 15829 S. Airport Road - Battle Creek Concrete Contractor: Florence Cement Company Prime Contractor: Pioneer Construction Project Manager: Van Laan Concrete Construction Design Engineer: Mead & Hunt Project Owner: Duncan Aviation QA/QC Consultant: Driesenga & Associates
The Nebraska-based jet service provider, Duncan Aviation is the largest privately owned business jet service provider in the world.Grand Rapids-based Pioneer Construction began in October 2022 building a $40 million, 46,000-square-foot hangar − the largest for the company to date − along with an additional 56,000 square feet in the two-story wing for storage, back shops, and office space.The hanger expansion at Battle Creek Executive Airport is expected to create up to 70 jobs at Duncan Aviation, which is already among the city's largest employers.
Florence Cement Company (FCC) utilized a Helco S10 Batch Plant to produce most of the 8,000+ cubic yards of concrete.Florence paving crews used a Gomaco 2600 two-track paver stretched to 30 feet wide for pilot and filler lanes, along with six Mack open-top Agitors to transport the concrete from the plant to the paver. Before paving, Florence crews placed 15,000 feet of one-inch dowel baskets along with 12,000 one-inch epoxy-coated dowel bars.
The key to the success of this project was the coordination between the construction of the hangar itself with the grading and paving contractors. The paving of this project was completed in phases to allow for the flow of materials such as structural steel to erect the hangar. Paving was started on the north side of the hangar with four 30-foot pilot lanes along with 12-foot pilot lanes on the outer east and west sides of the hangar.
Once the initial pilot lanes were cured, all 12 filler lanes were placed to complete Phase 1. Phase 2 consisted of paving next to the building and a 30-day window to finish the approach from the taxiway to the hangar. A total of six pilot and filler lanes were placed next to the hangar and two pilots and one filler lane in the approach off the taxiway. Scheduling the work next to the taxiway was a coordinated effort between underground storm work, electrical work, and paving to complete this work on time.
