Environmental Services on Major Airport Construction Projects

HDR, as a subconsultant to Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), is providing a variety of key environmental services for Dallas Fort-Worth Airport, including NEPA environmental document preparation, air quality modeling, agency coordination support and environmental strategy development.

Since March 2020, the team has worked on projects ranging from $10 million to billions of dollars in construction costs. These include two cargo facilities, Runway 17R/35L rehabilitation, International Parkway Modernization, and the Central Terminal Area Expansion. HDR’s collaborative approach to working with stakeholders creates a smooth, streamlined process that keeps projects on track.

Runway 17R/35L Rehabilitation

Runway 17R/35L is a 13,400-foot-long runway that serves as DFW’s east airfield primary departure runway; it accommodates large aircraft. It is one of the busiest runways at DFW and is a critical asset to the daily operations and the National Airspace System. The Runway 17R/35L Rehabilitation Project is part of a comprehensive runway rehabilitation program, currently underway at DFW and was slated as the next runway in the rehabilitation program based on the deteriorating pavement conditions. Additional improvements for the runway include bringing runway and connector taxiway geometry conditions up to current FAA Advisory Circular standards.

To meet the airport’s needs, we assembled a team of thought leaders with experience working on federal and state air quality modeling as well as experience preparing legally defensible National Environmental Policy Act environmental documents. The cross functional team supporting the DFW delivery orders includes members from coast to coast. The timely completion of the environmental assessment and approval by FAA allows DFW to qualify for $115 million in Airport Improvement Program funding to complete the rehabilitation project.

19th Street Cargo Redevelopment

As part of this contract, we are preparing the NEPA Environmental Assessment and performed air quality modeling for the 19^th Street Cargo Redevelopment, which will expand the airport’s ability to handle increased cargo tonnage. The new facility will transform an underutilized portion of the airport to a world-class, revenue generating air cargo complex. This project will help DFW Airport, the second busiest airport in the world, develop and operate state of the art cargo facilities and establish an international e-commerce gateway and continue serving as the economic engine for the region.

Partway through the project, the state regulatory agency requested additional air quality modeling using the TexN2.2 model with Texas county-specific data, in addition to the MOVES3 modeling required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Our team completed the additional modeling in less than two months, adding no delay to the project. HDR’s model, results, and reports were accepted by regulatory agencies with no additional comments.