Turner Construction

Description: The Turner-Trotter-Nubian Team provided construction management services for the landside construction activities at the New Indianapolis Airport. The Team managed all of the construction beyond the limits of the terminal and apron which included the mass earthwork, roads, bridges, utility construction, de-icing and fueling systems, surface parking, rental car facilities and the massive parking garage.

In sheer volume, 2.5 million square feet, the garage is twice as large as the terminal. With ten elevators, eight escalators, and four moving walkways, the garage has been built with maximum customer convenience, comfort, accessibility, and mobility in mind. The spacious new parking garage is tripled in size from its predecessor and is located a short walk from the terminal. It is connected to the terminal via an enclosed pedestrian bridge, which features moving sidewalks and a unique overhead art display.

The pedestrian bridge transports travelers from the terminal to the garage where pedestrians have the option of proceeding to a large lobby where eight kiosks greet passengers wishing to pay for parking prior to getting into their cars, or they may proceed to the Ground Transportation Center where rental cars, buses and shuttle services are available. Beyond the lobby is a large atrium that bisects the garage at every level and showcases a kinetic art display. The ceiling of the atrium is a Teflon-coated, translucent fabric. A cast-in-place concrete structure the garage features decorative precast panels with aluminum and steel accents at its perimeter.

In addition to more than 5,900 public parking spaces which are accessed via speed and helical ramps, the new garage also includes on-site rental car services. The garage's first level houses the airport's rental car operations and about 1,200 rental-car spaces. By contrast, rental cars at the old airport were spread out over several remote parking lots and were accessible only by the tiresome process of catching a shuttle. The other four floors (each of which measures 10 acres) are for public parking. Even these are an improvement over the current garage, with ceilings painted white to improve visibility and background music piped throughout.

Coordination was paramount in delivering a successful project. The Turner-Trotter-Nubian Team coordinated the work of 50 different trade packages with a large number of other groups. Since this work was being performed in the middle of an active airport, the Team also coordinated daily with the existing Airport operations staff. A significant portion of the work managed occurred in the Airport Operating Area and had to be scheduled around moratorium periods and other construction within the Airport confines as well as the daily take offs and landings. Additionally, Indianapolis is the second largest cargo facility for FedEx and much of the work had to be interfaced with the FedEx operation to minimize impact to their tightly scheduled operation in Indianapolis. Finally, the Team coordinated their activities with many other public agencies that provide services to the Airport such as the local power and water providers, the regulatory groups that control water and sewer run-off, Indiana Department of Transportation, FAA, TSA and Department of Environmental Management.

Uniqueness: The construction of the Garage and Ground Transportation Center is surrounded in unique aspects. For instance, the project was built from 120,000 cubic yards of micro-slica cast-in-place, post tensioned concrete, a mix design that provides a high degree of durability, and a reinforcing scheme consisting of miles of PT cabling. The garage also features extra long bay spacing of the columns in both directions to allow flexible parking configurations. The large volume of concrete required multiple weekly concrete pours on a sustained basis throughout two Indiana winters. This resulted in wet curing the concrete pours for 14 days on elevated decks through those winters.

Another unique aspect of the Garage and other landside components was the implementation of processes to receive LEED certification. From the very beginning (removal of an old runway) LEED principles were put into place. The concrete and asphalt removal totaled 80,000 square yards. The asphalt was milled off the runway and hauled to another location for stockpiling. The concrete was then rubblized and recycled for use as construction roads and staging areas throughout the project. Specific LEED credits for the parking garage include: light pollution reduction; water use 30% less than code; energy use 25% less than code; recyclables collected and stored; construction waste recycling; recycled and local content; sustainability harvested wood; low-emitting finishes, adhesives and sealants; and daylighting of major occupied spaces.

Impact: The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) determined the city’s new airport should be designed, constructed, and operated in an environmentally sound manner. Because LEED® goals were conceived early in the planning process, incorporating sustainable activities in the airport’s design, planning, and construction has been cost-effective.

Additionally, the new airport’s business deal and development strategy were set before September 11, 2001, but the design of the project didn’t happen in earnest until after 9/11, so the team was able to design to the new FAA and Department of Homeland Security requirements, such as positioning the garage 300 feet from the terminal with blast control setbacks.

The IAA’s goal was to build an economical, efficient, 21st Century airport that would help grow local businesses through a variety of new airport contracting opportunities. Through extensive communication programs, the Turner-Trotter-Nubian team was able to assist local small businesses with the information they needed to grow and succeed. Through championing economic opportunities for MBE and WBE firms, 22 different minority and women owned firms were awarded contracts for construction work on the parking garage, resulting in a participation level of 10.4%MBE and 5.9% WBE.

For the second phase of Capital Improvements at Indianapolis Public Schools the Trotter-Turner team 

was chosen to provide construction management services for an extensive renovation of George 

Washington Community School.  The renovation met conditional improvements, enhanced educational space, and upgraded the site and infrastructure of this eighty year-old facility.  The George Washington project was without a doubt the most complex project within Phase II of the IPS program.   

The George Washington project presented many unique challenges in updating a historic school building into a first rate facility, while preserving the fundamental architectural characteristics and keeping the facility fully functional throughout the duration of construction.  To meet this challenge, the construction program was broken into eight different phases.  Detailed construction schedules and constant communication were paramount in meeting the aggressive construction schedule while ensuring the safety of the student body and the community.  Listed below are a few of the activities accomplished by the Trotter-Turner team that led to the successful completion of the project. 

• Maintained functionality of life safety systems.  The construction team took precautions early on 

to ensure that life safety systems would be functional during the construction process.   

• Successfully managing the unforeseen conditions of a renovation project.   

The interior base of every exterior wall suffered extensive water damaged due to failed flashing and 

pure aging.  The construction team worked diligently to formulate a plan that managed through this 

unforeseen condition and allowed the project to be completed on schedule. 

• Sensitivity to and awareness of hazardous materials.  As an 80 year-old building, the facility 

naturally contained materials such as asbestos and lead paint.  The construction team worked hand in 

hand with the school system to ensure the hazardous material was abated.  The team developed a 

schedule that would allow the asbestos to be removed (by a third party) via use of OSHA compliant 

negative air enclosures.   

• Way-finding utilized to minimize effect of changes.  Use of simple, visible signage was posted 

throughout the school facility.  The signs directed people away from potentially hazardous areas and 

clearly marked alternative routes.   

• High quality barriers to boost morale.  Physical barriers (temporary walls) were erected to 

separate the workers from the school population.  Having clean, quality, semi-permanent walls 

increases morale and consequently reduces the likelihood for student misbehavior.   

• Successful demolition of a 100 foot smokestack.  The renovation program called for the 

installation of five new, high efficiency gas fired boilers.  This new system made the old steam 

boilers obsolete and thus no further need for the existing smoke stack.  The joint venture team led 

efforts to demolish this 100 foot smokestack by hand.  The smokestack was directly in the center of 

the building and the demolition process was completed with absolutely no issues or complaints. 

Extensive planning between the school and the construction crew helped make this challenging task 

a success.