No_5_May_and_June__1949 — Page 53

MALOLOS

MANILA

BAY

RIZAL

Additional Facilities

at

Manila International Airport

MAKILA

AIRPORT SITE

CAVITE

ASIG

Code

## $AJSTque #• 5

Plan of the Manila Airport showing existing and new work. (A) The original runways of Nichols Field. (B) 0.000 ft. runways built by the U.S. Army in 1945, (C) Position of new runways as detailed in this article,

The following article is published because of the current local interest in the construction of a new Airport in Hongkong. The contract for the new

runway and improvements at the Manila International Airport was } awarded on 1st Sept. 1948 and the effective date ordering the contractors to proceed with the work was 1st November 1948. The scheduled date of completion was in 300 calendar days or 27th August 1949. However, due to the application of modern construction equipment and methods the contractors will complete this project in early July 1949 or approximately 60 days ahead of schedule.

The contract for the extension of the existing runway and taxiway and the construction of a new runway, taxiway and parking aprons at the Manila International Airport was awarded to Marscon, Inc. and Morrison-Knudsen Inc., associated in a joint venture, on 1st September 1948 in Manila by the United States Civil Aeronautics Administra- tion. The aggregate cost of this undertaking will be U.S.$2,620,000, the financing being provided by the United States Government. The completion of this project will provide the Philippines with the best airport facilities in the Far East.

General

Manila International Airport is located in Paranaque a suburb on the main highway to points South of Manila. The terminal is about 6 miles from the Manila Hotel and may be reached via Dewey Boulevard.

The Airport site is among the facilities released by the U.S. Army in the Manila Area in accordance with the base agreement between the Philippine Republic and U.S. Government. The nucleus of this site is the pre-war Nichols Field, the concrete runways of which have now become taxiways and aprons for the operating airlines.

The present asphalt surfaced runway, 100' wide with 50′ stabilized shoulders and about 6,000 feet in length, was built by the U.S. Army in 1945 as part of the preparation for the invasion of Japan. The design standards were probably based upon use of B-29 bombers but modified by the equipment and materials available during this period of liberation early in 1945.

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Proposed Work

The work under this contract consists of a 100 X 1800 extension to the present 6000′ NW-SE runway, 50' X 3900′ extension to the present taxiway, both meeting with a new 200′ X 7500′ NE-SW runway. The 75' taxiway serving the new runway cuts across the extensions to both the old taxiway and old runway. Parking aprons 400′ X 400', have been provided at the intersection of and adjacent to each taxiway. Drainage between runway and parallel taxiway is provided by inlets to several concrete pipe drain systems.

The control building and operations tower adjacent to the aprons are now in process of construction under separate contracts. The contract for runway lighting has not yet been advertised for bidding.

Soil and Climate

The site of the new runway was covered with two to three feet of black clay over-laying either a weathered tuff or a grey clay, In the deeper cuts and in almost all trenches and ditches a sandstone and a silty tuff were uncovered.

In trenches and the narrower ditches blasting was selected as the most expeditious method of loosening the soil for the excavating equipment. However, in the open areas and the wider ditches, rooters pulled by the crawler type tractors were able to break up the material sufficiently for the tournapulls.

The weathered tuff was the basic material for making the fills under the runways, aprons, and taxiways. The grey clay and the black clay were used in the adjacent

areas.

Separation of materials was necessary due to the rigid specifications for compaction and control of moisture in the All materials in order to get maximum density. Com- paction was measured by the Proctor method as modified by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

In November and December, before the end of the rainy season, considerable trouble was encountered in using the clay in fills. The material as excavated had more moisture than allowable to obtain densities required by