Louis Armstrong International Airport

The New Orleans Airport East/West Runway’s nine month, $64 million rehabilitation project included the removal of some existing pavement, repair and replacement of damaged/deteriorated pavement sections, and the installation of a new concrete overlay. Geofoam with borate was selected as a lightweight engineered fill material.

• Geofoam was utilized to mitigate differential settlements of existing pavements that were not performing well, and to mitigate potential differential settlement at the interface between new and existing pavements.
• Geofoam was used under the newly widened sections of the taxiway fillets to accommodate 747-400 aircraft turning radius.
• Geofoam was utilized for settlement mitigation as part of a new taxiway connector constructed on virgin soils.

Geofoam with borate solved another problem at the New Orleans Airport site: potential termite damage to the Geofoam. The soils at the site are filled with tree stumps and roots, a good source of nutrition for subterranean termites. Geofoam with borate is treated with an EPA Registered additive that prevents the potential for significant infestation of the Geofoam.
Note: Geofoam with borate has been used on two early phases of construction at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Int’l Airport dating back to 1995.