PBS&J + RS&H team selected as lead design engineers for new Fort Lauderdale Airport runway

FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Broward County recently awarded the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) Expansion of Runway 9R/27L project to the team led by PBS&J + RS&H. The project, an $810 million capital improvement effort, is significant because it involves complete reconstruction of the south runway at FLL, expanding it from 5,000 feet to more than 8,000 feet in length. The project will span an active federal highway and railroad, require large amounts of fill, and the runway tunnel and taxiway bridges will be bid out as separate design-build projects.

“Building a new runway to meet the FAA’s projections for growth is challenging,” said John Zumwalt, CEO of The PBSJ Corporation. “Broward County has chosen a team with relevant, recent experience from a project that is stunningly similar to FLL’s. Dale Stubbs, PBS&J’s engineer-of-record for the new 5th Runway at Atlanta, is the project manager for FLL. He understands the complexities of permitting, stakeholder coordination, and developing design resolutions that simplify maintenance for staff and operations for the public during construction. He will lead a team of equally capable professionals. We look forward to being there when Broward County cuts the ribbon on opening day.”

Chris Spann, P.E., PBS&J national aviation business sector manager said, “This was a project that we have been tracking for a couple of years and have been pursuing in earnest since the beginning of the year. One of the key differentiators between our team and the competition was that we can draw on our experience in Atlanta to take months off of the schedule. In addition, our accomplishments in Atlanta completing a similar runway tunnel and taxiway bridge $100 million under budget will enable our team to bring cost saving measures to FLL.”