Leica Geosystems’ Machine Control Technology Speeds Runway Construction
March 17, 2010
(Norcross, Ga., 17
March 2010) Construction of a $27-million runway project for Spaceport America
is on track for completion nearly two months ahead of schedule, thanks to
machine control technology from Leica Geosystems.
The Spaceport project, located in a
remote area 35 miles southwest of Truth or Consequences, N.M., will make space
tourism a reality. The state of New Mexico and two local counties are putting up
$198 million for this unique project.
Construction is being greatly
accelerated with the aid of GPS and robotic total station machine control from
Leica Geosystems, says David Guerra, superintendent for David Montoya
Construction, the project's contractor. "We should be finished with the runway
by the third week in July - almost two months ahead of our scheduled date of
September 16," he notes. "And the Leica Geosystems machine control equipment is
the reason we're going to be early."
After rapid preparation of the
subgrade with their Leica
PowerGrade 3D GPS-equipped dozers and motorgraders, a GOMACO 9500 Series
fine-grade trimmer equipped with Leica
PaveSmart 3D takes over to get the subgrade to ±
1/100th foot. "Using PaveSmart 3D to control
the trimmer alone cuts fine grading time to a third of what it takes with a
motorgrader", says Guerra. Use of the Leica Geosystems 3D-equipped trimmer
should also deliver significant improvements in concrete yields for the paving
phase, compared with traditional techniques.
Montoya is now gearing up for paving
the 10,000-foot long runway with their Guntert & Zimmerman S850 slipform
paver, The paver will make six passes, each 33.3 feet wide, to cover the
200-foot runway width also controlled by Leica PaveSmart 3D (LMGS-S) system,
using high precision Leica robotic total stations, PaveSmart 3D will regulate
steer, grade, draft and crossfall of the slipform paver in real-time.
Leica Geosystems Machine control saves
contractors significant time because it eliminates the labor costs for detailed
surveying for the runway, stakeout of hubs, setting bluetops and set up of
traditional stringlines used with slipform paving plus data handling between all
machines on site becomes easier throughout the entire project - the net result
being a lower cost, high productivity construction process.
Additional product
information:
Leica PowerGrade 3D -www.leica-geosystems.us/en/Leica-PowerGrade-3D_70038.htm
Leica PaveSmart 3D - www.leica-geosystems.us/en/GOMACO-Mainline-Slipformer-3D-System_17076.htm
Leica Geosystems - when it
has to be right
With close to 200 years of
pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and
services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze,
and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad
array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and
visualize and present spatial information.
Those who use Leica Geosystems
products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver,
and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica
Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by
more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in
more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the
Hexagon Group, Sweden.
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