Plymouth Airport engineers report borings complete; low runway reconstruction bid about $5 million

Dubois & King told the Plymouth Airport Commission on May 14 that geotechnical borings for the runway reconstruction are complete and that updated Federal Aviation Administration guidance has increased pavement-thickness requirements compared with designs from two decades ago. The firm’s project lead, Jeff Adler, said the firm used current pavement-design software to size the runway for the designated aircraft.

The reconstruction project was put out to bid and drew five offers. "The low bidder was Lawrence Lynch, and their bid was a little over $5 million," Adler said, adding that the engineer’s estimate was "a little over $7 million." He said the commission is now waiting for a grant offer before moving forward with award and construction scheduling.

Adler also described the subsurface base that sits under the pavement and answered commissioners’ questions about how those layers factor into the pavement thickness calculations. He said the work under discussion is a reconstruction of the existing runway rather than an extension and that taxi-lane work is on a parallel track: the team targeted advertising the taxi-lane project by May 22 with a June 17 bid opening.

Why it matters: the difference between the low bid and the engineer estimate will shape the grant request, the scope of work the commission can accept and the construction timeline. If the grant offer is smaller than needed, the commission would face decisions about scope reduction, additional local funding or rebidding.

The commission received the update and will consider the grant offer and next steps once the FAA/state grant paperwork is finalized.