ASCE Metropolitan Section

Construction Group News

Stewart International Airport Access Improvement Project

The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest air travel days of the year. However, this past Thanksgiving, air passengers in the Hudson Valley region had an easier time getting to Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY because of the recent opening of Exit 5A on Interstate 84 and new access roads leading to the airport. Paul Pasternak, P.E., of DMJM Harris gave a presentation to the Met Section’s Construction Group describing the Stewart International Airport Access Improvement Project on March 13, 2008 at Cooper Union.

The presentation concluded a two-part lecture that began with a presentation of Electronic Engineering Data (EED) in construction, including Automated Machine Guidance (AMG) and automated stakeout and survey. The construction of the new interchange and access roads leading to Stewart Airport used some of these innovative technologies.

ASCE members got to see a glimpse of the future of construction technology when Pete Melas, P.E. of the Office of Construction at NYSDOT’s main office in Albany gave a presentation on “Electronic Engineering Data” at Cooper Union on March 13, 2008. The presentation was the start of a two-part lecture that also included a presentation of the Stewart International Airport Access Improvement Project, highlighting its use of innovative GPS-guided construction and inspection techniques. Mr. Melas’ presentation focused on three major areas: Electronic Engineering Data (EED), Automated Machine Guidance (AMG), and automated stakeout and inspection.

Electronic Engineering Data includes coordinates, alignments, and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) surfaces. The benefits of using EED include the elimination of re-entry of field data (e.g., calculation of quantity items for payment), visualizing the designer’s intent and early identification of potential conflicts, automation of calculations, immediate field access to project information (e.g., an inspector in the field carries project data on a handheld unit), and promoting the sharing of data between parties.