VP Trent Johnson on what has changed – and what hasn’t – in aviation construction

In the world of aviation construction, the landscape is always changing, always adapting to evolving needs. With natural ebbs and flows of air travel and new developments in safety, efficiency and technological advancement, even the sky isn’t the limit in the aviation market.

With more than $6 billion in aviation work across more than 110 projects and in nearly every market of our operations, Balfour Beatty teams across the U.S. bring the talent, insight and expertise required to build these critical transportation hubs that both meet current needs and pave the way for the future of aviation

Our aviation teams across the U.S. are led by industry experts like Trent Johnson, operations vice president in the Carolinas with over 15 years of continuous experience at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). Through intense and intentional collaboration, Balfour Beatty Relentless Allies like Trent ensure that our airports can safely transport thousands of travelers to their destinations every day, with minimal disruption and maximum value.

The More Things Change…

The aviation industry has been defined by change and challenge in recent years. From the security changes after 2001 to 2020 pandemic disruptions to increasingly tech-connected systems, airports are always evolving to meet evolving passenger and community needs. Our aviation experts understand that major industry shakeups can have lasting effects and require a contractor that both understands the history and can see the future vision

A booming population in a major metropolitan area like Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, necessitates rapid growth for RDU, but that’s only made more difficult when infrastructure is still catching up from 2020 project delays.

“Aviation expansion projects have a natural flow and sequence to them, and one our teams understand deeply from eight past and 12 current projects at RDU,” Trent says. “RDU needed a construction ally who could see the big picture and manage concurrent projects – terminal and runway expansions, parking lots, garages and more – all at once, and our team is delivering.”Aviation clients like RDU also value our team’s national resources, and how that naturally positions our expertise on the leading edge of emerging technologies in both construction solutions and airport design. As airports look to manage booming growth and renewed energy efficiency efforts, solutions like autonomous vehicle (AV) systems could soon take center stage in intra-airport transportation. Few contractors are as strategically prepared to deliver a future-ready autonomous vehicle system as Balfour Beatty.

“Our teammates in Florida have done some incredible, award-winning work on the JIA Ultimate Urban Circulator [U²C] project in Jacksonville, building new transportation futures for the city’s downtown,” Trent says. “Our teams constantly share resources and expertise across markets, so we’re poised to help airports like RDU explore how AV systems could increase traveler safety and operational efficiency.”

As airports continue to catch up with growth-minded improvements, some backlogged since 2020, our teams’ collaborative approach from preconstruction through final delivery helps to ensure that every design and material choice meets budgetary goals and that project phasing deftly balances operational impact and schedule.

“Airports all over the country are experiencing growing pains, but in many cases, they’ve already grown so much that meeting current needs while expanding capacity becomes logistically complicated,” says Trent. “’Logistically complicated’ is no problem for our teams, who expertly phase projects to meet growing demand while minimizing disruption.”

…The More They Stay The Same

While aviation clients value Balfour Beatty’s proven expertise on the many ways the industry is evolving, they rely just as much on our proven expertise in the tried and true principles of airport construction. As ever, relationships and relentless collaboration are the real keys to success.

Airport construction, landside and airside and airfield, rarely occurs in a vacuum. Our teams at airports like RDU and Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ) Jacksonville, North Carolina, are almost always operating in occupied terminals or on runways and roadways that require careful collaboration and management with airport authorities and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

And that collaboration pays little heed to the clock or the calendar.

“To serve our clients effectively and efficiently, we enter every aviation project with a clearly communicated plan for phased work that minimizes any impact on airport operations,” Trent says. “Night and off-hours work are the engine, but it only works because we fuel it with constant communication with air traffic controllers, airport police departments and the TSA.”

On the terminal side of airside construction, security standards have remained largely unchanged in the last few decades. If anything, some airports are starting to ease restrictions. The key, Trent says, is partnering with a contractor who not only knows how to work efficiently within TSA security standards, but one who sees the big picture – how security interfaces with complex infrastructure like baggage handling

“Terminal and runway construction requires a level of operational sterility and security matched only by healthcare and federal construction,” Trent says. “Every teammate is background checked and badged. Every tool is accounted for and tagged with trackers. Every perimeter is vigorously maintained. Our security processes are proven and unwavering.”

Sky-High Success

As technologies like autonomous vehicles, security systems and even aircraft themselves continue to evolve, our aviation teams are ready to take on new challenges and meet the needs of tomorrow’s airports, today.

In fact, they’re already doing it – across the Carolinas, in Florida, in Washington D.C., in California and more. We know our airport clients. We know what aviation success looks like, and we know what it takes to achieve it.

And we’ll be there – morning, noon and night, between takeoffs and landings, behind security fences, strengthened by our collaborative spirit – to make it happen.