RDU is building a new 10,600′ runway. It will cost “more than $500 million” (source) and the project will take five years (completion scheduled for 2028). The runway being replaced was built in the 1980s. I can’t find anything about how much it cost to build.
Back in 2019, this public works project was supposed to cost $350 million (source). So there has been inflation of 43 percent over a four-year period (official CPI from the BLS is up 21 percent).
Related:
- Cost to rebuild three conference rooms at the White House: $50 million.
At some point you have to wonder where the money is all going for stuff like this.
In WWII, the seabees could slap something like this together in a week or so, right? (I’m told that nowadays the seabees train by building things and then tearing them down, so as not to compete with the local construction companies)
I think you can build a Seabees style runway more quickly and cheaply. That’s not what they’re building here.
And 500,000 is only like five man-years, assuming free materials and equipment.
At CYYC the “Airport Authority” spent ~$1B (2014 Canabucks, total cost, including connecting roads) building a 6-lane 1000ft tunnel under a runway, to save maybe 20% of passengers a 2 mile trip around the end of the runway to the terminal.
Airport budgeting: price doesn’t seem to matter when spending other people’s money and you’ve got a captive market.
typo: 2000ft, not 1000ft.
If the width is 75ft I think it works out to $626 per sq/ft.