$6.9 million airport job under way

Clark and Sullivan last week began construction on a new building to house snow removal equipment at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Clark and Sullivan began work Sept. 1 on the $6.9 million project to construct a 33,000-square-foot building at the airport, as well as add a canopy to an existing snow shelter.

The new building will include 11 drive-through bays with 29-foot wide doors that are 26 feet tall. The building will have radiant heat in the floor, as well as a snowmelt system on the apron on the north side of the building to assist with de-icing the airport's fleet of snow removal equipment.

The job is expected to be completed the end of April 2012, Clark and Sullivan Superintendent Jim Keopp says.

Security for airport work usually requires intense scrutiny of workers entering and leaving airport grounds, but Keopp says Clark and Sullivan won't have to undergo such measures until it ties in a new paved roadway from the building into existing runways.

"We won't be in secure areas until February of next year," Keopp says. "Right now we are just in a little private sector of ground. It helps us because the trucks coming in and out delivering steel, rebar and concrete can come down National Guard Way and enter on the west side."

The job also comes at a crucial time for Clark and Sullivan, which expects to employ between 50 and 60 tradesmen during peak construction this winter.

"It is huge for Clark and Sullivan and all of our subs to have a job where we don't have to travel," Keopp says. "It's one of largest jobs in town."