D E S I G N , CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE

OF TORRIJOS AIRPORT
s
Maurice S. Greenberg 1 a n d V e r n o n A.JSmoots, 2 Fellows A S C E , '
and R u d y M.jPacal, 3 M. ASCE i '
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(Reviewed b y the Air Transport Division)

ABSTRACT:/Jn 1970, the Direccion de Aercmautica Civil (DAC) of the Republic

of Panama realized that its facilities at Tocumen International Airport could not /
accommodate the heavy jumbo jet traffic of world airlines using the airport as {',
a stop on routes between cities in North and South America.T'he existing single
runway, built in 1933-34, was of inadequate pavementlhlcKness, lacked mod-
ern lighting and instrumentation services, and badly needed improvement in
surface and subdrainage to relieve hydroplaning and pavement pumpingTfn
1972, the DAC implemented the final design and construction of a second'plfr-
allel runway and new modern passenger terminal in accordance with its master .--,
plan, prepared by The Ralph M. Parsons Company. Design and construction / 9
problems were successfully surmounted, resulting in extremely low-cost main- ( ^y
tenance programs and highly satisfactory service conditions of the new run-
ways, taxiways, apron area and terminal of the now-named General Omar Tor-
rijos International Airport.

AIRPORT BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

The Republic of Panama, located between the two major continents

of the western hemisphere, lies in a very advantageous position as a
stop on air and marine traffic routes. It is a natural crossroad for air
routes between both coasts of the South American continent a n d the
entire North American continent, and may be considered a gateway to
the western side of the A n d e s from Europe. For these reasons, a n d be-
cause of routes already established by international air carriers, one can
easily see w h y Panama is called the "crossroads of the western hemi-
sphere" (Fig. 1). Historically, Tocumen International Airport h a d en-
joyed a high normal rate of air-passenger growth. Its air cargo growth
is n o w nearly double that of the passenger growth, compared with es-
tablished world traffic growth trends. With normal economic a n d polit-
ical stability, these passenger a n d freight increases will doubtless con-
tinue, especially with the advent of the large-capacity, wide-bodied jet.
Tocumen International Airport, n o w called the General O m a r Torrijos
Herrera International Airport, is approximately 23 k m (15 mile) east of
Panama City in the rolling coastal plain adjacent to the western side of
the San Bias Mountain range. The original airport w a s sited o n a parcel
1
Mgr. of Geotechnical Services, The Ralph M. Parsons Co., 100 West Walnut
St., Pasadena, Calif. 91124.
2
Partner, Dames & Moore, Suite 3500, 445 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, Calif.
90071.
3
Pres. and Princ. Engr., Gorian and Assoc. Inc., Suite A, 766 Lakefield Road,
Westlake Village, Calif. 91361.
Note.—Discussion open until August 1, 1985. To extend the closing date one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The
manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on
February 8,1984. This paper is part of the Journal of Transportation Engineering,
Vol. I l l , No. 2, March, 1985. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-947X/85/0002-0173/$01.00. Pa-
per No. 19600.
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CIGALPA
MEXICO CITY 'ANAGUA
GUATEMALA CITY CARACAS
SAN SALVADOR GEORGETOWN
SAN JOSE PARAMARIBO
PANAMA CITY B060T/

ASUNCION

MONTEVIDEO
BUENOS AIRES

FIG, 1.—Panama, Crossroad of Western Hemisphere

of 729 ha acquired by the government of Panama in 1946, as shown in

Fig. 2.
The original facilities were built in stages, beginning in 1946. The run-
ways, taxiways, ramps, access roads and other utilities at Tocumen were
designed and built by the U.S. Public Roads Administration. The con-
crete runway, 2,000 m (6,560 ft) long and 61 m (200 ft) wide, was con-
structed in a northeasterly-to-southwesterly direction with an upgrade
of 1.1% toward the northeast. In 1961, a level runway extension was
designed and constructed to add 700 m (2,300 ft) in the southwest. A
taxiway continuation to the southwest end of the runway extension was
constructed at the same time.
The original passenger terminal building was designed by Arq. Luis
Hernandez for the Ministry of Public Works of Panama, and was built
in 1953. The passenger terminal building was a reinforced-concrete frame
structure with two floors—the main or ground floor and a second floor.
Additions to the terminal facility in several small increments created a
mix of building materials and plan layout. These increments, added as
need dictated, resulted in a highly compartmented complex passenger
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FIG. 2.—Gen. Omar Torrijos Airport Site

terminal that did not adequately serve the increasing passenger traffic
at Tocumen. The basic data for the modified original runway, taxiway
and apron facilities are listed in Table 1.
In 1970, the first of the wide-body jets, the Boeing 747, entering the
international air passenger field. Pan American Airlines, the largest sin-
gle carrier using Tocumen Airport as a key stop in its passenger runs
between North and South America, was beginning to schedule 747 air-
craft into Tocumen. Studies indicated that the existing runway, taxiway
and apron system were marginally able to accept the 747 traffic, and that
with the traffic, major degradation of these pavements would be in-
curred. Much of the jet freight traffic was load-limited for the existing
runway and consequently stage-limited in its flight operations. Still the
existing runway system was subject to reduced life and increasing main-
tenance requirements.
Added to the shortened structural integrity were additional problems
concerning security and safety. The existence of only one jet runway
under the control of the Republic of Panama placed some limitations on
the security of the nation and the convenience of the users. The Pana-
manian Air Force is based at Tocumen Airport, and its security, patrol
and rescue missions were curtailed whenever the runway was closed for
repairs or other reasons.
Runway conditions also impaired safety because of the poor drainage
of the shoulders and a lack of center-line lighting. The first 700 m (2,300
ft) of Runway 3 were constructed on a level grade. The shoulders were
generally flush with the edges of the runway and densely grassed. This
caused the water during heavy rainstorms to pond along the edges of
the runway. The DAC recorded 13 aircraft accidents at Tocumen in the
10-yr period preceding 1970; at least three of the accidents were partially
ascribed to hydroplaning or poor visibility. Some of these accidents caused
the airport to close for periods of up to 24 hr.
Obstructions in the approach surface of Runway 21 also affected air-
craft operation. A hill located approximately 7 km (4.3 mile) northeast
of the threshold of Runway 21 made it necessary to approach on a cir-
cling descent and takeoff on a climbing turn. Approaches were limited
to VFR during daylight hours and, accordingly, Runway 21 was not in-
strumented.
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 TABLE 1.—Original Data
Runway 3-21 Data
(1) (2)
Orientation N30° 51 'E
Landing strip width 150 m (492 ft)
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Pavement type PCC

Thickness 27 cm (11 in.) except for runways ends,
which are 30 cm (12 in.)
Runway width 61 m (200 ft)
Length 2,700 m (8,860 ft)
Wind coverage (all weather) 99.3"
Threshold elevation
Runway 3 15 m (49 ft) above sea level
Threshold elevation
Runway 21 40 m (131 ft) above sea level
Maximum slope 1.1%
Effective slope 0.9%
Lighting High intensity, edge
Navigational aids ALS, VASI
Taxiway Data
Width 18-30 m (100-60 ft) [mostly 18 m (60 ft)]
Total exits 5
Type Right angle
Maximum slope 2.0%
Pavement type PCC
Thiskness 30 cm (12 in.)
Lighting Edge
Apron Data
Passenger apron area 65,000 m2 (699,400 sq ft)
Cargo apron area 23,000 m2 (247,480 sq ft)
Maintenance apron area 52,000 m2 (559,520 sq ft)
Pavement type (all) PCC
Thickness 30 cm (12 in.)
Maximum slope 1.1%
""Hydrogeology of the Tocumen Area," a study for Idaan by John C. Miller,
April, 1968 (in Spanish).

Studies were performed to determine the improvement necessary for

the existing runways, taxiways and aprons to accept the increased num-
ber of heavier aircraft. Plans to secure these improvements were optim-
ized to minimize negative impacts on airport operations and vital eco-
nomic factors, such as international mail, banking, imports and exports,
tourism, and hotel and supporting services. With the single runway sys-
tem, all of these economic factors and the operation of the airport were
adversely affected and it became apparent that the airport would be sub-
ject to closure for some time, even when construction staging was op-
timized to take advantage of off-peak hours and the displacing of thresh-
olds. The studies indicated that rehabilitation of the existing passenger
terminal would be too expensive; it was apparent that the necessary ter-
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J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 minal services would be best secured by the construction of a new ter-
minal.
Accordingly, in 1971, the DAC decided that a second runway and new
passenger terminal would be built. In the interim, during construction,
the old passenger terminal and runway system would be used, with the
old runway, taxiway and apron systems repaired and edge subdrainage
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installed to relieve subbase and subgrade pumping, as well as to prevent

flooding and hydroplaning on the runway. When the new runway and
terminal were ready for use, the old system would be updated by the
application of overlays and the old terminal would be used for cargo.

NEW RUNWAY AND PASSENGER TERMINAL

According to records kept at the Tocumen control tower, Instrument

Flight Rules (IFR) weather conditions prevail approximately 1% of the
time. Also, wind data recorded hourly for the Tocumen Airport control
tower were used to construct a composite (all-weather) wind rose, shown
in Fig. 3. The 3-21 runway orientation covers in excess of 99% of the
operations. This same orientation would be suitable for the new runway.

FIG. 3.—-Wind Rose for Torrijos Airport

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FIG. 4.—Torrijos Airport Master Plan

0+MO TOOt) 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8001) 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 FEET

FIG. 5.—Geotechnical Profiles and Forecast Settlement, New Runway, Torrijos

Airport

Studies were conducted to determine the location of a second parallel

runway. Both close-in and widely spaced parallel runway orientations
were studied, and there were numerous constraints. The Bahia Panama,
with its very flat tidal margins and marshlands, is located to the south-
east. Soft soils usually associated with these deposits would make con-
struction more difficult. And although the highlands in the northwest
and northeast were more stable, they created air-space interference which
would require massive earth-work cuts to remove intrusions in the air-
port air-space surfaces. Also, the relatively new construction of com-
mercial motels and sports facilities northeast of the airport limited the
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J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 extent of parallel runway lateral displacement from the standpoint of
interference with air-space surfaces and from the standpoint of noise
tolerance. Considering the foregoing constraints, the second runway and
passenger terminal were sited as shown in Fig. 4, the Airport Master
Plan. The terminal was to be located between the widely spaced dis-
placed parallel runways. The new runway would be located to the
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southeast, avoiding the air-space interference of the highlands and the

new construction nearby. However, portions of the runway would en-
croach upon the marshlands, requiring careful design and construction.

INITIAL GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION

The decision to construct a second parallel displaced runway and a

new passenger terminal, as shown in Fig. 4, made it necessary to initiate
a geotechnical investigation to obtain data and aid in formulating rec-
ommendations for design of the runway system, passenger terminal and
other features related to grading, access roads and a major drainage di-
version of the Tocumen River. A geotechnical work scope was devel-
oped and conformed to the standard recommended minimum programs
of FAA for an airport investigation. Modification to the recommended
3-m (10-ft) depths of investigation was carried out to determine the depth
to firm soil or rock, especially along the southern portion of the runway
near the shore of the Bay of Panama and its tidal flats. This initial in-
vestigation was begun in September, 1971, the rainy season in Panama.
The Rio Tocumen and its tributaries had flooded the southerly end of
the proposed runway so that truck-mounted equipment could not be
brought into the area. All soil-boring and sampling equipment had to
be carried into the area most of which was under water ranging from
30-60 cm (1-2 ft) deep. Results of the initial investigation indicated a
fairly thick mantle of recently deposited fine-grained soil, which in-
creased in thickness toward the bay shore (see Fig. 5). Clays near the
bay shore were normally consolidated. Forecasts of the performance of
fills placed on the thickest deposits of soft soils suggested that settle-
ments would be in the range of 1 m (3-1/2 ft). The early concepts, based
on the normally consolidated clay, involved long-term surcharges aided
by vertical sand drains or wick systems or both. Also, early plans called
for the use of stability berm fills adjacent to the primary runway and
taxiway embankments.

FINAL DESIGN AND INVESTIGATIONS

With the acquisition of the initial geotechnical data, the location of the
south end of the runway-taxiway could be altered to avoid the deposits
of compressible soils. At the same time, man-made cultural develop-
ments in the north imposed limits on adjustments in runway alinement
and location. Although the latitude for fine tuning was severely limited,
a modification of approximately one degree in alinement made it pos-
sible to remove a major cultural obstruction—the Velodrome—from the
northerly airspace surface and, at the same time, lower the upper
threshold of the new runway so that fill requirements could be reduced.
Accordingly (see Fig. 5), it was decided to move the original runway
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 TABLE 2.—Surcharge Thickness

Runway Threshold
length, Elevations, Runway Runway,
total, in in meters grade, width, in
meters Runway Alinement (feet) meters
as a per-
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(feet) New Old South North centage (feet)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
3,350 N29° 13'000'E N30°50'15E 6.45 11 0.15 45
(11,000) (21) (36) (150)

location 600 m (2,000 ft) north, and to shift the south end 122 m (400 ft)
west. In this fashion, the south end of the runway would be moved off
the deeper compressible deposits. Additionally, it was possible to lower
the southerly end of the runway to yield a runway slope or grade of no
more than 0.15%. The relocation and reduced fill heights would result
in less settlement. Specifics of the new parallel runway design are shown
in Table 2.
The adjustment of the new runway alinement, based on further
knowledge of the geotechnical subsurface conditions, materially im-
proved the technical practicality of the airport's final design and con-
structability. The final runway layout is shown in Fig. 6.
Additional geotechnical investigations were performed along the new
alinement to evaluate suitable structural fill materials. Soil conditions along
the new alinement were better than those previously discovered along
the initial alinement. The clayey soils, particularly the upper clays, were
found to be preconsolidated, resulting in higher shear strengths. The
presence of the preconsolidated clays, coupled with the lowering of the
embankment height, eliminated the need for the stability berms.
The final investigation confirmed the presence of interbedded lenses

3 PANAMA CITY TO PANAMA CITV

RIO TOCUMEN/I A * ^

1+000 0+500 0+000 0+500 1+000 1+500 2+000 2+500 3+000 0+500 1+000 1+500 2+000
12,000 14,000 16,000
STATION IN FEET

FIG. 6.—Plan of Torrijos Airport

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 Along New Runway Alinement

RUNWAY DESIGNATIONS
Runway Taxiway Taxiway
Old Runway New Runway
shoulders, width, shoulders,
in meters in meters in meters South North South North
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(feet) (feet) (feet) approach approach approach approach

(8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14)
7.5 30 10.7 L-3 R-21 R-3 L-21
(25) (100) (35)

of sands and gravels, resulting in substantially shorter drainage paths

for consolidation. The lower embankment height, the presence of pre-
consolidated clays and interbedded lenses of sands and gravels all re-
sulted in lower estimated embankment settlement and a reduced esti-
mate of the time necessary for the settlement to occur.
Additionally, it was decided to construct the new runway-taxiway in
a staged plan in which the south 300 m (1,000 ft) of the runway em-
bankment would be placed along with the rest of the runway embank-
ment, but in which the 300-m (1,000-ft) southerly portion would be fin-
ished, graded as a second-stage construction feature in the following dry
season. In essence, the entire runway-taxiway system fill was to be placed
in the first construction season, along with the surcharge loadings at the
southerly end and northerly areas of the runway. During the second
stage of construction, the surcharged areas and the rest of the system
would be fine-graded and construction of the subbase and pavements
would take place during the second construction season. The northerly
section was to be modestly surcharged with 2 m (6.6 ft) of fill to aid in
the consolidation. Reference to Fig. 5 indicates these deposits and their
forecast settlements for the initially elevated runways and taxiways. When
the runway system was lowered in elevation, as shown in Fig. 6, the
criticalness of the settlement of the northerly compressible deposits was
diminished. Lowering of the runway allowed the entire runway slope
to remain a constant 0.15%. It was further decided to place some sur-
charge on these northerly compressible soil deposits to eliminate the need
for future leveling overlays, since the entire pavement construction pro-
gram could not be achieved in one Panamanian construction season.
Accordingly, surcharges were designed to be placed to the thicknesses
indicated in Table 3 for the station limits, as measured from the south
end of the original new runway location.
Terminal and Apron Area.—With the relocation of the new runway-
taxiway, it was necessary to relocate the new terminal and terminal apron
facility. Relocation of the runways and taxiways improved most ele-
ments of the design. The borings in the area of the new passenger ter-
minal location, however, indicated that while the main terminal could
be supported on shafts of modest length drilled into the underlying un-
weathered sandy siltstone, the satellite on the south side of the terminal
was located in what was apparently the old prehistoric eroded channel
of the Rio Tocumen, which had incised the sandy siltstone in the area
of the south satellite structure. This condition required that the drilled

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 TABLE 3.—New Runway Data
Stations Surcharge thickness, in meters (feet)
(D (2)
1 + 750 to 1 + 950 m 2 (6.6)
2 + 050 to 2 + 400 m 3 (10)
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2 + 900 Northerly m 3(10)

straight-shaft caissons had to be considerably longer in this area than

those expected in the area of the terminal. With the exception of the
terminal access road tunnel, which provides for an access taxiway to the
old runway from the new passenger terminal location, all of the building
structures were designed to be supported on straight-shaft caissons. Al-
lowable bearing for these caissons, when drilled into the unweathered
siltstone, was 40 kg/cm 2 (80,000 lb/sq ft). The taxiway bridge over the
access road was designed to be supported on a mat foundation with a
limit of 2 kg/cm 2 (4,000 lb/sq ft) under areas of stress concentrations.
Embankment Material.—Materials to serve as structural fill in the
runway-taxiway and apron areas of the airport were severely limited in
the region. The hills and ridges to the northwest of the airport were
surveyed for potential "borrow" sources of structural fill.
Field reconnaissance, including field sampling and testing for the quality
of the structural fill, identified areas where materials were of acceptable
quality. Geophysical refraction surveys were used to assess the quan-
tities of materials and to identify the depth of deposits and methods of
excavation. The only available material for structural fill was tuffaceous
siltstone with a varying composition of sand. This material has been used
extensively in the Panama City area and is generally known locally as
tosca, an unweathered, highly fractured siltstone that varies from a light-
to medium-brown color and is moist and hard.The upper zone of hard

TABLE 4.™Pavement Sections

Critical section—runway ends,
taxiways and aprons
0)
PCC = 36 cm (14.5 in.). Stabilized
subbase = 24 cm (10 in.) (Portland
cement stabilization). Structural fill cement stabilization). Structural fill
subgrade, thickness keyed to k
value of native subgrade. Minimum
value of k on structural fill surface
required was 5,500 g/cm 3 (200 pci)
Noncritical section—
runway interiors
(2)
PCC = 32 cm (13 in.). Stabilized Sub-
base = 28 cm (11 in.) (Portland
subgrade thickness was keyed to k
values on native subgrade. Mini-
mum value of k on structural fill
subgrade was 5,500 g/cm 3 (200 pci).
By actual test it was determined that
the least strength natural subgrade
had a A: of 1,100 g/cm 3 (40 pci) and
that three 20-cm (8-in.) lifts (com-
pacted) of structural fill produced a
k value on the top of the structural
fill greater than 5,500 g/cm 3 (200 pci)

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 fractured rock is easily excavatable and produces a gravelly sized fill with
the development of a silty, sandy matrix. Test fills constructed with these
materials indicate a modest degradation in the large-gravel-size range,
resulting from placement and compaction, with little or no increase in
fines passing the 200 mesh sieve. Predominately, the fine-gravel and
coarse-sand ranges experienced a modest gain in the percentage of these
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sizes, thus indicating that this material would perform as a structural

fill. Laboratory and field measurements for the strength capability to
support loads indicates that California Bearing Ratio values of less than
3% on the native soil subgrade could be improved with a compacted
tosca fill of 60 cm (2 ft) so that Westergaard subgrade modulus values
of 4,000-5,500 g/cm 3 (150-200 pci) could be readily anticipated and
achieved.
Pavement Design.—The runway-taxiway design was predicated on the
most critical aircraft anticipated through 1985, which proved to be the
DC-8-63 because of its wheel configuration and gearload. It was decided
that a rigid pavement would be used and that the paving section would
be as shown in Table 4.

CONSTRUCTION

The wet-season tropical climate of Panama was not conducive to con-

struction of the new runway-taxiway system or the new passenger ter-
minal. Three major drainage channels—the Rio Tocumen, Rio Tapia and
the Quebrada Las Palmas (see Fig. 4)—carried surface waters to and
through the new expanded airport site. A primary step for construction
was to control the normal annual flooding these major drainage chan-
nels contributed to the area of construction, and, in the case of the Rio
Tocumen and Las Palmas channels, to provide permanent relocation and
improved capacity to pass their floods to the Bahia Panama without
flooding the adjacent low flat terrain. Additionally, secondary drainage
relief channels of adequate size and in locations effective in keeping water
away from the construction site were required. Old channels and his-
torically low spots in the terrain of the south end of the new runway-
taxiway were softer and residually wetter each dry season, and needed
drainage relief, limited soft-surface soil removal, and replacement with
structural fill.
The rainy season precluded any clearing, grubbing or traffic over the
natural terrain because of the disturbance of the surface of the precon-
solidated soils. The clearing of plant growth had to be done just before
stripping and grubbing, since any prolonged time period between clear-
ing and the stripping and grubbing allowed plant life to resume its growth
instantly in the hot, moist, ambient atmosphere of Panama. Earth-work
operations were limited to the dry season only. Where work required
more time than the dry season afforded, the construction achieved was
graded to facilitate drainage, and was left until the next dry season be-
fore construction was resumed.
Construction for the airport upgrading began with clearing and grub-
bing in early 1973. Grading for the new runway-taxiway system was
carried out to the extent that the limited surcharge program, as devel-
oped in the design, was completed, including the program to drain the
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J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 airport fills. This earth work was achieved in the 1973 construction sea-
son before the onset of the wet or winter seasons, and was managed by
the Panamanian firm of Pianos y Supervisiones Tecnicas, S.A., and the
U.S. firm of J.E. Greiner Co. The contractor for earth work was Energo-
projekt, a Yugoslavian-based international contractor previously en-
gaged on an earth-work dam project for extension of the water supply
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for Panama.
We understand that the earth-work contractor adhered to the con-
struction plan developed by The Ralph M. Parsons Company, the design
contractor. Earth work and grading were achieved in the first construc-
tion season, and paving was carried out in the following construction
season. The surcharges, placed at the end of the first construction sea-
son and left in place during the subsequent rainy season, achieved the
forecast settlement based on the geotechnical investigation. Concrete
runway and taxiway pavements were placed during the second con-
struction season largely as designed. The adequacy of the design and
subsequent construction are evident in the condition of the pavement
today, almost nine years after completion, especially on fills over soft
subsoils, a credit to the consultants, designers and constructors of the
airport.
Some minor adjustments in the length of foundation pilings for the
south satellite of the terminal were necessary during construction. The
design lengths of these piles were based on borings in the terminal
building area and each satellite location. When actual drilled-in piles were
installed for the south satellite, particularly in the area of the south edge
of the satellite building, the underlying unweathered tosca dipped sharply
and the lengths of these few piles had to be materially increased so that
the tips would key into the unweathered sound tosca (dark-green or
bluish-green rock). The foundations of the main terminal building founded
on the unweathered tosca were installed amid conditions consistent with
the geotechnical final design investigation results. This relatively minor
condition, detected in regard to the south satellite, had substantially no
impact on the construction schedule or final cost of the passenger ter-
minal.
As soon as the new runway and taxiway systems could be used, re-
habilitation of the original runway was begun. The rehabilitation plan
called for the replacement of all cracked or failed slabs, the majority of
which were in the south end of the old runway. Additionally, a system
of subdrainage relief was installed in the area of the south end of the
old runway so that the saturation condition that always prevailed in this
section could be reduced or eliminated. This condition was caused by
the granular subbase under the concrete pavement, which, because of
runway slope, channeled all water entering the subbase along the entire
runway length to the lower (south) end, where early design did not
provide for egress. Accordingly, the lower section of the old runway was
nearly always wet. With the installation of a subbase drainage outlet,
this condition was corrected. The next step in the rehabilitation was to
place 6 in. of leveling bituminous base over the.concrete to eliminate
reflective joint propagation. This was followed by 4 in. of bituminous
base and 2 in. of bituminous wearing surface, elevating the Load Clas-
sification Number (LCN) of the old runway from 44 to 66 to accept all
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i»T
FIG. 7.—Close-up View of Plates and Dial Gages Mounted on Independent Ref-
erence Frame

:>5 •//:
" "• I

FIG. 8.—View North Showing Boring Crew Driving for Soil Sampling, Using 140-
Ib Drop Weight with Which Standard Penetration Test is Performed
185

J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 new aircraft traffic. By comparison, the new runway-taxiway system has
been rated at an LCN of 100.
Plans to rehabilitate and convert the old passenger terminal to a cargo
terminal were dropped, since' the structure was ill-suited to such a use;
to try to adapt it would have been economically unsound. A new cargo
terminal will be planned in the near future, and will be closer to the
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new passenger terminal. It will be designed with the full utilization of

FIG. 9.—Northwesterly View of Original Airport Terminal Facility Showing Add-

On Facilities

FIG. 10.—Looking North from South End of New Terminal Apron Area Showing
South Satellite During Construction (Work in Foreground is Placing of Apron
Paving)

186

J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 air cargo modular containerization in mind. Figs. 7-13 show Torrijos
Airport at various stages of progress, from design to completion.

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

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Some minor changes have been implemented in the passenger ter-

minal since its inauguration into service in August, 1978. It became ap-

FIG. 11.—View of Freeport Shops Within New Terminal Area

FIG. 12.—Southeasterly View of New Terminal from Access Highway Showing

Parking Facility and Departing Passenger Ramp

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J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 parent in the last several years that areas for commercial use in the new
terminal needed enlargement. To achieve this expansion, the lounge for
passengers in transit was removed from the area within the main ter-
minal building, and a new location was created in the satellite area, which
services foreign carriers. The new location moved passengers in transit
nearer their gate areas, and separated them from local passengers. In
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this way, the expansion of the shopping and commercial areas was
achieved.
When the new passenger terminal was completed, with its airport
control tower crowning the building, the floors below the control tower
cab and the top floor of the terminal were finished and designated as
potential but unassigned office expansion areas for the DAC. In the years
since 1978, many of these office areas have been used to house staff
activities formerly conducted in rented office structures not directly lo-
cated on the airport property, or in areas in Panama City. Now most
DAC activities are located in the terminal control-tower complex, re-

FIG. 13.—Aerial View of Torrijos Airport Looking North from just South of New
(East) Runway Threshold, Showing High-Speed Turnouts, Terminal-Area Apron
and Terminal and Connecting Taxiways to Old Runway (Now Westerly Facility),
Upgraded by Asphalt Overlay (In Distance Can be Seen Old Terminal Complex
Beyond but in Line with New Terminal)
188

J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.

 suiting in more closely coordinated and administered operations for the
DAC of Panama.
In regard to the runways and taxiways, the DAC has not experienced
any need for extended maintenance. Besides cleaning and sweeping and
perhaps beginning a joint seal program in the near future, only removal
of residual tire rubber in touchdown zones has been necessary. It is the
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DAC's outlook that, after approximately 9 yr of runway use and almost

5 yr of passenger terminal occupancy, it has achieved a well-designed
airport that will require only minimal maintenance.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The writers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Diego Hur-

tado of the Panama DAC, who readily devoted his time and research
to furnish the construction and maintenance information for the report,
and who searched the DAC files for illustrative materials to enhance the
paper.

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J. Transp. Eng. 1985.111:173-189.