The new runway safety area includes a 300 foot
wide concrete pier that extends 470 feet into
Boston Harbor. The crushable concrete area is
installed on top of the pier and covers an area
170 feet wide and 500 feet long. The Engineered
Material Arresting System (EMAS) bed is designed
to quickly and safely stop and aircraft as large
as a 747 in the event the plane moves past the
end of the runway.
“These two safety projects are the latest
example of the critical partnership between the
FAA and Massport, which has one mission -
enhancing the safety of the flying public and
the air crews that depend on Logan airport,”
said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.
The FAA approves the use of EMAS beds at
airports where water, city streets or other
factors limit the available size for a safety
area at the end of a runway. The beds have
safely stopped aircraft that overran a runway
eight times since 1999.
Massport began the $63 million project in 2011,
using $50 million in FAA AIP funding and $13
million of its own funds. According to Massport,
the project created about 70 construction jobs.
|