Sahara Sand and Gibraltar Rock Inc., divisions of the Silvi Group Companies, headquartered in Fairless Hills, PA, are wrapping up the delivery of 185,000 tons of sand and stone used to manufacture ready-mix concrete on site for a JFK Airport runway reconstruction project. The multi-million dollar project, which is being managed by Walsh Construction, consists of the reconstruction of runway #3. The reconstruction abandons traditional asphalt overlay applications by instead, installing an 18-inch concrete overlay which will reduce delays and provide long term maintenance savings due to the longer lifespan of the concrete (approximately 40 years). The runway reconstruction began in March 2019 and is expected to be completed in August 2019.

18-inch concrete overlay installed as part of the JFK Airport runway #3 reconstruction.

Sahara Sand and Gibraltar Rock have been supplying sand and stone at a pace of 170 dump trucks per night during a three and half month period. The stone deliveries originate from their Belle Mead, NJ Quarry to the Airport location in Queens, New York, a 75-mile haul. The sand deliveries originate from their Sahara Sand at Eagles Lake Reserve location to the Airport, a 120-mile haul. Utilizing their on-site concrete plant, Walsh Construction has been able to pour upwards of 3,000 yards of concrete a day for a total of 120,000 cubic yards. Gibraltar Rock was selected as the supplier for the runway expansion because of its ability to handle the volume of daily deliveries as well as the hardness of the stone which was required as a specification of the stringent Port Authority demands.

Gibraltar Rock’s stone products are approved by all three NY, NJ and PA transportation authorities. Proven reserves at Gibraltar Rock of Belle Mead exceed 250 million tons. The facility is also equipped with rail load out capabilities.

The Silvi Group, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, today consists of Silvi Concrete (with11 ready-mix concrete plants in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey), Sahara Sand (with 3 licensed sand mines in NJ), Riverside Construction Materials (with a state-of-the-art cement and aggregate import terminal on the Delaware River, in Bristol, PA), and Gibraltar Rock (Belle Mead, NJ). For more information regarding Sahara Sand, Gibraltar Rock of Belle Mead, or the Silvi Group Companies, contact Sean Earlen at 215-295-0777 or [email protected].