A new, more accurate method of predicting the remaining service life of airport pavements can determine when replacement is truly necessary-and when it is not. In 1995, when it opened, Denver International Airport was considered a significant achievement in engineering and design. Its Jeppesen Terminal, a three-level, 1.5 million sq ft (140,000 m~2) glass-enclosed structure, was topped by peaks formed of Teflon-coated fabric that evoked the nearby Rocky Mountains as well as traditional Native American dwellings. Encompassing 53 sq mi (137 km~2), it was the world's largest airport at the time, and its runways and taxiways were designed to accommodate the largest aircraft then in use, the Boeing 777. Perhaps chief among its attributes was the design of its runways, which fanned out radially from a central point, allowing more simultaneous takeoffs and landings than at any other airport. (See "Landmarks in Civil Engineering History, Denver International Airport," Civil Engineering, November/ December 2002, pages 164-65.)
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