Ames Construction built a 100-acre air cargo logistics center from the ground up in an 11-month project at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California. Crews built two bridges over the San Bernardino Channel for increased access to the center and widened adjacent city streets to accommodate large truck traffic. Airside work included the construction of an airport cargo apron that would accommodate up to 14 flights daily. This work adjoined the active airport taxiway and required continuous coordination with the San Bernardino Airport Authority.

Additional project scope involved underground drainage, which included the installation of a 20,000-gallon oil and water separator tank, a drainage flow splitter box, and two CDS (continuous deflective separation) hydrodynamic separator systems. These separators use swirl concentration and continuous deflective separation to screen, separate, and trap trash, debris, sediment, and hydrocarbons from stormwater runoff. The CDS units incorporate a non-blocking screen that captures and retains 100 percent of floatables and neutrally buoyant debris 4.7 mm or larger.

The hub began operations in April 2021. As the first facility to be built at the airport since the closing of the base in 1994, the logistics center promises to bring more than a thousand good-paying jobs to the community.