Alpena Regional Teams With National Guard on Runway Project

Airport executives are used to overseeing major runway projects. Few, however, are accustomed to working closely with the Air National Guard to merge their airport’s requirements with those of the military.

That process presents extra challenges for Steve Smigelski, manager of Alpena County Regional Airport (APN) in northeastern Michigan. The commercial/general aviation airport is also a major training base of the Michigan Air National Guard and home to a Combat Readiness Training Center, one of just four such units in the United States. As a result, APN and the Guard often share responsibilities and costs for major construction projects at the airport.

“Our main concrete runway, 1-19, was 30 years old, and in rough shape,” Smigelski says. “The military officials agreed with us that the 9,000-foot surface had to be reconstructed. It took a lot of planning between many stakeholders to agree on how to make this happen.”

Originally, the airport tabled a plan to repave the whole runway with asphalt, but the military needed more fortified landing zones to better handle the weight of its heavy C-5 and C-17 cargo planes that often land at APN. Eventually, consensus was reached. The National Guard agreed to contribute $44 million to build reinforced concrete areas at the ends of the runway, while also replacing its old arresting cable system with a new version. Alpena County, which owns the airport, agreed to fund other portions of the $58 million project by spending a large portion of the nearly $18 million APN received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The National Guard made improvements on the north and south ends of Runway 1-19; the airport was responsible for resurfacing the center portion, about 5,500 feet. “We took newly created gravel that came from the crushed concrete from the old runway, and used that as a base material for the two runway ends that were reconstructed,” Smigelski details. “The central portion was built back with 8 inches of asphalt.”

The National Guard’s portion of the project was overseen by Maj. Anthony Hylko, the base civil engineer. Hylko is responsible for the condition, operations and maintenance of all Guard infrastructure at APN, including the Combat Readiness Training Center facilities, infrastructure and airfield components.

Overall, there are 50 full-time military personnel and 100 civilian state employees at the airport. The National Guard maintains its own ramp space, which has room for dozens of planes, and also operates the control tower. Just as it shares runway repair costs with the airport, it also contributes money to maintain the shared taxiways and common roadways.

Time for Improvements

The airport’s main runway had been kept operational with a number of superficial fixes when Hylko arrived at APN in 2021. And the FAA had already strongly recommended a major reconstruction for the whole runway. Hylko and the National Guard were especially interested in improving the landing zones at the north and south ends. “We worked closely with the airport, the FAA and the consulting firm [RS&H] to make this happen,” he says.

The military was responsible for rehabilitating about 1,750 feet at each end of the runway with reinforced concrete. Construction crews demolished and then crushed the old concrete into gravel, which was then used in the new base. Next, 16 inches of new concrete was installed over it. The arresting cables were placed 1,500 feet from the threshold of each end of the runway.

Knowing it would be a complicated project, the airport began planning discussions with RS&H, its engineering consultant, as early as 2020. “Working with airport officials, we originally thought we would be doing a rehabilitation of the existing runway pavement,” recalls David Joye, principal engineer, Aviation, for RS&H. “But after observing field conditions and getting input from the National Guard, it became obvious that more money would be needed to do a complete reconstruction.”

FAA funding was only applicable to the portion of Runway 1-19 used for civilian purposes—mainly daily flights to/from Detroit by SkyWest Airlines, but also general aviation traffic.

“We got approval from the FAA for a complete asphalt rehab for the center section of the runway,” Joye explains. “But to get the money needed for the complete reconstruction, including the concrete surface at the ends, we relied on Maj. Hylko. He did a terrific job acquiring the funding for that part of the project. Getting military approval for a project such as this usually takes from three to five years. Hylko moved very fast, and we got the money in less than a year.”

That funding, approximately $44 million, came from the National Guard Bureau.

Replacing the arresting cable system was an important component of improvements made by the military. It is used as an extra safety measure for military jets needing to make emergency landings. Such aircraft have tailhooks that can latch onto the cables, which are like those found on aircraft carriers. When not in use—about 99% of the time—the cables retract into the runway. The arresting system is raised and lowered by controls in the air traffic control tower and also in the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) building. When pilots need the cables raised, they use a dedicated radio frequency to make their requests. The control tower operates from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ARFF building is staffed 24 hours a day.

The National Guard installed a new arresting cable system as an extra safety measure for military jets making emergency landings.

The new cable system installed was manufactured by Curtiss-Wright in France. HMI Duluth supervised the onsite installation. The system includes the cable, a trough that houses it, and two steel plates, about 1 foot in diameter, that cover the cable when it is in the trough. The plates are designed to be flush with the runway surface when the cables are covered.

Joye notes that Richard Stump, an RS&H vice president, was invaluable moving that project along quickly. Stump previously served almost five years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, and had worked on numerous military construction projects throughout the United States and overseas. His main roles on the APN project were coordinating the National Guard’s specific project requirements with those of the airport, and identifying potential conflicts so they could be resolved in a timely manner. “When I arrived at APN, fixing the runway was already a top priority,” says Stump. “In fact, some training units were unwilling to come here because of the condition of the runway.”

In July 2022, representatives from major project stakeholders, including the airport, the National Guard, the FAA and RS&H, huddled to decide how to best reconstruct the runway. “Our design team worked very hard for five months to get the plan completed. Hylko, meanwhile, started the lengthy process to get funding from the National Guard Bureau,” Joye relates.

During planning meetings, Stump had an important facilitating role. Hylko had to define very specific requirements to get funding from the National Guard Bureau. “I helped translate military requirements that were different from normal FAA requirements, if that was necessary,” Stump notes. “It was important all parties were on the same page before Hylko made the official funding request.”

Once the funding was approved, bids were issued, and contractors were chosen. Construction started in April 2023. “I think Hylko did a great job in putting everything together in a very short amount of time,” Stump emphasizes.

During construction, there were meetings every Wednesday for officials from the airport, the National Guard, RS&H and the construction contractor. RS&H had personnel on-site throughout construction—some on the asphalt portion, others on the concrete portion. “The construction phase, for the most part, went smoothly,” Joye reports. “If any issues developed, someone from my staff was there to handle them.”

Hurdles to Clear

Construction crews faced their first major challenge in August 2023, during Operation Northern Strike, an annual training event that lasts more than two weeks. “RS&H’s design and field teams worked to coordinate  contractor construction activities with
the training exercises and the airport’s schedule,” Stump says. “For a couple of days, the runway had to be closed. Fortunately, this event was coordinated well in advance, so everything went pretty smoothly.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge occurred late in the project, when the intersection of the main runway (1-19) and secondary runway (7-25) started erupting. “We put in a funding request to the FAA for emergency AIP funds to rebuild that intersection. It cost $3 million alone for that,” Smigelski states. “That also added two more months in which the airfield was closed. Fortunately, the RS&H people came up with a great plan, in only 72 hours, on how to fix this.”

“When the surface buckled, there was a 90-foot-long crack. The older portions of concrete completely faulted,” Joye explains. “We think the hot asphalt and rollers destabilized the underlying pavement. We had to remove that asphalt and design a new system. This involved removing both the asphalt and the substrate underneath. We crushed this old pavement and reused it as base material before resurfacing everything.”

For two months in summer 2024, the entire airport was closed for the construction work during one of its busiest periods. SkyWest canceled all flights into APN and did not resume service until later in the year.

Associated Upgrades

In addition to the runway resurfacing work, the project included other improvements designed to improve safety for passengers, crews and pilots.  Per FAA recommendations, the airport replaced its existing incandescent edge lighting with new LEDs. “The old landing lights and navigation aids were very old, and hard to service,” Smigelski says. “The FAA’s Engineering Office procured the equipment for these items, and paid for them as well. So that was a nice extra benefit.”

All improvements, including the arresting cable system, were completed by November 2024. Smigelski reports that stakeholders are pleased, and the airport expects Runway 1-19 to be fully operational in 2025. “The National Guard was a great partner throughout this project,” Smigelski concludes “And sometime soon, we hope to again work together to reconstruct our taxiways. Those huge cargo planes do take a toll.”