Officials at Oakland International Airport (OAK) in California orchestrated a complex, multi-phase rebuild of a critical taxiway that was substantially completed in about 80 days without any disruptions to airline traffic.
While accommodating diverted aircraft is a steady income producer, airport officials are also working to encourage commercial, corporate and general aviation operators to use AVP as their permanent base. Until recently, however, the airport did not have enough hangars to attract new corporate and general aviation clients. To alleviate this problem, AVP has initiated two large hangar projects in the last two years.
Picture this: A small portion of the airfield at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids, MI, needs to be repaired. For safety purposes, low-profile barricades must be placed around the work zone. The area in question is about a quarter-mile from the shed where the barricades are stored, so crews would presumably need to haul the bulky barriers to the construction site in the back of a pickup truck, which can only carry five barricades at a time. The job requires 60 barricades, so that means 12 round trips and several hours of time.
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is the eighth-largest cargo facility in the U.S. and home to the world's second-largest FedEx operation'not to mention its 8 million annual passengers. With that kind of traffic on two parallel primary runways, airfield improvements require careful planning and coordination.
It snowed on April 4, 2023, in Cheyenne, WY. That's the day Cheyenne Regional Airport (CYS) closed its main runway to commercial traffic for the final paving phase of a multi-year reconstruction project. From that day until Sept. 9, when the first flight full of SkyWest Airlines passengers took off from the new pavement, crews endured the second-wettest year in Cheyenne history.
When it comes to airfield safety, lengthening runways is often the answer. At Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) in Moline, IL, the opposite was true. The Midwestern airport recently resolved a long-standing safety issue by shortening its general aviation runway.
When it becomes necessary to shut down one of your two main runways for reconstruction, careful planning is critical. The stakes are even higher when you manage one of the busiest general aviation airports in the United States. That was the challenge Justin Erbacci, chief executive officer of Los Angeles World Airports, faced earlier this year regarding Van Nuys Airport (VNY).
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) completed its Northeast End-Around Taxiway Project in May, making it the only U.S. airport with an end-around taxiway at both ends of a runway. The recently completed project was the last component of DFW's three-phase Northeast End-around Taxiway Program, which started in 2018 and cost a total of $46 million.
Airport operators generally have the misconception that if the lights are on, all is well. Tests, however, show that nothing could be further from the truth. The human eye is simply unable to detect reductions in the photometric performance of working fixtures, and this can potentially have serious safety implications.
When Ben Harrison became director at Cullman Regional Airport-Folsom Field (CMD) one decade ago, there were several projects that needed his attention. Originally constructed in 1958, the north/south runway had been improved throughout the years, but there were limited records about the work.
Previously known as Pope Air Force Base, POB is part of the Fort Bragg garrison. Its lead Air Force tenant unit is the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group, which is responsible for rapid strategic deployment of forces assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division.
Sooner or later, most single-runway airports have to bite the bullet and shut down to rehab their airstrip. For Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), that time came this spring. When the Wyoming airfield reopened in late June, it had a reconstructed runway designed to last for many decades and improvements in and around the terminal, to boot.
