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.
Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) was built in the 1960s when both aircraft and air passenger numbers were much smaller. As the airport entered its sixth decade with passenger counts surging to 15 million and aircraft reaching record size, one of its biggest challenges was space constraints for aircraft taxiing to and from the gates.
The $14 million runway reconstruction that Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) completed last fall not only rebuilt its 53-year-old runway. The project also sets the stage for another airfield project that will improve safety and help ensure future viability of the airport. Runway 17-35 dates back to 1974, five years after CWA was originally constructed and opened.
Before Dunsmuir Mott Municipal Airport (MHS) could cut the ribbon on its newly rehabilitated runway last June, the $3.2 million investment was already delivering value to the surrounding region. With the airfield project still in its final stages, Dunsmuir city leaders received a request from the United States Forest Service to stage firefighting helicopters at the single-runway, city-owned airport.
Construction projects are often all about numbers, and recent airfield improvements at Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) in North Carolina has some doozies. The four-phase project to replace a 50-plus-year-old runway was supposed to take five years. Instead, construction issues added three years and $40 million to the original budget.
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is enjoying the benefits of rehabilitating Runway 14-32, its main crosswind runway that also happened to be one of its oldest. Associated connector taxiways were upgraded with new pavement and lighting as well.
Some say it isn't easy being green, but Nashville International Airport (BNA) certainly makes it look effortless. When the Music City airport opened Concourse D in 2020, the project achieved LEED Silver certification for a sustainable, wellness-oriented design and construction process. It is one of just nine airport facilities in the world to earn LEED Silver under the U.S. Green Building Council's v4 standards.
