With the completion of an award-winning runway project at Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), Traverse City, MI, is well prepared to welcome travelers to Northern Michigan for the summer tourist season. The $14 million project renovated and extended TVC's primary runway to 7,015 feet, thus remedying previous operational limitations.
Since 2006, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) has been incrementally transitioning its airfield lighting from incandescent to light emitting diode (LED) technology. Dave Garrett, the airport authority's electrical department manager, explains that the switch has several benefits, including energy savings, product longevity and'to a certain degree'reduced maintenance.
After four years making do with an alternate landing surface, Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) is pleased to be operating with its primary runway back in business. Pronounced and accelerating damage caused by an alkali-silica reaction in the original pavement prompted XNA to close Runway 16-34 for a complete rehab in June 2012 and now the airport is addressing the same issue on the rest of its airfield.
According to popular sentiment, it can be easier to move an entire airport rather than railroad tracks that run through or near it. But Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) managed to move the tracks. And a state road as well.
Closing a runway for any amount of time is hardly a popular idea. However, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) recently found that a series of weekend closures was the best way to perform necessary upgrades at its busy airfield safely and efficiently.
Repairing and maintaining runways without disrupting flight operations is a universal goal for airport operators. This summer, Yellowknife Airport (YZF), in Canada's Northwest Territories, managed to strip the rubber residue from its main runway and secondary runway in two days-without causing any interruptions to service or using harsh chemicals.
As a joint-use airport, Charleston International (CHS) serves a diverse mix of traffic. On any given day, the South Carolina airfield accommodates a variety of commercial airliners and U.S. Air Force aircraft, including mammoth C-17 transporters. It also has enough general aviation traffic to support two fixed-base operators and is home to Boeing's only final assembly plant for the 787 Dreamliner outside of Everett, WA. The unique blend of traffic at CHS is evident whenever a new Dreamliner taxis by the main terminal for a test flight or ground evaluation, and passengers in the boarding lounges buzz with excitement.
Completing airfield construction around the hustle and bustle of fully operational commercial service is challenging enough. But the margin for error is almost nonexistent when flights are grounded right before Christmas and the work window is just 15 days.
Sitting on a small, exclusive island off the southeast coast of Georgia, McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport (SSI) serves an upscale population of private aircraft operators. Nevertheless, the airport faced a distinct financial quandary when it needed to resurface its badly deteriorating secondary runway: such projects are not eligible for FAA Airport Improvement
Program funds.
There's more to the new $8 million main runway at Porter County Regional Airport (VPZ) in Valparaiso, IN, than meets the eye. Its point of difference lies beneath the surface in a sub-base built primarily with materials recycled from the previous ailing runway via a process called full-depth reclamation.
In metropolitan Atlanta, locals commonly refer to the complex roadway intersection where Interstate 85 meets Interstate 285 as Spaghetti Junction. But it's not the only interchange to earn the descriptive moniker.
