Runway Extension Helps Fort Smith Regional Win Valuable Military Contract

Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), which shares its airfield with Ebbing Air National Guard Base, has a newly extended runway and a coveted U.S. Air Force training center for F-35 pilots from around the world. Not surprisingly, the two are closely linked.

The $25 million runway project added 1,301 feet to FSM’s primary runway to accommodate the advanced military fighter jets at Ebbing. The training program’s eventual annual economic impact is estimated to be about $450 million.

The two initiatives began to intersect in June 2021, when the northwest Arkansas airport learned it was a finalist for the Foreign Military Sales Program’s F-35 Training Center to serve pilots from Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Finland and other countries. If selected, FSM also would be the permanent home for Singapore’s F-16 training unit.

There was one major catch, though. Its primary runway (8-26) was 8,017 feet long and 150 feet wide. To be eligible for the military contract, the airport had to have a 9,318-foot runway operational by fall 2023.

Fortunately, extending the runway was already in FSM’s master plan, as an incentive to attract more commercial and cargo service. “However, we knew we had to do this project in only two years, instead of the three or four years it would normally take,” says Airport Director Michael Griffin.

To get the project rolling quickly, FSM turned to its in-house consulting firm, Halff. As a result, the design phase was well underway by spring 2022. A year later, in March 2023, Ebbing received official notification from the Air Force that it had won the contract to house the F-35 training center.

“Things really stepped up after that,” Griffin relates.

What Needed to be Done

Significant earthwork was required to extend the east (26) end of the runway, as well as parallel Taxiway A, the necessary 1,301 feet. In addition to new pavement, new lighting and signage were installed, along with updated pavement markings. The airport also relocated several FAA-owned navigational aids (NAVAIDS) and made other related improvements according to FAA design guidelines and specifications.

Airport officials were largely spared the headache of soliciting funds for the $25 million project. “Both the state of Arkansas and the city of Fort Smith were anxious to get this project built, due to its expected long-term positive economic impact,” Griffin explains.

Before moving ahead with construction, the airport needed to perform an environmental assessment (EA) and subsequently secure a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from the FAA, states Halff Project Manager Brian Maurer. “Our primary consultant, Garver, worked expeditiously to prepare the EA. This process, including a FONSI, typically takes 18 months, but our team accomplished it in 11 months.”

While waiting for confirmation of the FONSI from the FAA, the airport had construction crews poised to spring into action. “We received final approval from the FAA to commence construction operations around 4 p.m. on April 18, 2022. That same night, the airport’s contractor entered the airfield and started working on Runway 8-16,” Maurer recalls.

This was possible because the decision to use a construction manager/general contractor approach was made during the design phase, and Halff started the process of selecting a contractor while the FONSI application was still pending. Once hired, the contractor—Emery Sapp & Sons—quickly coordinated with the design team to develop a work plan and purchase materials at competitive prices.

Obstacles to Overcome

The site selected for the runway extension was extremely rocky, so crews had to do a lot of blasting and grading work. In total, they removed about 400,000 cubic yards of rocks and other material. Instead of trucking it off-site, they relocated it to another part of the airfield, which was then resodded to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Construction lasted 17 months, running from April 2022 to September 2023. During much of that time, Runway 26 was reduced by 2,000 feet to create a safety buffer for workers. Even so, crews were acutely aware of ongoing operations, especially by large cargo aircraft. “Sometimes, C-130 planes used the runway to practice landings and takeoffs,” Maurer says. “Their size made it seem like you could reach out and touch them.”

While crews removed and relocated NAVAIDS, medium-intensity approach light systems with runway alignment indicator lights (MALSR), instrument landing systems (ILS) and precision approach path indicators (PAPIs), pilots were limited to making only visual approaches, which meant that some planes had to divert to other airports during bad weather. Occasionally, the airport shut down entirely at night for PAPI work.

Throughout construction, Halff held weekly online conference calls to keep airport stakeholders informed about the progress of key phases. Participants usually included airport officials; the general contractor and various subcontractors; city and state officials; and FAA personnel.

New Efficiencies

The electrical design team from Garver specified LED runway lights to enhance safety and significantly reduce the airport’s overall energy consumption. The new fixtures are designed to consume only 10% of the power formerly used by the previous incandescent lights.

“It is amazing how much coordination is needed for a project such as this,” states Bart Gilbreath, senior project manager with Garver. “There were 13 people on our design team, including electrical engineers, civil engineers and other experts in airport construction. Besides the runway itself, we did lighting for Taxiway A and the holding aprons.”

In addition, Garver relocated the threshold and installed new MALSR equipment at the end of Runway 26. Coordination was required to make sure that all of the NAVAIDs were designed for the specific final runway length, and compatible with all related equipment.

To help keep the project on schedule and reduce costs, the NAVAIDs design team employed a strategy it learned about from Lakeland International Airport (LAL) in Florida. Instead of purchasing NAVAIDS from the FAA, it consulted with the federal agency about what to buy, and then the airport purchased it directly from Thales, a mainstay supplier for the FAA.

“After visiting with the LAL staff, and coordinating with the FAA, we realized this approach for the NAVAIDs would better position the airport to meet its budget and schedule goals,” Gilbreath explains. “This resulted in a significant savings, compared to if we had bought this equipment directly from the FAA. Besides saving the airport a lot of money, it saved several months of time. It required a more hands-on approach from the design team, the airport and the equipment supplier. All parties worked very well together to meet this important milestone.”

Despite the nontraditional procurement process, FAA will provide ongoing maintenance for the NAVAIDs.

A new medium-intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment indicator lights was installed at the end of Runway 26.

Not Done Yet

After the runway extension project was finished in September 2023, normal operations resumed quickly. American Airlines was able to increase passenger loads on its Embraer 175 and CRJ 900 jets; during construction, the carrier had to reduce the number of passengers it could load since the runway was shortened to 6,000 feet during this period.

Soon, however, the Air Force announced that it wanted barrier arresting cables at both ends of the newly extended runway. It funded the addition to enhance F-35 training exercises. FSM managed the design work, again contracting with Halff as the primary engineering consultant, and ultimately executed the project.

Temporary power was provided to NAVAID shelters during construction.

With installation beginning in December 2023, the timing was somewhat frustrating for the airport. “We had just finished our runway extension, and three months later we had to shorten it again (this time to 6,800 feet) for the arresting cables,” Griffin relates. “We knew that in the long term, though, this would make our airport more attractive to foreign countries wanting to train their pilots.”

Crews finished installing the cables in August 2024, and the first international pilots, from Poland, started training at FSM in December 2024. Currently, there are four F-35s based at the airport, housed in both temporary and permanent hangars. Eventually, there may be as many as 36 jets, including two dozen F-35s.

“Having these pilots here does boost the local economy,” Griffin reports. “They typically stay in Fort Smith from nine to 12 months, and, of course, spend money in the area while they are here.”

With the extra runway work complete, Griffin anticipates a good year. “We expect to have more countries sending their pilots here for extensive training in 2025 and in the years to come,” he says.

According to a report in the Air Force Times, Ebbing is expected to graduate four pilots this year, and then grow that number to about three dozen graduates per year through the end of the decade.

Editor’s Note: Just before this issue went to press, Michael Griffin resigned as director of Fort Smith Regional Airport, and his successor had not yet been announced.