Tucson International Airport (TUS), operated by the Tucson Airport Authority (TAA), an independent organization enabled by state legislation in 1948, is currently 14+ years into its Airfield Safety Enhancement Program (ASE); the last four years being under construction of the comprehensive airfield safety initiative. The multi-project program, estimated at $400 million, is designed to update Arizona’s second-busiest airport to current federal standards and usher in a new era of safety for TUS. One major component is to eliminate a parallel runway only used by general aviation aircraft, relocate it, and construct a new runway that mirrors the primary runway to support all operators. The new parallel runway will also provide operational redundancy and support future growth, which will serve the region for decades.
Described as the airport’s largest project to date, the ASE Program is about 14+ years in the making. From identifying specific needs and completing planning and environmental studies to securing funding and establishing construction phasing, TAA leaders and their project partners have worked together to plan and coordinate complex enabling projects and phases. Construction is slated for completion by 2028/2029, and Danette Bewley, President/CEO of Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) expects the changes to be amazing.
“Having the runways separated for safety and redundancy will be a game changer for us,” says Bewley.
Per the program, the TAA demolished Runway 11R-29L (8,803 feet long x 75 feet wide) and will replace it with a new parallel runway that is 11,000 feet long x 150 feet wide, which mirrors the primary runway. Rich Bauer, lead aviation designer with program manager WSP, notes that other crucial elements include new taxiways and connector taxiways, installation of aircraft guidance systems and modernization of airfield geometry to meet current FAA standards. Additionally, a MAGVAR change was required, and last November the TAA changed the parallel runways at TUS from 11-29 to 12-30 and the crosswind runway from 03-21 to 04-22.
 facts&figures
Project: Airfield Safety Enhancement Program Location: Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, AZ Operator: Tucson Airport Authority Main Components: Demolishing, relocating, and constructing Runway 12R-30L (runway numbers shifted with the MAGVAR changes); constructing new taxiways and connectors; installing aircraft guidance systems; modernizing airfield geometry to meet current FAA standards Cost: $400 million Funding: TAA, FAA, ADOT, Military (through MCCA process) Project Timeline: Preliminary needs assessment in 2010; master plan update in 2015; EIS in 2017, groundbreaking in 2019; completion expected by 2028/2029 Program Manager: WSP Construction Manager at Risk and Design-Bid-Build 1 Construction: Granite Construction Design-Bid-Build 1 Prime Contractors: Jacobs; Dibble Design-Bid-Build 2 Prime Contractor: Garver Design-Bid-Build 3 Prime Contractor: Reynolds, Smith & Hills Construction Manager at Risk Design: HDR Inc. Environmental Impact Statement Consultant: Landrum & Brown Phase 1 & 2 Studies and Master Plan Update: HNTB Safety Risk Management Panel Facilitator: Jacobsen Daniels Jet Blast Deflector: Key Benefits: Modernizing the airfield to current FAA standards; enhancing safety; providing operational redundancy with parallel runway |
To minimize airfield disruption, manage TAA cash flow and maximize grant funding, construction was divided into four major pieces:
The new Runway 12R-30L and Connector Taxiways Project includes:
- a new electrical vault (completed in 2021)
- construction of an end-around taxiway and modifications to existing taxiways (completed in 2024)
- demolition of the existing general aviation runway (completed in 2024)
- Underway:
- relocation and construction of new commercial service runway,
- constructing a center taxiway between the existing and new parallel commercial runways,
- constructing an outer taxiway and new connector taxiways,
- installing a new barrier arresting kit system for the Arizona Air National Guard (paid through Military Construction Cooperative Agreement), and
- performing sound attenuation at homes identified in the 2017 environmental impact study.
In addition to the airfield aspects of the program, the TAA engaged in complex land negotiations that involved a land swap between the United States Air Force (USAF) and the TAA. The TAA needed a parcel owned by the USAF for the safety area for the new runway, and the USAF needed a parcel owned by the TAA to construct a new storage facility. Before the TAA can commission the new runway, it must pay for the construction of the new storage facility for Raytheon Technologies Corporation followed by the removal of the 12 Earth Covered Magazines presently used by Raytheon to store its products.
The Earth-Covered Magazine Demolition and Fencing Project includes demolishing and replacing 12 earth-covered magazines and expanding the airport safety area.
The Runway 12R-30L Connector Taxiways Project will modify connectors and taxiways to commercial runway standards and relocate aircraft guidance systems.
The airport chose to use the construction manager at risk delivery method for the Runway 12R-30L and Connector Taxiways Project. The other three phases are design-bid-build projects.
Unwanted Distinction
When FAA amended its reporting requirements and expanded the definition of airfield incursion in 2007, TUS led the U.S. for reported airfield incursions in 2008. “That’s not a good list to be at the top of,” Bewley laments.
The airport’s previous configuration of parallel runways was problematic. “Pilots confused Taxiway Alpha as Runway 29R, and Runway 29L for Runway 29R. Wrong surface landings and runway incursions were all too common at TUS,” she explains.
A study of needed airfield safety improvements performed in 2010 identified four hot spots. “We resolved two without any major construction, but the two that remained were runway issues that could not be resolved until we reconstructed and realigned the airfield geometry,” Bewley explains.
An airfield safety enhancement study, completed in 2012, reviewed the airfield geometry with the goal of reducing incursions and improving overall safety. The study used a modified safety management system/safety risk management approach to evaluate and prioritize potential airfield enhancements. The findings yielded recommendations for near-term operational and safety-enhancing airfield geometry improvements, as well as longer-term airfield redevelopment.
Recommendations include airfield geometry mitigation strategies designed to:
- minimize or eliminate aircraft from accessing Runway 11R-29L by crossing Runway 11L-29R,
- minimize the potential for pilots approaching from the south to misidentify the left and right parallel runways, and
- enhance awareness of the interaction between Taxiway Delta and Runways 11R and 11L.
Recommended changes included aligning the end of Runway 29L with Runway 29R to address runway misidentification issues and adding a center parallel taxiway to provide a place for aircraft to turn off Runway 11R-29L before proceeding across Runway 11L-29R.
A Master Plan Update that validates the need for airfield safety enhancements and includes an implementation plan was completed in 2015. The preferred runway program—relocating Runway 11R-29L and constructing a center parallel taxiway—incorporated the runway and taxiway safety elements identified in the airfield safety enhancement study as well as additional safety elements developed through the master planning process.
Although the project team presented a few alternatives that leveraged airport-owned land, the TAA selected a plan that required the TAA to acquire additional property. From there, TAA and the United Stated Air Force entered a Memorandum of Understanding that outlined property transactions among the entities. “We coordinated with neighboring jurisdictions to swap land under mutually beneficial agreements,” Bewley explains. “They got something they needed, and we got something we needed.”
“It really was a win-win for all parties,” she adds. “For instance, the Air Force has an opportunity to use the land we swapped with them to relocate the storage facilities away from the airport to a different location, and the land we received on our side of the swap will become our safety area. We both got what we needed.”
After the TAA completed a series of scoping meetings, an Environmental Impact Statement and a public hearing workshop, FAA gave its approval for the airfield improvement program to proceed in 2017. The first shovel hit the ground in 2019 for an enabling project to construct an electrical lighting vault. “It doesn’t sound exciting, but you have to start somewhere,” quips Bewley. Plus, the south airfield electrical lighting vault was needed for subsequent phases of the program.
Runway 11R-29L was demolished because at 8,803 feet long and 75 feet wide, it could only support small general aviation aircraft. Now that it is cleared away, that space is being prepared for the new runway with drainage and earth compaction. Concrete paving is slated to start in summer 2025.
The latest project milestone was achieved this June, when crews finished installing an end-around taxiway and the largest F-16 Arm/De-Arm Pad in the country. This $25.7 million enabling project was a collaborative effort between the TAA and Arizona Air National Guard —162d Fighter Wing to significantly boost flexibility and efficiency to support their mission. The Arizona Air National Guard is the training base for allied nations using the F-16 and has 75 based F-16s at TUS. In addition, it is a vital component of the nations’ “Enduring Freedom” operation. The Arm/De-Arm Pad provides 14 aircraft positions on the apron for simultaneous pre- and post-flight actions. The new end-around taxiway allows military aircraft efficient access to and from the airfield and around active runways. Other significant project elements include a barrier arresting kit on Runway 4-22, construction of new taxiways F, G and D3, and a Gate B entrance. This aspect was funded by grants from the FAA, Arizona Air National Guard and Arizona Department of Transportation.
As that project ended, construction simultaneously began on the outboard Taxiway C and other work on the south side of the airfield.
Planning and Partnerships
Bewley notes that this project benefits from deep involvement of the TAA, FAA, USAF, Arizona Air National Guard, Raytheon Technologies, the city of Tucson and Pima County. Working group meetings allowed the parties to come together and rally around this important airfield project, she adds.
Investing the necessary time and energy for planning is key to a program like this, Bewley emphasizes, particularly because of the extended timeline, numerous stakeholders and various funding sources that are involved. “We didn’t go into this without a really good plan,” she advises. “And just like we planned for various elements of the Airfield Safety Enhancement Program, we also planned how we would manage it through a number of consultants that are excellent in their field, and how we would fund it.” To date, the TAA has leveraged TAA financial resources to fund the Program, offset by grant reimbursements.
One important logistic plan was coordinating with TSA and installing a fence that placed the project site outside of the Air Operations Area (AOA). At any given time, there can be up to hundreds of crewmembers working, so badging and controlling access to the site would have added more challenges and slowed down the progress, Bewley explains.
About five miles of temporary security fencing was installed to separate the project site from the AOA. Work inside that fence is coordinated carefully with Airside Operations personnel and the air traffic control tower.
Program phasing relied heavily on the sequence of funding TAA secured for the project, notes WSP Project Manager Sterling Stewart. “The TAA received several grants that allowed us to move forward to a certain point.”
“If you have a GMP contractor out there, your worst nightmare is to get to the point where they run out of work, and you have no funding to move to the next phase. Then, we must pay to bring him back,” Stewart relates. “It’s challenging.”
Some of the transactions for land acquisition have been slower than anticipated because they include aspects that are out of the TAA’s control. As a result, the project team relied on using dirt from the new parcel, but when the transaction did not match up to the “dirt need,” the TAA had to find an alternate source of dirt. “As funny as that sounds, it adds cost where we are trying to be efficient and effective,” says Bewley.
Although the main goals of the Airfield Safety Enhancement Program are improving safety and conforming to current aircraft separation standards, increasing capacity will be an added benefit.
The program provides the airport much-needed flexibility to serve a mix of traffic that ranges from fighter jets and commercial airlines to small general aviation aircraft, business jets and cargo planes. “It really takes this airport into the future for decades,” adds Bewley.
As projects continue, losing the smaller parallel runway 11R-29L meant working with the general aviation community to use the TAA’s other reliever airport Ryan Airfield (RYN) to minimize delays. In fact, one aspect of the project was for the TAA to relocate a flight school from TUS to RYN. “As much as you think you are communicating and coordinating, you have to do even more, because there are so many moving pieces and so many players involved in different phases and layers.”
