b'RUNWAYSMHS 55community as a classic alpine village nestled in a river canyon,Another key catalyst for the reconstruction was a line of site surrounded by pine forests and the majestic presence of Mountissue. If two people stood at opposite ends of the 2,600-foot strip Shasta. of asphalt, they could not see each other because of a large bump Situated slightly above a valley, MHS is a popular alternativein the middle section. It was a safety concern to remove that line landing spot when fog impedes traffic at airports in the valley. Itsof site issue, to make it a safer runway for pilots, Hildebrandt sole runway, 14-3, consequently plays an important safety roleemphasizes. for local aircraft operations. The airport logs approximately 2,200The airport selected Kimley-Horn to serve as project manager, annual operations and is home to 11 hangarssix owned privatelyand design work began in 2018. Bids were solicited from and five owned by the city. contractors and construction started in 2019, and the project was Previously, MHS was owned and operated by the county offinished in summer 2021. To accommodate the reconstruction Siskiyou, but ownership and control was transferred to the city ofwork, MHS closed its sole runway for the duration of the project. Dunsmuir in 1964. With only a handful of hangars and no onsiteThis allowed Tullis Construction to expedite its work schedule fuel service, the airport has very limited revenue streams. Withoutand complete paving operations in five weeks. Temporary striping a regular infusion of income or outside funding, the runway fell intowas installed to accommodate firefighting operations while the disrepair over the years, Michaelsen explain.new asphalt fully cured. Seven weeks later, contractors returned to install final striping and reflectors, and the airport opened the Currently, the 126-acre airports main role is supportingrunway to all traffic in August. emergency operations and firefighting aircraft, with flights for recreation and tourism a close second.During construction, crews pulverized the asphalt they removed from the aging runway and incorporated it into the base material Securing Support, Funding for the rehabilitated runway. Recycling the asphalt saved time and In 2003, the city engaged Carol Ford of Ford & Associates LLCmoney because the contractor did not need to export that material to help secure grant money for maintenance and infrastructureand import new base materials. By optimizing the material on-site, improvements at the general aviation facility. The city has less thanwe were able to minimize the runway closure time and minimize 1,300 people, and its very hard for the community to support thisproject costs, Hildebrandt summarizes.airport all by itself, Ford explains. When we visited the FAA, we told them we needed a 100% infrastructure grant because the city could not afford the typical 5% local match. Ford emphasizes that support from the city manager and city council was especially critical for the project because of the time required to secure 100% funding. It was a multi-year project to get this type of grant, she recalls. Persistence was key, and we just kept trying. Even those couple of years when we didnt get grants, we kept knocking at the door of the FAA.Airport users also contributedwith sweat equity. The pilotsSMOOTHNESSwho operate here were instrumental in pushing for the project and getting this resurfacing done, Michaelsen remarks. Throughout the years, Airport Advisory Commissioner Jerry Denham and other pilots who fly out of MHS would volunteer their time to fix things around the airfield and pull weeds emerging through cracks on the aging runway. We had probably a dozen airport community meetings to discuss the runway to figure out the configuration and what would work best, Michaelsen recalls. It was really a collaborative effort. Input from stakeholders really optimized the project and made it successful.Runway Reconstruction A Pavement Condition Index study conductedSince 1993, APR has provided smoothness evaluation services by Kimley-Horn in 2017 rated Runway 14-32for the largest A&E firms and the smallest, local contractors. in the 20sexceptionally low on the 0 to 100Experts at P-401 and P-501, APR can also produce an effective scale. The pavement had served its useful lifeand efficient corrective action plan if needed.and needed to be reconstructed, says Heath Hildebrandt, project manager for Kimley-Horn.Contact APR Today for Your Next Paving ProjectHEATH HILDEBRANDT www.aprconsultants.com937-849-6795AirportImprovement.comJuly | August 2022'