b'TAXIWAYSRVS 65What Changed 5,102-foot primary runway temporarily operated out of Tulsa The $7.6 million project removed older, various-angled taxiways andInternational Airport while 1L-19R was closed. And the team at replaced them with new taxiways that meet the airports runways atRVS sent weekly construction updates to all tenants.right angles and adhere to current FAA design standards. The firstWhen you close the runway for five months, there are going to phase of the project consisted of rehabilitating one connector taxiwaybe pains, Wheeler acknowledges. We feel that, too. It reduces and reconstructing three others, all north of the airports crosswindour operational count, which is a badge we wear with a lot of pride. runway. That work was initiated and completed in spring 2023. Even with the closure, we were able to be top five in the Southwest During the second phase, crews removed two high-speedRegion, so were really excited to see what we can be with the taxiways south of the crosswind runway and constructed three newairfield open all year.right-angle taxiways. Contractors also removed a large triangularBrian Coomes, lead engineer at Olsson, area of unused, deteriorating pavement and replaced it with sod.credits Wheelers team for relaying updates The second phase was initiated in early spring of this year andto airport tenants and other key stakeholders. completed in May. It takes good partners all the way around for The new right-angle turnoffs are designed to help preventgood communication, says Coomes.faster moving traffic from inadvertently rolling onto the apronanThroughout the project, Olsson held weekly important improvement because the apron is close to the mainprogress meetings with the engineering team, runway, 1L-19R.contractor and airport staff. We talked aboutBRIAN COOMESThe configuration of our runway to the taxiway and to ourcurrent problems, schedule updates, any coordination needed, says parking ramp is tight, Wheeler explains. Having aircraft slow downCoomes. That really facilitated a lot of partnering along the way.for the 90-degree turns ensures they are traveling at an appropriateCrews encountered weather-related delays during the first phase speed leading into that parking area. of the project but worked some Saturdays to make up for the lost Because the project brings the airfield geometry in line withtime and even get ahead of schedule. Oklahoma weather can be current FAA standards and enhances safety for pilots, it wasunpredictable, so we carried that lesson into the second phase, eligible for $6.85 million in FAA grants. Oklahoma Department of Aerospace & Aeronautics (ODAA) contributed about $381,000; and Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust (TAIT), which administers, manages and operates RVS and Tulsa International Airport, contributed $423,928. Minimizing Downtime Safe Runway Operating as a general aviation airport since 1958, RVS does not have commercial airline flights. Its traffic comes from five flight schools, a steady stream of business jets and miscellaneous generalFRICTION MEASURING | WEATHER INFORMATIONaviation activity. Wheeler notes that updating the airfields taxiwayConditionsconfigurations was especially important to the flight schools, because thousands of pilots who train there every year need to practice on an airfield with standard design parameters. Now, the taxiways at RVS will prepare students for what theyll encounter at most other U.S. airports.Even without scheduled commercial service, RVS logs about 243,000 aircraft operations per year, making it the busiest airport in Oklahoma and one of the 50 busiest airports in the United States (based on 2023 figures). The airfield is populated with more than 200 commercial and private hangars for upwards of 500 based aircraft.Given its active traffic profile, the airport worked with Olsson,Runway Safe - the exclusive North American distributor for SARSYS-ASFT an engineering and design firm, to develop a project strategy that minimized the amount of time the primary runway would need to close for taxiway work. In total, Runway 1L-19R was effectively closed for a combined five months during both phases of the project.Throughout the work, flight school airplanes were still able to take off and land at RVS on the shorter parallel runway, 1R-19L. However, they were diverted to nearby airports such as Okmulgee Regional and Sand Springs Pogue Airport for touch-and-to practice. Larger business jets that needed the full length of RVSinfo@runwaysafe.com | www.runwaysafe.comAirportImprovement.comOctober 2024'