b'42 APN RUNWAYSWhen I arrived at APN, fixing the runway was already a topHurdles to Clearpriority, says Stump. In fact, some training units were unwillingConstruction crews faced their first major challenge in August to come here because of the condition of the runway. 2023, during Operation Northern Strike, an annual training event In July 2022, representatives from major project stakeholders,that lasts more than two weeks. RS&Hs design and field teams including the airport, the National Guard, the FAA and RS&H,worked to coordinatecontractor construction activities withhuddled to decide how to best reconstruct the runway. Ourthe training exercises and the airports schedule, Stump says.design team worked very hard for five months to get the planFor a couple of days, the runway had to be closed. Fortunately, completed. Hylko, meanwhile, started the lengthy process to getthis event was coordinated well in advance, so everything went funding from the National Guard Bureau, Joye relates.pretty smoothly. During planning meetings, Stump had an important facilitatingPerhaps the biggest challenge occurred late in the project, role. Hylko had to define very specific requirements to get fundingwhen the intersection of the main runway (1-19) and secondary from the National Guard Bureau. I helped translate militaryrunway (7-25) started erupting. We put in a funding request to requirements that were different from normal FAA requirements, ifthe FAA for emergency AIP funds to rebuild that intersection. It that was necessary, Stump notes. It was important all parties werecost $3 million alone for that, Smigelski states. That also added on the same page before Hylko made the official funding request.two more months in which the airfield was closed. Fortunately, Once the funding was approved, bids were issued, andthe RS&H people came up with a great plan, in only 72 hours, on contractors were chosen. Construction started in April 2023. Ihow to fix this. think Hylko did a great job in putting everything together in a veryWhen the surface buckled, there was a 90-foot-long crack. short amount of time, Stump emphasizes. The older portions of concrete completely faulted, Joye During construction, there were meetings every Wednesdayexplains. We think the hot asphalt and rollers destabilized the for officials from the airport, the National Guard, RS&H and theunderlying pavement. We had to remove that asphalt and design construction contractor. RS&H had personnel on-site throughouta new system. This involved removing both the asphalt and the constructionsome on the asphalt portion, others on thesubstrate underneath. We crushed this old pavement and reused concrete portion. The construction phase, for the most part,it as base material before resurfacing everything.went smoothly, Joye reports. If any issues developed, someoneFor two months in summer 2024, the entire airport was closed from my staff was there to handle them.for the construction work during one of its busiest periods. SkyWest canceled all flights into APN and did not resume service until later in the year.Providing solutions to improve Associated UpgradesIn addition to the runway resurfacing AIRPORT SAFETYwork, the project included other improvements designed to improve safety & REDUCE NOISE for passengers, crews and pilots.Per FAA recommendations, the airport replaced its since 1957existing incandescent edge lighting with new LEDs. The old landing lights and navigation aids were very old, and hard to service, Smigelski says. The FAAs Engineering Office procured the equipment for these items, and paid for them as well. So that was a nice extra benefit. All improvements, including the arresting cable system, were completed by November 2024. Smigelski reports that stakeholders are pleased, and the airportJet Blast De ectors (permanent + portable)expects Runway 1-19 to be fully operationalGround Run-up EnclosuresEnd Around Taxiway Visual Screens in 2025. The National Guard was a great Images: Top Charleston, left Memphis, right Honolulu partner throughout this project, Smigelski concludes And sometime soon, we hope to again work together to reconstruct our taxiways. Those huge cargo planes do take a toll. blastde ectors.comJanuary | February 2025AirportImprovement.com'