b'82 Runway Extension Helps Fort Smith Regional FSMRUNWAYSWin Valuable Military ContractBY MIKE SCHWANZFACTS&FIGURES Project: Runway ExtensionLocation: Fort Smith Regional Airport, in AR Project Scope: Extending Primary Runway 8-26 (& parallel taxiway) by 1,301 ft.; new lighting & signage; updating pavement markings; relocating/installing navigational aidsConstruction: April 2022Sept. 2023Cost: $25 millionFunding: 68% from the state; 25% from the city; 7% Fort Smith Regional AirportThere was one major catch, though. Its from the county(FSM), which shares its airfieldprimary runway (8-26) was 8,017 feet long 2024 Operations: 24,500with Ebbing Air National Guardand 150 feet wide. To be eligible for the Traffic Mix: 77% general aviation; 15% military; Base, has a newly extended runway andmilitary contract, the airport had to have a 8% commerciala coveted U.S. Air Force training center9,318-foot runway operational by fall 2023.Primary Engineering Consultant: Halff for F-35 pilots from around the world. NotFortunately, surprisingly, the two are closely linked. extending the runway Chief Contractor: Emery Sapp & SonsAirfield Design, Lighting, NAVAIDS, Civil,The $25 million runway project addedwas already in FSMs Environmental: Garver 1,301 feet to FSMs primary runway tomaster plan, as an Geotechnical & Materials Testing: McClellandaccommodate the advanced military fighterincentive to attract Consulting Engineers jets at Ebbing. The training programsmore commercial Noise Modeling: Harris, Miller, Miller & Hanson eventual annual economic impact isand cargo service. estimated to be about $450 million.However, we knewMICHAEL GRIFFINAGIS/Approach Changes: NV5 Geospatial we had to do this Cultural Resource Surveys: Terracon The two initiatives began to intersectproject in only two years, instead of the in June 2021, when the northwest NAVAIDS: Thales Arkansas airport learned it was a finalistthree or four years it would normally take, Benefits: Helping attract military training operations & largerfor the Foreign Military Sales Programssays Airport Director Michael Griffin.commercial aircraft; improving airfield lighting & navigationalF-35 Training Center to serve pilots fromTo get the project rolling quickly, FSM aids; increasing airports regional economic impact Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore,turned to its in-house consulting firm, Associated Project: Installing barrier arresting cablesFinland and other countries. If selected,Halff. As a result, the design phase was at both ends of runway FSM also would be the permanent homewell underway by spring 2022. A year Installation: Dec. 2023-Dec. 2024 for Singapores F-16 training unit.later, in March 2023, Ebbing received Funding: U.S. Air ForceMay | June 2025AirportImprovement.com'