FORT HOOD, Texas - Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield and the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport were recently honored with an award from the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association for the rehabilitation of the runway at the joint-use airport.
The center 100 feet of the 10,000 foot-long, 200 foot-wide runway was repaved from September 2009 to January 2010, ultimately resulting in the "Outstanding Achievement in Quality Construction of Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement" award that was presented in Galveston Sept. 21.
Trace Crawford, the RGAAF airfield manager, said the project had many operational requirements and strict specifications that made repaving the runway a significant challenge.
Because the airports share a single runway for both civilian and military air traffic, it was impossible to close the runway to facilitate the repaving project.
"Early on in the design phase, we decided that all work associated with the project would be performed at night," Crawford said.
The project was also challenging because it required both civilian and Department of the Army agencies to work together to meet or exceed stringent Federal Aviation Administration requirements as well as Department of Defense criteria.
In addition to RGAAF airfield management staff and engineers and operations personnel from the City of Killeen, the project included U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives, engineers from the Directorate of Public Works, safety officers and asphalt testing representatives, as well as the contracting firm responsible for the repaving project, Big Creek Construction out of Lorena.
"We had all these different agencies coming together to design and execute this project, but it worked," Crawford said.
The process of removing (milling) the old asphalt, treating the underlying structural layer, laying the new hot-mix asphalt and re-striping the runway took place between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. over the span of four months.
"There was no margin for error; at 5 a.m. the runway had to be open," Crawford said.
He added that occasionally, airplanes were landing on the newly-laid asphalt mere minutes after Big Creek construction turned the runway back over to Gray Air Traffic Control Tower at 5 a.m.
"There were some personnel who believed that this project couldn't be done with the strict specifications and within the tight timeline," he added. But, with close coordination, months of planning and a process that was executed like a military operation, the project was completed piece by piece.
"I have never seen a project like that," Crawford said. "Every person, every piece of equipment knew their place."
The repaving was performed in sections, with a section of the runway approximately 1,200 feet in length and 18 feet in width removed and resurfaced each night the crew was working.
Doing the work in sections also added another challenge to the process.
"You have joints, you have seams, and you need to make sure everything lines up and is smooth and level," Crawford explained.
Occasionally, the work would have to be halted due to scheduled deployment or redeployment flights or commercial air carriers that were delayed by weather or maintenance issues.
The $3 million runway rehabilitation project was funded by the FAA.
"It's very expensive to repave a runway," Crawford said. He added that one of the many benefits to being a joint-use airport is the fact that different sources of funding are available, and funding doesn't come solely from the DoD.
Ultimately, the project was completed on time, on budget and met the rigid standards of both the FAA and the DoD. Crawford said there was very little he would have done differently and added that Fort Hood and the Killeen community have once again led from the front.
"To the best of my knowledge, this type of project has never been attempted at a joint-use Army airfield before," he said.
The new runway surface should withstand the RGAAF and Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport traffic for approximately a decade. In the meantime, long-term plans are being discussed that may include the construction of a second runway at RGAAF in the future.
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