Runway repair project nears completion

  • Published
  • By Dan Galindo
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  The Army Corps of Engineers is nearing completion of a major $16 million repair project of the Homestead Air Reserve Base flight line, scheduled to wrap up in mid-February. 

“90 percent of the work is done,” said corps project engineer Zachary Kluckowski. “The remaining work is ‘punch work’ – items here and there that need to be finished,” he said. 

The flight line had a significant amount of deteriorating asphalt and concrete, according to Airfield Operations Manager Bill Comber. The project resolves that issue and brings the runway up-to-date with Air Force and FAA standards, making the flight line safer for pilots and their aircraft. 

“When the pavement begins to break up we now have a problem with foreign object debris and sharp edges of pavement may cut aircraft tires,” said Comber. “FOD to jet engines can be very expensive and hazardous to the health of the pilots,” he said. 

The HARB runway was due for large-scale overhaul, especially after weathering major hurricanes over the years. Prior to the project, only limited patchwork was needed to keep the airfield operational. 

“Major runway repairs should be done about every ten years,” said Kluckowski. “It had been 20 years since the last major repair on the asphalt, and some taxiways hadn’t been repaired in nearly 40 years. Now all taxiways are open,” he said. 

The airfield remained open throughout most of the construction work, with few exceptions, thanks to a rather unique feature of the HARB runway. 

“Because [we] have 300 foot-wide runways, we can shut down half, and planes can still take off and land,” said Mr. Kluckowski. “That’s not typical of most Air Force flight lines. We wouldn’t have been able to do what we did without such a wide runway,” he said. 

This also allowed the base to support incoming aircraft to deliver over a million pounds of emergency supplies after Hurricane Wilma. 

The Corps of Engineers and the 482nd Civil Engineers teamed up with a contractor, Sunmount Corp., for the project, which was worked on in three phases, beginning in March. 

The first two phases focused on repairing about 3,000 feet of concrete and asphalt on each end of the flight line. By working at each end first, the 93rd Fighter Squadron, Det. 1, 125th Fighter Wing, Florida Air National Guard, and U.S. Customs aircraft had easy access to the runway. 

During phase three, crews concentrated on the center portion of the runway. FANG and Customs aircraft had to temporarily deploy during that phase, but 93rd FS F-16s still had access. As of Dec. 5th, all Customs aircraft returned, and FANG F-15s came back on the 9th to a fully restored airfield. 

At completion, crews replaced airfield pavement, added a new lighting system with lighted signs, removed rubber deposits and re-painted symbols and lines on the pavement.