Comprehensive Rehabilitation on the Fast Track

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) led the planning and design for $98.6 million in airfield facility repairs to reconstruct the majority of runways and taxiways at McConnell Air Force Base. Designs were delivered on a highly-accelerated schedule in seven different design packages.

To provide the client the most value for their dollar, we closely examined each pavement to determine the optimal rehabilitation method, rather than settle for the textbook solution. The West Runway portion of the project provides an example of this approach. After a careful analysis, we recommended an alternative approach to the original program scope to replace only the center 80-foot keel section. The full-width removal and replacement of the runway’s top PCC layer improved constructability, reduced contract duration, and will provide for more consistent, longer-lasting pavement at the same cost as originally programmed for keel replacement.

The project successfully achieved the client’s goal of providing pavement surfaces that support modified-heavy aircraft traffic for over 20 years, improving taxiway pavement geometry to meet current criteria, replacing the airfield lighting systems and reconstructing paved shoulders and overruns including the sub-drainage systems.