A 10-Day Triumph for Commercial Air Service

Over the years, Joplin Regional Airport (JLN) has worked hard to attract and retain commercial service for its residents and business community. However, the competition among airlines serving cities similar in size to Joplin has been intense, particularly as airlines have increasingly prioritized their operational optimizations. This was foremost on the minds of CMT engineers as they began planning for the reconstruction of the $12.3 million Runway 18-36.

CMT had previously identified deformation in the existing runway and parallel taxiway pavements caused by a recent increase in commercial aircraft size at the airport. A pavement life study and pavement management plan were conducted immediately to determine the extent of damage and the remaining life of the pavement. These results were taken to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and it was determined that these pavements needed to be reconstructed as soon as possible before they caused larger issues for the airport.

This project included full reconstruction through the Runway 18-36/13-31 intersection, which closed the airport for a nine-day, 10-night fast track phasing period. A closure like this would have typically taken up to two months, so CMT worked with the FAA Central Region to streamline the shortened construction schedule.

Close coordination with commercial service providers was critical in scheduling the airport closure. CMT worked with the airport’s airline partners to determine a date range during which they would not sell airline tickets into or out of JLN. CMT worked diligently to analyze the critical elements and minimize the duration of the closure. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the entire project team, disruption to commercial service lasted only 70 hours.

Successfully executing the construction of the runway intersection in just 10 days was a lofty goal, but achieving it was imperative for maintaining JLN’s strong position in providing commercial air service to the region.