Runway rehabilitation project honored by ACEC-Kansas

An innovative approach to runway rehabilitation never before performed at a Kansas airport that resulted in cost savings and reduced construction time has been honored by the American Council of Engineering companies of Kansas with an Engineering Excellence Award.

The rehabilitation of Runway 13-31 at Strother Field Airport in Cowley County, Kansas was originally scheduled to be completed by traditional methods, with the milling of the existing bituminous surface and constructing a bituminous overlay. But Garver had to come up with an innovative alternative when it was determined the runway, one of two at the airport, had deteriorated to a condition that would not withstand such construction methods. Instead, Garver developed a solution to improve the pavement condition, preserve capacity, sustain access, and maintain the project budget to overhaul a runway that helps serve GE Engine Services, the last jet engine overhaul facility based in North America.

“This project highlights what we like to do best at Garver,” said Kansas Aviation Team Leader Mark Williams. “By finding an innovative solution to a complex problem, our Aviation Team not only developed an alternative to Strother Field’s current issue, but we created another option for similar projects in the future.”

Garver’s solution included reclaiming the existing bituminous surface course to serve as a stabilized base course for a new bituminous surface course, which required collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to gain approval of technical specifications. The FAA-approved strategy reduced project costs, and runway closure-time, while improving the pavement condition and maintaining access to GE Engine Services.

In addition, Garver developed a bituminous pavement specification that incorporated the material requirements of the Kansas Department of Transportation specifications with the construction methods required by the FAA. These specifications can now be used on future airfield bituminous paving projects in Kansas.