thedrifter
02-15-08, 06:40 AM
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort closes main runway for repaving
Published Fri, Feb 15, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
For the next eight months, Lady's Island, Yemassee and Grays Hill residents will see up to 30 flyovers per day as jets use only the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort's shorter secondary runway while crews repave the main runway.
Closing the station's main runway won't limit the capabilities of the air station or the kinds of planes the station can handle, but it will force pilots to alter their flight paths.
That may cause some increased noise for residents to the east and west, said David Moore, who has been the station's airfield manager for 24 years.
"It's just normal, routine business," he said.
The main runway runs north-south, ordinarily bringing the station's daily traffic of 15 to 30 jets over Laurel Bay.
While the main runway is closed, the station's 8,000-foot secondary runway will handle all traffic, said Moore.
It will take 200 workers -- working 10-hour shifts, five days a week -- to strip the pitted asphalt from the 12,000-foot runway and lay down a fresh coat by early October, according to Mark Suda, a public works engineer for the station.
The main runway hasn't been resurfaced in more than 10 years, which is average for wear, he said.
The $5.5 million project also will include a weeklong closure of the station's entire airfield in July when crews repave the intersection of the main runway with the secondary runway, Moore said.
During that closure, crews will be working 24 hours a day until it's complete, he said.
The station's F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets need 8,000 feet to take off and land safely.
The main runway originally was built for larger, heavier planes that needed a longer running start to get off the ground.
But having an extra long runway comes in handy for passenger jet emergency landings and cargo runs, said Gunnery Sgt. Cornillus LaVan, airfield chief.
Most planes can land on an 8,000-foot runway, but it's better to be safe than sorry, he said.
"When we get bigger aircraft here, like a (Boeing) 747, they're obviously going to need more room," he said.
In addition to fresh asphalt, which has been treated to withstand the heat and pressure of jet traffic, crews will install new runway lights to guide pilots and use a high-pressure water cannon to remove skid marks on the runway's approach, Suda said.
A second project, slated for March, may involve sections of the F/A-18's concrete parking lot to be replaced, Suda said.
"It won't require closure," he said. "We'll just do it in sections."
That project could cost up to $2 million, but it's still in the planning stage so no timeline has been established, he said.
Ellie
Published Fri, Feb 15, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
For the next eight months, Lady's Island, Yemassee and Grays Hill residents will see up to 30 flyovers per day as jets use only the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort's shorter secondary runway while crews repave the main runway.
Closing the station's main runway won't limit the capabilities of the air station or the kinds of planes the station can handle, but it will force pilots to alter their flight paths.
That may cause some increased noise for residents to the east and west, said David Moore, who has been the station's airfield manager for 24 years.
"It's just normal, routine business," he said.
The main runway runs north-south, ordinarily bringing the station's daily traffic of 15 to 30 jets over Laurel Bay.
While the main runway is closed, the station's 8,000-foot secondary runway will handle all traffic, said Moore.
It will take 200 workers -- working 10-hour shifts, five days a week -- to strip the pitted asphalt from the 12,000-foot runway and lay down a fresh coat by early October, according to Mark Suda, a public works engineer for the station.
The main runway hasn't been resurfaced in more than 10 years, which is average for wear, he said.
The $5.5 million project also will include a weeklong closure of the station's entire airfield in July when crews repave the intersection of the main runway with the secondary runway, Moore said.
During that closure, crews will be working 24 hours a day until it's complete, he said.
The station's F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets need 8,000 feet to take off and land safely.
The main runway originally was built for larger, heavier planes that needed a longer running start to get off the ground.
But having an extra long runway comes in handy for passenger jet emergency landings and cargo runs, said Gunnery Sgt. Cornillus LaVan, airfield chief.
Most planes can land on an 8,000-foot runway, but it's better to be safe than sorry, he said.
"When we get bigger aircraft here, like a (Boeing) 747, they're obviously going to need more room," he said.
In addition to fresh asphalt, which has been treated to withstand the heat and pressure of jet traffic, crews will install new runway lights to guide pilots and use a high-pressure water cannon to remove skid marks on the runway's approach, Suda said.
A second project, slated for March, may involve sections of the F/A-18's concrete parking lot to be replaced, Suda said.
"It won't require closure," he said. "We'll just do it in sections."
That project could cost up to $2 million, but it's still in the planning stage so no timeline has been established, he said.
Ellie