Saturday, August 13, 2011

Grass runway disappearance explained. Alva Regional Airport (KAVK), Oklahoma.



For several months, pilots and members of the Alva Airport Commission wondered why the original grass strip runway had not been replaced when the new 5,000' runway was completed. Pilots consider the grass strip a safety cushion during times of heavy cross winds. Older planes, like the historic biplanes, often choose to land only on grass strips, eliminating future landings at Alva without the alternate runway.

No More Mystery

The mystery no longer exists. A change order signed by Mayor Lynn A. Chaffee on February 2, 2010, and approved by the Alva City Council at the Feb. 1, 2010, meeting officially eliminated the grass runway. Change Order #1 submitted to Dobson Brothers Construction Company deleted “Furnish & Install Bermuda Grass Sodding” at the airport cutting the contract cost by $435,000.

A letter confirming that action from Kyle C. Sewell, P.E. confirmed that deletion as follows: “Regarding the sod runway, Change Order #1 deleted item #10 from the base bid for 335,000 SY of Bermuda Grass Sodding ($435,500) which was for the sod runway.

The archived report of that meeting in the February 5, 2010 Alva Review-Courier states:

“At Monday night’s Alva City Council meeting, members approved the first change order for the Runway Construction Project. Business Manager Steven Brown said during discussions with FAA officials, it was decided that sod would be laid only on the shoulders of the runway. The remaining construction area would be sprigged.

Because of the reduction in the amount of sod needed, the cost was reduced accordingly. The original contract cost of sod was $435,500. The new cost of sod is $45,500, and the cost of sprigging is $120,000. The project will be reduced to reflect the $270,000 savings.”

It is unclear if council members fully understood the ramifications to the safety of pilots when they approved this change order.

Rebuilding the grass strip must now be placed back on the Airport Improvement Plan, which will delay its construction and probably increase its cost, Airport Commission member Paul Kinzie stated. 

Source:  http://news.mywebpal.com

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