Friday, September 11, 2015

Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport (KGAS) begins runway rehab soon

GALLIPOLIS — Gallia County Commissioners, Shelly Company and Delta Airport Consultants firmed up plans Thursday for the upcoming rehabilitation of the Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport runway.

A grant was awarded in June for the runway’s reworking by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration in the amount of roughly $1 million.

Shelly Company was awarded the contract through the bidding process. The total cost of the project is expected to cost $1.2 million, according to Gallia County Administrator Karen Sprague. Roughly $120,000 was matched with county funds according to stipulations provided by the grant. That equates to roughly a 10 percent match.

“We’re going to rehabilitate your runway, which means we’re going to do a nominal one-half-inch mill, basically we’ll call for our terms a scarification of the existing pavement,” Delta Airport Consultants project manager Steven Potoczak said. “Then put three inches of hot mix asphalt on top.”

Debris will be removed before the asphalt is laid.

According to the project manager, grooves will be laid in the asphalt down the runway in its entirety. The 10-foot surrounding perimeter area of the runway will not have them. Supposedly, the grooves should be cut a quarter of an inch deep and help displace water and protect against hydroplaning, particularly when jets land, during aircraft activity on runway.

Mobilization for the project is anticipated to begin Sept. 30 with the runway’s closing. Asphalt milling will begin Oct. 5. Bituminous surface coursing should occur Oct. 8.

Oct. 14 will see the surrounding runway lawn’s soil replaced, seeded and mulched. Nov. 16 marks when the runway should be grooved. Crew workers will make permanent runway and taxiway markings Nov. 20 and the entirety of the project should be theoretically finished Nov. 24.

Pilots commonly use Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport as a refueling point. The runway is estimated to measure 3,999 feet long and 75 feet wide.

“I’ve known some of the local (industrial) plants to fly product in and out occasionally,” Commissioner Harold Montgomery stated earlier in the year. “Some people may view it as just a recreational area (the airport), but it is an important tool in our (Gallia-Meigs) economic development.”

Source:  http://mydailytribune.com

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