LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va –
With the help of the 633d Civil Engineer Squadron and private contractors, the 1st Operations Support Squadron was able to repair the runway in just 10 days.
The 1st OSS is responsible for all facets of airfield operations such as air traffic control, weather, aircrew life support and training, intelligence analysis, weapons and tactics training, and airfield management ensuring a safe airfield environment exists to conduct aircraft operations.
"The runway repair was completed well beyond expectations," said Col. Kevin Mastin, 1st Fighter Wing vice commander. "This project went from potential delay with limited work planned to being completed very soon with more repairs accomplished than we had hoped for."
"Everyone involved in this effort has stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park," he added.
From Aug. 19-29, CE Airmen and contractors worked day and night in order to accomplish the task. Originally they were supposed to refurbish 10 concrete slabs and fill 6,000 linear feet of silicone joint seal. However, when the work was complete they had accomplished more than 18,000 linear feet and 316 cubic yards of concrete was laid to a depth of 18 inches.
"If someone looks at a taxi way, the concrete slab is not the entire surface," said Lt. Col. Thomas Shank, 1st OSS commander. "At Langley, concrete is broken up in to 25 by 25 foot sections and where they seam together is called a joint. Joint sealant is then placed between the slabs so they can move and not rub against each other. The normal place for a slab to fail is around the corners. Joint sealant will hold them together extending pavement lifespan and limiting the potential of foreign object damage when it's ingested into an engine."
In addition to the concrete and sealant, CE was able to fix 76 spalls instead of the initial 53.
"A spall is a pavement deficiency where it has broken up due to aircraft traffic, weather, poor concrete mix or its age," said Master Sgt. Jason Kretschmer, 1st OSS airfield manager. "The spalls on the runway were as small as a foot by a foot to four feet square but affected safety of flight and CE was able to cut around the spall and repair the runway."
The repairs to the runway cost more than $400,000 and the major repairs should last as long as 15 years.