Woolpert Contracted for $12M Runway Extension at Indiana GA Airport
Woolpert has been contracted by the Dubois County Airport Authority to provide engineering, design support and construction management services for a runway extension at the Huntingburg Regional Airport. The $12 million project is being funded by federal, state and local grants.
The extension of the airport’s lone runway has been planned for more than a decade. It will address the current and growing needs of the general aviation (GA) facility and its aircraft and is intended to fuel local economic development. GA airports serve corporate/private aircraft and small aircraft charter operations.
Woolpert Project Manager Curtis Brown said the project entails reconstructing approximately 700 feet of Huntingburg’s runway and extending it an additional 500 feet. Its parallel taxiway also will be extended by 500 feet.
“We will be lowering County Road 200 West and creating a tunnel at the end of the runway, relocating the public and private utilities along that road and doing around 270,000 cubic yards worth of dirt work to create embankments of up to 30 feet,” Brown said. “We also will conduct multiple safety improvements and upgrades, installing all new LED runway lights and additional navigational aids. As part of the second phase, the runway also will be widened from 75 to 100 feet.”
Construction will be phased over the next two years to minimize disruption to the airport and its users. Brown said there will be short-term airport closures, but most of the work will be performed while the runway is operational.
“The biggest challenge on this complex project is optimally coordinating construction with operations and tenants,” Brown said. “Fortunately, we’re working with a dedicated team of engineers, designers and planners who have decades of airport experience, and have a supportive team at Huntingburg.”
Brown said this project is additionally gratifying because it supports the growth of a GA airport.
“It’s said that general aviation is the largest airline in the United States, because more business is flown with private aircraft than any other,” Brown said. “GA is often overlooked, but these airports are critical to the economic welfare of state and local businesses across the country.”
