DelawareOnline News and American Concrete Institute (ACI) reported that the Dover Air Force Base (Dover AFB) located 2 miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware, USA, has been conducting a $98.3-million replacement of north-south runway that began in early 2015. The scale of the construction project is massive, requiring 130,000 cubic yards of concrete. The project involved reconstructing the runway—named “01-19”. It stretches 2.93 kilometers (9,600 feet, or nearly two miles long).
The work was slated to finish June 2016, but because of soft clay and the remnants of older runway surfaces that construction crews discovered when they dug, it has taken somewhat longer than planned. Capt. Sarah Bergstein, Dover AFB spokeswoman said, “While they’ve been working on the intersection, a fleet of 13 C-17A Globemaster jets have been taking off and landing around them, giving the crews a 304-m (1,000-foot) buffer. While the C-17As have been able to operate during the construction, the base’s larger fleet of 18 C5-M Super Galaxy jets have been temporarily stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey base. Now that the major runway reconstruction project is nearing a milestone, the work is far enough along that full takeoff and landing operations at Dover AFB will be able to resume next month—September, 2016, said Bergstein. The 200 or so airmen who fly and maintain them will be returning as well. “The overall project in total is expected to be completed in early 2017, as there are small ongoing projects that will continue once both runways are fully operational and the full Dover fleet is back on station,” Bergstein said.
To read the article, please go to: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2016/08/14/dover-afbs-biggest-jets-returning-sept/88674316/.
Heritage Status: Place Listed on The National Register of Historic Places: Official Website: http://public.dover.amc.af.mil.
While the project has been underway, the 436th Airlift Wing based at Dover AFB has changed commanders. In a Change of Command Ceremony in early August, 24-year U.S. Air Force veteran Col. Michael Grismer retired and relinquished command of the airlift wing to Col. Ethan Griffin, an Air Force leader who previously was vice commander of an air base in Washington state. “To the men and women of the 436th, keep doing great things,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Mordente, 18th Air Force Vice Commander said at the ceremony, “We need your best, and we need it every day.”