RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A $3.3 million project to extend a taxiway on the southwest side of the base - a move that should improve safety for motor vehicles and aircraft - is under way and scheduled for completion this fall.
The 1,800-foot extension of Taxiway G will allow aircraft taxiing to and from the west flight line to avoid the "dogleg" route they now take on Taxiways E and F, minimizing the possibility of a collision with vehicles on Golf Road and reducing the taxiing distance to the west runway. Golf Road is the main south entry to Randolph.
"What it does is eliminate the dogleg where airplanes have to go out on Golf Road," said Dwight Micklethwait, 12th Civil Engineer Division chief of design and contracts. "It straightens the taxiway to where it runs parallel to the runway."
Project manager Ron Patin of the 12th Civil Engineer Division said the taxiway extension "will alleviate the safety hazard that exists on Golf Road - the possible interaction between aircraft and vehicles."
"It will also give aircraft a direct route," he said. "Another advantage is that it will match up with the taxiway pattern we have on the east side of the base."
Mr. Patin said the project, which began in January, will consist of three phases. The area that will include the taxiway extension - along with Taxiway F - has already been fenced off and preparatory work is nearing completion.
"All the dirt work up to the sub-grade has been done," he said.
Once grading of the site has been complete, the taxiway and drainage structures will be built and lighting will be installed.
The taxiway extension will be 75 feet wide and paved asphalt shoulders will be 10 feet wide on each side. It will link with Taxiway G6, which runs west adjacent to the west flight line. Then a 36-inch storm sewer line will be installed under the taxiway extension and water lines under the extension will be encased.
Mr. Patin said construction will not affect traffic flow on Golf Road. Phase I and II are expected to be completed around May 15 and the estimated Phase III completion date is Aug. 3.
The estimated completion date is in early November, but Mr. Micklethwait said he expects the project to "finish ahead of that."
The Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment at Brooks City-Base awarded the design contract for the project to E2M Inc. of San Antonio, a firm that provides environmental science and engineering services, and the construction contract to Laguna Construction Company Inc. of Laguna, N.M., which also has an office in San Antonio.