Airport Business - June-July 2020 - 31

FEATURE

Stockton Metropolitan Airport
upgraded its airfield to
accomodate growing cargo
traffic.
RS&H

"The real challenge for this project
was how to coordinate this as well as
the SA CAT II project work together
with minimal impact on our aviation
community," Stark said. "I must say,
that the deputy director at the time Ron
Elliott, Operations Supervisor Helene
Nussbaumer, the RS&H staff as well as
the FAA and the company conducting
the Taxiway B work came together and
devised a plan that allowed for the work
to be completed efficiently and with only
a few exceptions, with minimal impact
on our airport activity.
Joe Jackson, vice president, RS&H
said coordination during design
between RS&H and FAA Air Traffic
Organization was initially facilitated
by Stark and quickly progressed into
a seamless team working to the same

end - ensuring that both designs would
enable the construction to be completed
simultaneously with minimal runway
downtime.
FAA Air Traff ic Organization
staff were mission-focused and worked
collaboratively with our designers
to overcome the various constraints
imposed by the civil and NAVAIDs
aspects of the program.
"One of the most challenging
variables was the final location of the
end of Runway 29R in relation to
State Highway 99, which is less than
1,000 from the runway end. Detailed
analysis and coordination with FAA
Flight Procedures was necessary to
assure compliance with all FAA Part 77,
TERPS, MALSR light plane, and other
instrument approach criteria," Jackson
said. "In the end, an existing blast wall
had to be lowered approximately five
feet to maximize the useable runway
length. The teamwork really paid off as
the designs were refined to capture as
much pavement as possible."
The FAA project to upgrade the
Special Approach Category II ILS
included modification of the Runway
29R Medium Intensity Approach
Light System with Runway Alignment
Indicator Lights (MALSR), upgrading
the Glide Slope and Localizer equipment,
and replacement of the Runway Visual
Range (RVR) system. RS&H supported
the effort with projects to relocate the
Runway 29R PAPI, replace all Runway
Distance Remaining signs, modify an
existing jet blast wall and establish
(chart) a Special Approach CAT II for
Runway 29R.
RS&H per for med pla n n ing,
engineering, bidding and construction
phase services to extend the existing
parallel Taxiway B and construct a new
connector taxiway to the Runway 29R
end. The Taxiway B project consisted of
the demolition of approximately 23,100

square yards of existing AC pavement
and construction of approximately
27,500 Square yards of new AC taxiways,
taxiway shoulders, holding bay, edge
lights, grading, drainage infrastructure
and the associated permitting efforts.
"Teamwork meant that RS&H had
to do more than just engineering - we
brought in our planners to update the
ALP, our environmental and grant
folks to gain NEPA clearance and grant
funding, our NAVAIDs engineers and
planners to coordinate with FAA Air
Traffic Organization to get the Special
Authorization CAT II Approach designed
and constructed in concert with the TW
B work, and our construction specialists
to keep the teamwork going with the
contractors though the construction of
the program," Jackson said. "By working
as a team with the owner, FAA and
contractors, the client's needs were met
by the planning and design effort and
the contractors were able to perform the
work flawlessly, with minimal impact to
operations, and in a safe manner."
Stark said good preparation and
planning, including contingencies, is
the key to such a project. Get your team
together early. Spend time with staff and
key stakeholders discussing the project.
They spent time and effort to fully
understand every aspect of the process
prior to starting. They had a timeline
in mind, they knew the costs, they had
a good layout of the future geometry
through the airport Layout Plan and they
got the environmental processing (NEPA
and CEQA) taken care of in advance.
"So put together a solid plan, test it
for f laws and then implement it with
attention to detail to take care of any
deviations with your contingency, so
those little bumps do not become big
problems later," he said. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE PROJECT

Stockton Airport Director Russell
Stark shares the insights of the
airfield upgrades that were named
one of the 2020 Airport Business
Projects of the Year on a recent
episode of the AviationPros Podcast.
www.AviationPros.com/21138897

JUNE|JULY 2020 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 31
http://www.AviationPros.com/21138897 http://www.AVIATIONPROS.COM
Airport Business - June-July 2020

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