Reconstruction of Grand Forks Runway

PBS&J’s team merged conventional design elements with new technology to control rutting, cracking, and pavement fatigue.

When Grand Forks Air Force Base gained responsibility for the 319th Air Refueling Wing, it became necessary to reconstruct the base’s runway to accommodate the KC-135 aircraft.

The existing runway was more than 12,000 feet long and 300 feet wide, with an offset crown point to accommodate the B-52s. With the mission change to an air refueling wing, the Air Force requirements called for a 150-foot-wide runway with a standard center crown point. Since the approaches and air clearances were in place, a decision was made to reconstruct the runway crown point on the existing centerline alignment.

As a subconsultant, PBS&J was responsible for managing and designing the runway reconstruction project. Although the original concrete runway had lasted nearly 40 years in a harsh environment, new standards, costs, and completion concerns made it necessary to use asphalt for nearly 80 percent of the runway length.

PBS&J’s team merged conventional design elements with new technology, mixing the asphalt with special “binders” that would control rutting, cracking, and pavement fatigue. Carefully planned construction made it possible to raise the runway and provide the required crown point by rubblizing the concrete pavement and reusing the outer concrete wings as aggregate base material.

Working with the AMC and GFAFB, PBS&J distilled more than 15 pavement reconstruction alternatives into a single project that incorporated the long-term demands of the mission and met Air Force design requirements—allowing the project to be built in a single construction season.