Flightline Closure

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman La'Shanette V. Garrett
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE La --  The Barksdale flightline will shut down Dec. 17 through Jan. 2, to repair a major part of the runway.

Flying missions by the A-10 aircrafts will continue from Dec. 20 through 22, using a temporary threshold.

Overall repairs will include the keel section on runway 33, raised concrete sections on the north half of the runway and surface drainage repairs at the north end of the runway.

"The runway flying schedule is extremely intense," said Dave Nesmith, 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron. "This limits access of the runway in order to make the necessary pavement repairs. The base material under runway 33 North Touchdown Zone needs to be replaced to assure safe aircraft landings. Once these repairs are completed, safety of future flying missions will be improved."

Approximately 350 cubic yards of concrete will be poured to cover 420 square yards in the Touchdown Zone and 1,250 square yards of the asphalt surface area.

Before runway closures are scheduled they must be coordinated through operations, multiple contractors, the in-house 2 CES Horizontal Shop and the 917th Fighter Group.

"Anytime you close the runway it can affect the mission," said William Flentge, 2nd Operations Support Squadron airfield manager. "But there are contingency plans in place to close the renovations immediately, if required to do so."

With Barksdale averaging more than 30,000 aircraft operations per year, the flightline closure will allow some Airmen to get ahead in their training and mission readiness.

"This downtime will allow our squadron the opportunity to come together to discuss and identify lessons learned," said Lt. Col. Eric Sikes, 96th Bomb Squadron director of operations. "We will continue conducting simulator training in order to stay prepared for the mission and review plans to get ready for the New Year."

As the airfield manager, Flentge said it's his responsibility to ensure the overall management of AM facilities and services to provide a safe, efficient and effective airfield environment for aircraft operations.

"It's imperative we keep Barksdale's flightline in perfect working condition," he said.