In the News

For the first time in more than 70 years, Westover Air Reserve Base has a completely rebuilt its main runway, which used by the Air Force’s largest jets.

Base officials are scheduled to officially open the runway on Tuesday. Col. Joseph Janik, commander of the 439th Airlift Wing, has invited Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, to join him in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The $32 million project rebuilt the entire runway, which is 300 feet wide and slightly over 2 miles, or 11,97 feet long. It also included the overruns, which measure about 1,000 feet on either end of the runway and are there as a precaution if a pilot needs extra space, said David Morin, the base civil engineer.

An Air Force team, which travels to bases across the country to regularly evaluate airfield pavement, determined it was time for a full replacement of the main Westover runway four years ago, Morin said.

“They do a series of tests for structural integrity and load bearing and they come up with a value,” he said. “In our case the value was at a level that drove it to replace the runway.”

The top layer of the runway has been replaced several times over the years, but this project was far more complicated, he said.

All the asphalt and the underlying materials, which were put in place in the 1950s, were removed. New materials were brought in, compacted and then the runway was resurfaced with new asphalt, Morin said.

Following the evaluation, the project went through a design process and went out to bid for a contractor. Stantec, of Portland, Maine completed the design and Lagan Construction LLC of Woodbridge, Virginia was hired for the construction work. The Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the contractors, which specialize in work like this, he said.

The money for the project came out of an Air Force budget. Neal was also notified of the need for the project, Morin said.

The reconstruction began in March 2020 and was completed in October 2021, he said.

The base received certification for Instrument Landing Systems to allow the full capabilities of the runway to be used on March 2, which was the final step in the project, Morin said.

The runway should now be good for another about 70 years or so, although the top layer will continue to have to be resurfaced every 20 to 25 years, Morin said.

While the project went smoothly, the most challenging part was to continue regular operations of the airfield with one runway closed, especially since the two runways intersect, he said.

The one advantage is the pavement did not have to be replaced in the middle of the intersection of the two runways, so it was a matter of having air traffic controllers, crews for military and civilian flights and the construction company coordinating to make sure planes could fly when needed, he said.

“They (the metropolitan airport) have been excellent partners. We have a good relationship and work toward our mutual success,” he said.

Because of the coordination techniques used, there was minimal disruption in flights. The 439th Airlift Wing did send two of the C-5M jets to fly out of Pease Air National Guard Base in New Hampshire for about two weeks while work was being conducted near the intersection of the two runways, Morin said.

Westover was also able to reclaim a lot of the old asphalt and other materials removed from the runway and have used to improve gravel roads and parking areas on the base, Morin said.

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