Dover to Start Construction on New Runway

Dover AFB, Del., is preparing for the removal and reconstruction of the base’s primary runway, Lt. Col. Steven Sylvester, the 436th Airlift Wing’s chief of safety, told Air Force Magazine. Sylvester said the $98.3 million overhaul on the 69-year-old 01-19 runway will address drainage issues, cracking, and spalling of the concrete. “It has gotten to the point where it needs to be replaced for safety and the continued viability of” the missions stationed at Dover, Sylvester said. The 18 C-5s on base, he said, will remain operative over most of the 16 months of construction, but they will have to be temporarily relocated in early 2016 for “roughly four-to-six months.” Sylvester said the location of the temporary home for the C-5s is not yet known. The runway is estimated to be completed “mid-June of 2016.” Col. Michael Grismer, 436th Airlift Wing Commander, said the runway completion project “is essential to preserve the viability for a critical component of our nation’s mobility infrastructure.” Grismer said Dover operates the Defense Department’s “largest aerial port, our only port mortuary, and we provide approximately 20 percent of America’s out-sized strategic airlift capacity. We are deliberately collaborating with others to ensure this project is completed safely [and] on-time,” added Grismer.